Maintain: Nurturing Your Intrapreneurship Program

Welcome back to our intrapreneurship journey! In Part 1, we explored the wild world of creating your intrapreneurship program, from punk rock rebels to full-blown extravaganzas. But the journey doesn't end there. In Part 2, we are now going to delve into the crucial aspects of maintaining your intrapreneurship program. So, grab your gear and let's keep the entrepreneurial fire burning!

1. The Dream Team

Intrapreneurship is all about people. The impact of a great or poor hire on your results cannot be overstated. Amid the chaos of daily innovation endeavors, it's crucial to focus on the following principles when it comes to hiring and nurturing talent:

• Hire for Attitude: Intrapreneurship is evolving rapidly as a field. Moreover, your program is (hopefully) moving fast and roles change a lot! Look for team members who have a curious and positive mindset, communicate openly and are eager to learn. In any role, adaptability and a passion for innovation are key.
• Build Expertise and Delegate: Your team members need to dive deep into what they care about and be given full responsibility. You most likely run many pilots and as you grow, subject matter expertise becomes more important. Typical areas someone will need to build deep expertise in are: innovation methodology, coaching, event management, Start-up-Finance and communication. Delegate to empower your team.
• Be a Role Model for New Work: Your team will be under the spotlight because of your unique approach. That's a good thing! Stick to your principles and steer clear of inflexible hierarchies. Concentrate on results, not just procedures. Inspire your team to explore new ideas, as long as they are "safe enough to try". Lead by demonstrating a culture of innovation and ongoing learning.

In maintaining your intrapreneurship program, nurturing the right team is like tending a garden. You want individuals who can adapt to the changing landscape and bring unique flowers to your innovation bouquet. As the program leader, this is a moment where you need to keep the long-term vision in mind and give people the space to grow. e.g. if you see social media as a growing need in your team and spot potential in an employee, make sure she gets time and space in the next weeks or months to grow into the role - it will pay off!

2. KPIs - Measure What Matters

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure the performance of a program. Innovation is notoriously hard to measure, and intrapreneurship even more so. Nevertheless, there are good proxies for success you should track and improve on:

• Size of Your Program: Track the growth and scale of your program. The number of intrapreneurs, projects, and the business units they are coming from are crucial indicators.
• Satisfaction of Intrapreneurs: Think of this as your Net Promoter Score. High intrapreneur satisfaction means they're likely to advocate for your program and keep the innovation fires burning.
• Business Engagement: Measure the level of engagement and investment in innovation pilots from other business units. A high level of interest from various departments indicates the program is connected to the rest of the company and creates interest, change and impact there!

In maintaining your intrapreneurship program, KPIs are your North Star. They help you chart your progress and ensure you're headed in the right direction. They also help you clearly communicate the value you generate to the company to senior management.

3. Establish an 80% Correct Intrapreneurship Process

Intrapreneurship is all about innovation, and innovation is rarely a straight line. While having a structured process is essential (e.g. Business Model Navigator by BMI Lab , Kickbox Process by rready AG or Design Thinking for Innovation by by Nigel Cross), don't aim for perfection. Aim for progress. The 80% correct approach means that you have a strong framework that makes sure you reach your goals in keeps the lights on. With the other 20%, you are open to try crazy new things. For instance, you may have a reasonably solid process for managing collaborations between your intrapreneurship teams and startups. However, if someone suggests an enhancement, like providing dedicated office space at a neutral location for these teams to meet, don't hesitate to test it with 2-3 ventures. This flexibility is the lifeblood that maintains the freshness and effectiveness of your program.

4. Collaborate to Expand Your Horizons

Collaboration is the oxygen of innovation (e.g. check out Open Innovation by Henry Chesbrough ). Here's how to breathe life into your intrapreneurship program:

• Collaborate Within Your Company: Work with different business units and innovation teams within your organisation. Sharing resources, knowledge, and insights can supercharge your program.
• Open Innovation: Don't limit your horizons to your company's walls. Engage with external organisations, startups, and industry experts. Their perspectives can provide fresh ideas and accelerate your program's growth. You do not have to take every idea all the way from 0%-100%. e.g. you can support a startup at 10%, get out for a while and rejoin as a strategic investor once it hits 75%.
• Hackathons: Organise hackathons within your organisation or potentially even with outside participants to stimulate creativity and uncover hidden talent. These intense, time-bound events can lead to innovative breakthroughs.
• University Collaborations: Partner with universities to access cutting-edge research and young talent. Not only will you get fresh ideas, you might also find the next top talent to join your company.

Collaboration can bring fresh perspectives and often rejuvenates stagnant ideas. It surely has its own challenges like coordination between different departments or even companies, and intellectual property (IP) concerns. However, these hurdles are often worthwhile to supercharge your intrapreneurship projects.

Conclusion

And it is a wrap! Our journey has equipped you with the tools to maintain a thriving program. You've built a stellar team, defined meaningful KPIs, embraced an adaptable process, and fostered collaboration. But there's one more chapter to explore: "How to Destroy Your Intrapreneurship Program." In Part 3, we'll turn the tables and play devil's advocate. ????

About

This is part 2 of a 3 part series about how to create, maintain and destroy your intrapreneurship program. Stay tuned for the next chapter.