Читать книгу The Business Intrapreneur: Profiles of Unsung Heroes of Corporate America - Kristin Boone's Eilenberg - Страница 7

When I first started at my former employer, I was always curious about tunnels that veered off of a main hallway or hallways that were just behind a door that someone had walked through. Sometimes when I was getting a coffee and had a few minutes to myself, I would explore these passageways and find out where they went. As I climbed the ranks of management and my calendar got more packed with meetings, these passageways and alternative routes became a lifeline for me. When I had tag-alongs dodging with me from one meeting to the next, they were always surprised and shocked about how I got around campus. The reality is that these passageways were not ‘secret’ or ‘special’, they were there for everyone to use. The difference is that I had the interest to learn more about where they lead and then used this knowledge to reduce my travel time. It was something so simple, yet so different from the normal way that people operated.

People have always told me that I was different and unique. In some cases being unique and different was a compliment, in others it was a put down. Regardless, I quickly learned that most of my colleagues and peers didn’t work the way that I worked and were not motivated the way that I was motivated. Yet, when I did find others that were like me, it was like finding business soul mates. We quickly came together, moved mountains, and accomplished things that people said could never be done. It was magical.

I was introduced to the term, ‘intrapreneur,’ by an article that was in the Harvard Business Review back in the mid 2000s. I honestly cannot find the article that I read, but I know that I was traveling for business and almost popped out of my skin when I realized that I was an intrapreneur. I was so excited that I immediately told friends about my new intrapreneur identity; they would just cock their heads to the side and say, ‘Don’t you mean entrepreneur?’ It was frustrating because I really felt strongly that I was an intrapreneur, not an entrepreneur.

I will admit that it is difficult to distinguish between intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs. Freedictionary.com currently defines an entrepreneur as “a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture.” The same website defines an intrapreneur as “a person who while remaining within a larger organization uses entrepreneurial skills to develop a new product or line of business as a subsidiary of the organization.”

However, I believe that being an entrepreneur is very different from being an intrapreneur. I will agree that there are some overlaps when it comes to skills and abilities, but I believe that the motivations are uniquely different. I know that this is a gross generalization, but an entrepreneur is focused on her own success or the commercial success of a particular product or idea. In contrast, an intrapreneur is focused on the success of an organization. An entrepreneur may build an organization to support their interests and aspirations, but an intrapreneur is inside the organization facilitating its survival and championing its evolution. Intrapreneurs are 100% committed to their employer. There are times when an entrepreneur works for a company, but in these instances, they are still looking for or pursuing the next ‘big thing’ for themselves and have one foot out the door.

Intrapreneurs are the people inside a large organization that believe in the organization whole-heartedly. They are true soldiers for the company’s mission and are willing to fall on their own sword time and time again if it’s for the ‘right’ reason. In many cases, intrapreneurs are aware of the political upsides and downsides to taking stands and fighting for their beliefs. Intrapreneurs are organizational misfits. They typically don’t quite fit the corporate definition of the ideal employee. They do the work that the organization has stated is important for its immediate survival, but prefer to focus on doing the work that they, themselves, believe is important for the organization’s long-term survival. This different mindset creates tension in the corporate world. Therefore, it takes a special kind of leader to recognize the value of intrapreneurs and how to motivate them.

Intrapreneurs are identified as “bulls in China shops” or “boat rockers”, but because they have established a track record of delivering and following through with the things that they champion and they have a trusted network that spans across company levels and geographies, the company puts up with them… to a certain extent. There are instances where intrapreneurs are recognized for their value and contributions, but typically corporations do not make it easy for intrapreneurs to operate at their full potential.

Leadership would constantly tell me that the organization needed more ‘Kristins’. This always made me laugh because I knew the challenges that I experienced each day as an intrapreneur. And, even though I had a few experiences working with others that were just like me, those moments were serendipitous. I wondered if there was a better way to find the other intrapreneurs inside my company and across our industry. How do I find them? What do we have in common? What great things are they doing? How could we partner and make bigger things happen? How do they continue to keep up the good fight? Or, are they burnt out, hiding, and no longer doing the work that inspired them?