Intrapreneurship

Thinking and
Acting Like an
Intrapreneur
Dawson College
February 6, 2014
Louis Jacques Filion

Rogers-J.-A.-Bombardier Chair of Entrepreneurship
HEC Montreal
What is intrapreneurship?
• Intrapreneurship is entrepreneurship that takes place

within an organization
• Entrepreneurship is the contribution of an innovation

or added value
• Intrapreneurship is similar to entrepreneurship
• Intrapreneurial practice is similar to entrepreneurial

practice
• Intrapreneurship is a miniature version of

entrepreneurship: same flavour, same substance, similar
activities but less risky
What are intrapreneurs?
• People who are dedicated to what they do

• People who do not like routine
• Results-oriented
• Focus on novelty and innovation
• People who regard boundaries differently
from other people
• Agents of change
Characteristics of
intrapreneurs (1)
• Committed
• Motivated
• Flexible/ adaptable
• Creative/resource-ful
• Willing to learn
• Innovative
• Visionist
Characteristics of
intrapreneurs (2)
☺ Sensitive to
environments
☻ Want to do more
• High standards
• Able to live with risk and
ambiguity
• Able to manage risk
• Balanced relations
system
(information/support)
Differences between entrepreneurs
and intrapreneurs
Entrepreneur Intrapreneur
• Venture creator • Staff member
• Controls resources • Not much control over
• Absolute decision-making resources
power • Not much power
• Knows all the firm’s • Knows the activities in his
operations or her sector
Intrapreneurial Practice
Observation of needs
Development of something
new Reflexive listening
. Opportunity
Ongoing progress
What does intrapreneurial
activity involve?
¤ Presence of a need
¤ Opportunity detection and creation
¤ Design and development of innovative projects
¤ Risk management
¤ Resource use
¤ Political skills
¤ Support system, usually informal
¤ Innovative activities
¤ Added value
Why behave and act like an
intrapreneur?
• Different reasons
• Need to advance or progress
• Intrapreneurs are committed to what they
do, like to go further, and are perfectionists
• Intrapreneurs behave as though the
business belongs to them
• Intrapreneurs seek performance, both for
themselves and for their organization
Intrapreneurs
Creative and Action-oriented
☻It’s not hard to
understand the intra-
preneurial profile. Intra-
preneurs are passionate
about new ideas and want
to learn. Unlike managers,
they become bored and are
uncomfortable with
repetitive tasks.
Serban Teodoresco
How do intrapreneurs think?
•
Knowledge of the
sector
Creativity Need
stimulated Opportunity
by thinking
about the Visionist conception
user’s
needs
What should be
Anticipated result
Five Precepts for Intrapreneurs
 Set goals that include precise targets

 Decide how to go about achieving those
goals (including scenarios)
 Select the right time for action
 Make sure people are aware of
achievements
 Garner support and acknowledge
supporters after the fact
Fighting the Organization’s Immune
System
 Understand the DNA of the organization
 Identify elements of resistance to change
 Identify communication taboos
 Identify the aspects that prevent people from
taking action
 Identify progressive elements that can be
relied on for support (bridges)
Build a highway to action

Overcome the Morphine Effect
 Look carefully to develop the people and
resources within the organizational environment
that are no longer seen or used to their full
potential and value
 Identify attitudes from the past that prevent
people from seeing changes in the environment
 Identify things that have become routine, but that
could be revitalized
Do not be afraid of rattling the cage and

proposing new ideas
Elements of an Intrapreneurial
Activity System
Need /
opportunity
Resources
Risk
Design
Implementation of innovative
activities
Political
Support skills
Added value
Intrapreneurial Culture (1)
¤ Values innovation, especially new methods

¤ High level of staff accountability
¤ Activities focused on clients and users, both
internal and external
¤ Importance of individual and collective,
learning, both formal and informal
Intrapreneurial Culture (2)
¤ Support for people who do and achieve

things – “doers”
¤ Tolerance for mistakes but not for stupidity
¤ Innovative people are valued
¤ Acknowledgment and rewarding of success
¤ Sharing of profits or revenues generated by
intrapreneurial activities
How do intrapreneurs act?
 Intrapreneurs:
 Enjoy action
 Listen to their own intuition
 Are always testing something
 Prefer a gradual approach
 Are well informed; they know up to where
they can stretch the boundaries of what is
possible
 Listen, observe, question, think, learn,
communicate and choose the right time to
take action
Managing Intrapreneurial Projects
.
Design of the vision
Design of projects
Action plans
Information gathering
Market surveys
Sector analysis Market test
Understanding of Feasibility studies
consumer needs and
trends
Some Characteristics of
Intrapreneurs
• The same as those of entrepreneurs, except
more so
Some characteristics of
Some characteristics of intrapreneurs
entrepreneurs
Conservative risk takers
Committed Have good relations networks
Resourceful both inside and outside the
Flexible organization
Innovative Know the limits of what is
Sensitive to environmental acceptable
changes Use resources wisely
Tolerate risk Politically skilled
Know their sector Focused on results
Hard workers
Action-oriented
Intrapreneuring
G.Pinchot & R. Pellman
• Make your mistakes faster and cheaper

• Bet on people not just ideas
• Recognize real intrapreneurs from promoters
• Don’t filter out the truth
• Treat the team as single entity
• Don’t trigger corporate immune system with “Grandiosity”
• Live with your customers
• Build financial models but don’t believe them
• Sponsors must move closer to a peer relationship with the
team
• Reach out across corporate boundaries
22
The Intrapreneur’s 10
commandments
G. Pinchot
1) It is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission
2) Do any job needed to make the project work regardless of
your job description
3) Come to work each day willing to be fired
4) Recruit a strong team
5) Ask for advice before asking for resources
6) Spread credit wide and celebrate victories
7) When you bend the rules always keep the best interest of the
company and customers in mind
8) Recognize and honor your sponsors
9) Underpromise and overdeliver
10) Be true to your goals but realistic about ways to achieve
24
them
What to do to prepare for
intrapreneurial action
• Enter into contact with an entrepreneurial culture,
intrapreneurs and entrepreneurial actors
• Read biographies (case studies) of entrepreneurs
and intrapreneurs
• Work with internal and external mentors
• Become a mentor for young, innovative
entrepreneurs
• Think about, describe and perfect one’s own
intrapreneurial model
What can be done to improve the
probability of intrapreneurial
success?
• Use mentors and coaches
• Set up an innovation support advisory
board for every project
• Set up a club for intrapreneurs or
“innovation enthusiasts”
• Introduce a formal support policy for
innovative expression
• Introduce a program to acknowledge
innovative achievements
Intrapreneurship and Mentors
• Importance of the role played by mentors in every

professional activity
• Excellent evaluation of entrepreneurship
mentoring programs
• Mentors need some basic training
• Often, different forms of dual mentoring can be
used: e.g. technical mentor and managerial
mentor
• Mentoring activities should be completed by
coaching activities
What impacts do intrapreneurial
activities have on organizations?
• A society without entrepreneurs will

eventually die, as will an organization
without innovation
• Development of a culture based on
excellence, leadership and success (Jack
Welch, Japanese firms)
• Internal stimulation beyond the stage
where “other people” are insecure
Conclusion
• Intrapreneurship leads to innovative
practices that catapult the organization into
a leadership position in its sector
• Intrapreneurship involves risk and requires

above-average levels of effort and skill, but
it brings a great deal of satisfaction to the
people who practise it
Intrapreneurship is a win-win process

Intrapreneurship is a bridge to
innovation
Intrapreneurship
Innovation in Organizations
The Light
• Thanks
• Questions?

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Thinking and

Louis Jacques Filion

• Intrapreneurship is entrepreneurship that takes place

• Entrepreneurship is the contribution of an innovation

• Intrapreneurship is similar to entrepreneurship

• Intrapreneurial practice is similar to entrepreneurial

• Intrapreneurship is a miniature version of

• People who are dedicated to what they do

 Set goals that include precise targets

Build a highway to action

Do not be afraid of rattling the cage and

¤ Values innovation, especially new methods

¤ Support for people who do and achieve

• Make your mistakes faster and cheaper

• Importance of the role played by mentors in every

• A society without entrepreneurs will

• Intrapreneurship involves risk and requires

Intrapreneurship is a win-win process

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