1. Richard Branson on Intrapreneurs – Richard Branson, Entrpreneur.com

The poster-boy for entrepreneurs everywhere recognises the role and importance of intrapreneurs to drive new directions for businesses’ and how this fosters growth.

2. The Skills Necessary To Be A Successful ‘Intrapreneur’ (Corporate Entrepreneur) – Lisa Quast, Forbes

Outlines the characteristics and skills necessary for becoming a successful intrapreneur based on a study by Ernst & Young.

3. Rise of the ‘Intrapreneur‘ – James Adonis, The Sydney Morning Herald

Interesting insights into intrapreneurship through an interview with Gifford Pinchot, the original advocate of the concept, looking at how companies should embrace intrapreneurs and the importance for intrapreneurs themselves to identify sponsors within the business.

4. Innovating From Within – Ben Lobel, smallbusiness.co.uk

Demonstrates how companies are empowering staff at all levels to contribute and champion ideas and strategies through stimulating creativity and innovation.

5. Five Lessons From An Entrepreneur Turned Intrapreneur – Jeff Certain, Under30CEO

Insights and lessons learned in how to position yourself and operate as an intrapreneur from someone who’s been there.

6. Top 10 Challenges of Intrapreneurship – Yaniv Nizan

Yaniv does a great job of identifying and highlighting some of the challenges facing intrapreneurs, and provides perspectives on how to address these.

7. Internal Entrepreneurs – Alignment – Susan Foley, Corporate Entrepreneurs

Explores the notion that internal entrepreneurs are in alignment with who they are, not what the organisation wants them to be; this sets them apart and allows them to see new opportunities, come up with creative solutions and find innovative ways to accelerate growth.

8. The Importance of Insight – The Garage Group

“If you want your idea, venture, product, service, project to be successful, it must be well positioned to solve a problem, seize an opportunity or create unexpected delight. Finding the problem to solve, the opportunity to seize or the delight to create then becomes a clear task for any intrapreneur.”

9. In Defense of the Intrapreneur – Trevor Orsztynowicz, trevoro.ca

An impassioned rebuttal to criticisms of intrapreneurial behaviour which in turn presents clear attributes of and benefits to acting as an intrapreneur.

10. 10 Tips For Intrapreneurs – James Gardner, Innovation Excellence

Quick hit guiding principles for operating as an intrapreneur.

MYGY2TBBPRSW

Self Belief and Determination

The other reindeers may have mocked him and called him names, yet Rudolf maintained a sense of purpose and belief in his own abilities. He held an un-waving commitment to success, biding his time until conditions were appropriate to move his agenda forward. He didn’t let criticism faze him, instead holding stead-fast to his passions, goals and ambitions. By focussing on these and believing in his mission Rudolf was ultimately successful, going down in history.

Game-Changing, Innovative Thinking

Clearly Rudolf’s most prominent display of intrapreneurial behaviour was in creating an innovative solution to an immediate threat facing the organization, i.e. the foggy nature of that Christmas Eve was liable to cause significant disruption to service which would have led to a disgruntled and disenfranchised customer base. By using his glowing red nose to guide the sleigh that night, Rudolf employed a technical development to define a new way-of-working for the business which generated sustainable efficiencies, enabled faster delivery, and led to enhanced customer satisfaction.

Identifying and Utilising Key Assets

Rudolf was able to identify and maximise his key asset, his very shiny nose. This was central to his success and provided significant added-value to the organisation. Although the benefits of this weren’t apparent at first, a change in the external environment created the conditions where this asset became of immense value. Many innovations within business have historically been based on identifying new uses for existing assets, or where conditions have changed making it possible to leverage assets in a new way. Rudolf perfectly positioned his key asset to address an immediate change in conditions, resulting in increased value and delivering real innovation.

Leadership

Rudolf was able to harness his team and lead them towards a shared goal, i.e. the successful delivery of presents to girls and boys around the world. As the pinnacle of the team he had to set the direction and ensure that the other reindeers followed his lead whilst feeling valued members of a winning team. To achieve this it was imperative that they had belief and trust in him, which he earned through his passion, commitment and an inspiring vision. It was also important that Rudolf was able to gain the confidence and endorsement of senior management for his plans. This gave him the remit and scope to empower change.

Rudolf is a great example of a self-starter intrapreneur. He operated within an existing structure, yet was able to create his own legacy through determination, innovation and leadership, moving the organisation in a new direction to address an immediate threat and building a sustainable platform for success.

A Merry Christmas to Marketers and Intrapreneurs everywhere.

Moving outside of your remit allows you to expand your experience and grow your overall value as an employee. It enables you to view the organisation from beyond your functional role and area, such that you gain insights into, and appreciation for other aspects of the business. In this respect, you can extend your sphere of influence by building knowledge and understanding of other roles, functions and agendas throughout the company. It also increases the potential for you to garner information that is of value either in the operation of your current role, or which can support the extension and re-direction of your role to meet your personal growth agenda.

One of the key ways of redefining your role is to get involved in strategic projects and working groups that align to your interests and goals, or allow for increased exposure and influence within the organisation. As you engage with other individuals and teams, so awareness of your contribution and equity in your personal brand will grow. This can lead to new alliances, opportunities and resources that support you in your new direction, and in the achievement of your objectives. The more you engrain yourself across the business, the more valuable an asset you become.

Extending and re-defining your role can also lead to increased job satisfaction. The central tenet of defining your own role is to create one which is congruous with your personal interests, needs and ambitions. It also brings with it variety, new accomplishments and relationships, and the sense of purposefully moving forward to advance your career. The psychological rewards of striving for personal development, challenging your abilities, and developing your knowledge can ultimately bring greater satisfaction than the financial benefits and increased status that are also available.

The advantages are clear, yet re-interpreting, re-directing and extending your role definition requires fortitude, conviction and savviness if you are to be successful and avoid the pitfalls of over-extending and over-asserting. Making a sudden, seismic shift can be un-nerving to both yourself and those around you. Rather, take small steps to build confidence, learn and ensure that the new direction that you’re setting is correct before progressing forward. Here are my guiding principles for how to effectively define your own role:

• Don’t allow yourself to be typecast or pigeonholed
  To be able to define your own role, you must first have the scope to be able to do so. In modern business, it is very rare to be in a position where the options for development and expansion are so limiting that they create a state of impotence. Yet, we often find ourselves restricted by a seeming organisational reliance on the duties that our current role entails. More often than not this is perception, and we have the option to move beyond the parameters of our remit to areas where we can add both personal and company value. Key to developing your role is versatility: to be able to adapt and turn to a variety of endeavours and disciplines. This versatility prevents us from being typecast or pigeonholed into a specific role or function. A major factor in being held back from moving into new areas is the view that you’re too important to the business in your current capacity. Of course you want to be seen to excel, yet you should strive to achieve this whilst also demonstrating a degree of flexibility and a sense of exploration.

• Take time to consider and plan
  When looking to define your role, it’s important to have a considered plan before embarking on a programme of change. Wading into new areas before having fully assessed the implications and options can result in disengagement from others and damage to your reputation and brand. Look at where resources, power and the opportunities to add value reside within the business, and then aim to position yourself to take advantage of these. Are there projects or committees that you could volunteer for? What contacts do you need to create or relationships do you need to build? How do you get your plans and ideas in front of the right people? Are there any vehicles that you could use to build your profile and brand; for example, could you contribute to company blogs or newsletters? Are there social activities where you could start to mix with specific individuals or groups? And so forth.

• Understand and value the relevance of your existing role
  Defining your own role doesn’t necessarily mean re-inventing it. Ideally, you should first look to build on, and add value to your existing remit. You were hired to do a specific role because there was a fit between your experience, aptitudes and knowledge, and the requirements of the business at that particular point in time. Use this position as an asset; understand what you’re contributing and look at how this can be augmented before seeking to move out to areas where your skills and understanding are less developed.

• Play to your passions and strengths
  When assessing the opportunities and directions to re-position or re-focus your role, you should understand and look to utilise your personal core competencies, strengths and passions to maximum advantage. Although a major component of defining your own role is to build new knowledge, skills and expertise, the most immediate chance for success outside of your presently prescribed remit is to leverage the aspects that you’re already strong in. It’s also easier to find opportunities and vehicles for you to get involved with in related fields, such as cross-functional projects, steering committees, or advisory boards. Additionally, it’s important to define your role around areas that you’re interested in and have a specific passion for. You’re more likely to retain focus and commitment doing the things that you love, and hence be successful.

• Build your experience across job functions
  Many roles today cross functional boundaries, and in defining your own role, it’s important to build your awareness, knowledge and understanding of other disciplines in order to be able to gain access to, and have influence in, other areas of the business. By building cross-functional expertise you increase your value to the organisation through greater operational versatility, as well as more informed and insightful decision-making and  strategic thinking. Many companies now offer secondments, where opportunities exist to spend a defined period of time working in another function or geographic territory.

• Be vocal and establish a presence
  To be seen to be a success, you must first be seen. As professionals, we are paid to have views and opinions, but how can these be accepted if they aren’t expressed. By being vocal and  promoting your thinking and ideas you not only establish a presence, you also build the confidence of others and in so doing, gain the remit to define and build your role. A brand cannot exist unless people experience it, and that includes your personal brand. Look at the forums which are available to you and think of these as your ‘Marketing Mix’. This isn’t gratuitous self-promotion, rather a considered approach to gaining trust, acknowledgement and support for your plans.

• Take control of the decisions that move you forward
  Your career and personal development are your own responsibility first and foremost. As such, it is crucial to retain control over the decisions that move you forward. To achieve this, we must first be aware of the factors, plans and conversations which will or could impact us. Networking within the organisation is a key exercise to be able to get ahead of the curve, and gain valuable information and insight into pending changes and decisions. It can also be used to inject into these processes to move the conversation to your own agenda. Yes, this is playing politics, but show me an organisation where this really doesn’t exist. You should also be proactive with management when it comes to defining your role and career. If you don’t express how you feel and what you want to achieve, how can you rely on others to take your needs and views into consideration when making plans or decisions. We need to play the system to be able to move beyond it.

• Don’t stand still – re-define on the fly
  Defining your own role isn’t a one-off exercise. It takes a sustained commitment and focus to facilitate on-going and fundamental change. We must redefine on the fly if we’re to take advantage of the constant flux of today’s business. Build your neural pathways to sense change within the organisation and proactively position yourself to take action. By retaining flexibility, versatility and a conscious commitment to learning and self-improvement, the power is within you to extend the boundaries of your own role in new directions and to new heights.

Timing is everything in life and often we find ourselves in circumstances where our decisions and actions are conditioned by factors which aren’t necessarily out of our control, but which change the nature of the risks that we’re prepared to take. As we get older and start families we become responsible for others, and in so being have to consider their needs and wellbeing as we make decisions. Starting your own business entails significant personal financial risk, possibly a lack of income over a sustained period of time, emotional stress and a 24/7/365 commitment. None of these are necessarily conducive to balancing family life. Many successful entrepreneurs have been able to do this. Many haven’t. Some of these factors are consistent whether your an entrepreneur or intrapreneur – being an intrapreneur isn’t taking the easy option; it still entails considerable commitment and effort. Yet the dynamics are different. There is an element of stability and security when working for an organization, even in these uncertain times. The guarantee of a regular pay-check, ancillary benefits and the prospect that the company will still be operating for the foreseeable future, provide a foundation for the intrapreneur to maintain their lifestyle and well-being. This doesn’t mean that the intrapreneur isn’t a risk taker, a common characteristic associated with the entrepreneur. There are risks inherent in acting outside the parameters of your defined role, in trying something new, of raising your head above the parapet to be in the firing line.

Being a successful intrapreneur can offer significant rewards, both emotionally and financially. Part of the reward for the intrapreneur are the challenges faced and overcome, just as for the entrepreneur. It’s the thrill of the chase, the striving for success against the odds. The environment may be different, but the challenge to innovate, create and see a project through to its ultimate delivery can be just as rewarding when operating within an established organisation as when not. There is an intellectual satisfaction to be gained from thinking outside the norm, by being able to obtain and mobilise the necessary resources, and devising a strategy which delivers a successful conclusion. Similarly, proving yourself against your peers and colleagues generates a competitive sense of accomplishment; call this one-upmanship, but it is a basic human trait. Being an effective intrapreneur allows the individual to display their talents to the organisation and the world.

That’s not to say that there aren’t financial benefits to being an intrapreneur. As I outlined in my previous post ‘How To Be An Intrapreneur‘, creating a personal brand is a key component to operating effectively in this role; when this is the case, in conjunction with continuous successful delivery (or rather over-delivery in the case of the intrapreneur), opportunities for rapid career enhancement and financial reward are considerably heightened. By creating incremental value for the business within which they’re operating, the intrapreneur can, and often does, share in that value personally.

Some people simply prefer the environment of working within a larger organisation, the daily interactions and social aspects of being part of the larger group. Crucial to the intrapreneur’s make-up is working with and inspring others to strive towards a shared goal. Developing this sense of camaraderie and common purpose brings its own emotional rewards. To be a success, the intrapreneur has to engage with the organisation and, in so doing, shares in the rewards of being part of the whole. The trick is to simultaneously develop an identity and ‘non-conformity’ which allows the intrapreneur to a) innovate, b) hack the system in order to get things done, and c) stand out from the crowd. An intrepreneur cannot succeed alone, and the benefits of forming, melding, driving and fundamentally being part of a team are reward itself.

The intrapreneur has historically been perceived as a corporate animal, but they are far from being the corporate drone. Many of the attributes and behaviours of the intrapreneur are consistent with those of the entrepreneur, and in this respect many of the satisfactions and rewards are the same. By being an instigator, catalyst and driver for moving a business forward, the intrapreneur is positioning him or herself to share in the fruits of this achievement.

Most executives merely use the SWOT as a method of grouping factors into the 4 buckets, with limited conscious effort to align internal Strengths to specific external Opportunities, or to understand Weaknesses in regard to mitigating Threats. In this respect, the SWOT doesn’t provide a progression in it’s strategic development. I’d therefore like to put forward the SCOPE planning model for consideration as an alternative to SWOT:

S – SITUATION: Rear-view pertaining conditions which have a relevant and material impact on the planning decision with regards to internal or external environmental factors.

C – CORE COMPETENCIES: Unique strengths and abilities of the business which provide the fundamental basis for the provision of added value to customers and are critical to the delivery of competitive advantage.

O – OBSTACLES: Potential issues and threats that could jeopardize the realisation of future Prospects.

P – PROSPECTS: Possibilities, chances and opportunities existing both internally or externally to the business which have an apparent probability of enhanced sales and / or profits created through the leveraging of its Core Competencies.

E – EXPECTATIONS: Future-view anticipated developments in internal and external conditions that could materially influence or impact the delivery of plans to meet the identified Prospects.

The SCOPE Planning Model

SCOPE retains many similarities to SWOT, yet allows extra freedom to present additional information and reflections pertinent to the planning process.

The Situation provides an outline and understanding of the prevailing conditions upon which the strategic plan is to be developed. It should consider both internal and external factors which have led the business to its current status, and which have a bearing on the identification of future opportunities, trends and plans.

Core Competencies are specific factors that a business sees as being central to the way it operates which fulfil 3 key criteria:
1. Are not easy for competitors to imitate, i.e. are unique
2. Can be leveraged across products and markets
3. Contribute to the end consumer’s experienced benefits, i.e. add value
In these respects, Core Competencies provide the fundamental basis for the business achieving a competitive advantage in it’s defined market given the pertaining conditions.

Obstacles may be either internal or external, and reflect specific issues which need to be addressed if the business is to realise future Prospects. In this respect, they shouldn’t necessarily be defined as either a “Weakness” or “Threat” but rather be perceived as hurdles to the plan to be overcome over the duration. “Weaknesses” imply longer-term systemic issues causing a strategic disadvantage. Obstacles are shorter-term situations that need to be resolved.

Prospects are chances for the business to create additional sales and / or profits by taking advantage of its Core Competencies in the context of its Situation. Identification of Prospects provides the foundation for both goal setting and strategic development going forward.

Expectations reflect anticipated developments, i.e. what does the planner see happening in the future which could have either a direct or indirect influence on the execution of the plan and achievement of the defined Prospects. What are the key predications that will have a bearing on the plan? These can be both quantifiable and subjective, providing the planner with an appreciation of and insights into the future on which to direct their strategic thinking.

SCOPE is not intended to be a replacement for SWOT. It is not necessarily better. It merely provides an alternative way of categorising the factors upon which strategic development can take place. It enables us to structure our analysis and thinking for framing the context on which to develop strategies and plans in a naturally progressive fashion.

Goal-Setting
Cavendish and the GB cycle team identified the World Championships in Copenhagen 2011 as their target as soon as the course was announced 3 years ago. They immediately identified that all the ‘vectors’ for success were aligned: a flat course that favoured Cavendish’s strengths with the likelihood of a pack sprint finish, timing in that the event was a year before the London Olympics, and that they had a sufficient period to plan and build the necessary team to deliver. They set their sights and fixed on this clearly defined goal.

Planning
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Chris Boardman won Britain’s first cycling gold medal since the Antwerp Olympics of 1920. In Beijing 2008, British cyclists captured seven of the ten track cycling gold medals on offer and 14 medals in total. This amazing transformation is no coincidence and is down to the meticulous planning for which British cycling has become renowned and is now the global hallmark. Team GB management, led by Performance Director David Brailsford, carefully set goals for each member of the team individually and tailored to their situation. They nurture their pool of talent paying specific and ongoing attention to each rider’s needs. They also ensure that the necessary resources are in place to enable success, be that brilliant coaches, cutting-edge bike technology, top-drawer medical back-up, and the innovative use of forensic psychiatrists. The attempt to gain Cavendish the World title was part of these plans and delivered through the same rigour and attention to detail.

Dedication
Anyone who has seen the Lance Armstrong documentary ‘Road To Paris’ will testify to the level of dedication that is required to be a professional cyclist, let alone a World Champion such as Cavendish. Hours and thousands of kilometers of cycling, in all conditions, all year round, are required to meet the challenges of this most testing and arduous of sports. Every detail is considered, prepared and practiced.

Building A Team
Although Mark Cavendish got the glory of becoming World Champion, road cycling is a team sport and his success was also down to the team assembled around him. As part of the planning for the 2011 World Championships, it was imperative that a world-beating overall group of 8 riders was assembled, as well as the wider backroom staff, coaches, mechanics, cooks, etc. The GB team that competed was the strongest ever assembled, including not only Cavendish, but also 2 Olympic Gold medalists, Gerraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins, and Tour de France Yellow Jersey wearer, David Millar.

Team-Work
In the event itself, it was crucial that the 8 riders worked as a unit, each with their own defined roles focused on ultimately playing the “final pass” to Cavendish to strive for victory in the home straight. In road cycling, each member of the team has an assigned job to do during an event; they work together, constantly communicating and making tactical decisions as situations evolve around them, protecting their leader and positioning him so that at the end of 266km of riding, he is ready to hit the front in the last few yards. Cavendish won by a wheel’s width.

Discipline
The team, guided strategically by David Millar in the absence of radio communication, spent much of the race playing a restrained waiting game as all kinds of attacks developed around them. They were able to dictate the pace of the race and defend against break-away attacks which would have negated Cavendish’s chances. They had a clear game-plan which ultimately resulted in Cavendish being in the perfect position to launch the final attack as he exploded to the line with his trademark sprint finish. The win was not only the result of stringent planning but also tactical adaptation during the event itself. The teams discipline saw them place Cavendish in the perfect position to go for victory where his individual skills are un-paralleled.

Leadership
For a team to have so much dedication and commitment in the achievement of a goal where the ultimate plaudits are largely lauded on an individual, requires a highly motivating and inspirational leader. The GB team have this in Mark Cavendish. The other 7 riders were prepared to work individually and together for the prize of Cavendish becoming World Champion. It was significant that in his media interviews he not only paid tribute to his team, but squarely put the glory on their shoulders: ”The team all rode out of their skins today. It’s a shame they can’t wear the world champion’s jersey as well. I’ve won the jersey, but I just put the finishing touches to the mission.” Similarly, the other riders talked passionately about their commitment to Cavendish, as well as Team GB. Cavendish leads from the front, he sets the example for others to follow, as well as being inclusive in the way he embraces others to bring them along with him in the pursuit of his and his teams goals.

Photo: Qsimple @ Flickr

It’s important to stress that it has to be genuine and done with sincerity; it cannot be delivered or received as a throw away line where you’re just going through the motions. It’s key to make the audience see that you’re asking the question for their benefit, in which case it has a number of effects:

• It provides a positive conclusion to the meeting where your audience feels that you’ve listened, engaged and have taken their agenda onboard;
• It elicits a clear action coming out of the meeting for follow-up; it makes your audience actually think about what their own objectives for the meeting are – what are they asking / wanting from you coming out of the discussion? Ultimately it will make the attendees plan for the question before they go into the meeting, with the expectation that there will be the opportunity to present you with specific requests.
• It signifies to the other party that you don’t consider the conversation to be an isolated event and that you’ll be committing to continue your engagement going forward.

“What do you need from me?” is a simply way of building credibility, engagement and endorsement internally, externally and throughout your networking endeavors.

By not taking risks you accept the status quo. You can’t invent and innovate by doing what’s always been done. To move outside the box and come up with new approaches requires taking risks. However, ‘risk’ has come to imply negativity, suggesting connotations of danger, tension and loss. Like it or not, taking risks is an inevitable and inescapable part of business and life, yet few people know how to manage risk taking effectively. Many companies claim to embrace risk and not to have a “blame culture” – but does this actually manifest itself in reality? Is there the culture for individuals and teams to be able to take short-term risks to ultimately generate long-term gain? To this end, here are 10 principles for individuals and companies to foster risk taking in business:

1. Build a Knowledge Base
The key to intelligent and rewarding risk taking is preparation. However, to maximize success preparation shouldn’t start at the point when you’re faced with an imminent risk taking dilemma. The continual gathering of learnings and experience enables us to face risks with a foundation on which to base our decisions and actions. In this respect, we build a base of knowledge from previous outcomes in similar or related situations: what conditions led to success or failure; what were the implications of each outcome; how could things have been done differently to generate alternative scenarios? We are subconsciously building this knowledge base as we progress through our careers and lives; yet by consciously focussing and committing to learn from every experience, we better prepare ourselves for the risks that we are faced with in the future, allowing quicker and more informed decision making often when we have limited time to make a call. It’s important to also consider the opinions of advisors; people who’ve been there before. Tap into their knowledge bases to help you better understand the nature of the risk being faced.

2. Understanding the Environment and Pertaining Conditions
Every risk that you take will be different. Building a knowledge base gives you a grounding on which to start your decision making process, yet it is imperative that you also understand the environment and pertaining conditions as they relate to that specific risk at that point in time. Gather as much intelligence as possible about the factors that could effect the outcome of the risk: what are these, what is their current state, how could they change, what would the implications of changes to these be, how likely is it that these changes will happen? By understanding the dynamics of a risk, you’re in a much better position to successfully predict the outcome.

3. Conduct a Thorough Assessment
Risk taking isn’t recklessness; it should be measured, considered and, where possible, planned. Understand what has to be done in order to succeed. All risks are not equal; before taking any risk you should outline and weigh up the balance between risk and reward. Based on your knowledge base and understanding of the conditions, what do you consider are the odds of success? How do these compare to the size of possible reward? The matrix below segments risk decisions into 4 categories depending on the relationship between risk and reward; by conducting a thorough assessment of these 2 factors you should consider the nature of the risk: the chances of success compared with the potential gain or loss. Your decision making criteria then comes down to your tolerance for risk in that particular situation – how much tension and stress are you willing and prepared to take?

The Risk – Reward Matrix

4. Consider the Implications
Before taking any risk, you need to research and factor the cons, not just the pros. It’s as important to consider what failure would look like and it’s implications, as it is to see the prize of success. By understanding what you could lose and accepting that, can you understand your tolerance for the risk.

If you do not have the time to determine what the downside is, pass on the opportunity.

5. Ask Can and Should You Mitigate?
Risks are seldom fixed, despite how it may appear at the time. If you look at the situation objectively, there are often ways to decrease the downside and reduce the risk. Can you break the risk down into smaller, safer steps that are more within your tolerance? Is there the opportunity to ‘hedge’ the bet, i.e. to counter-balance a particular risk with another in order to increase the overall odds of success? Don’t bet the farm if you don’t have to.

6. Trust Your Gut
Risk taking isn’t a ‘leap of faith’, but gut instinct ultimately plays a part in the decision making process; learn to feel and trust your gut – more often than not it will be correct. If your instincts and mind don’t agree, stop and try to understand what could be causing the disparity. Instincts are often the results of information missed by the conscious mind. Listen to the voice inside, intuition is the noise of the subconscious. If, despite all of the positive information something stills feels wrong, think twice.

“Follow your instincts, that’s where true wisdom manifests itself.” – Oprah Winfrey

7. Believe in Yourself
If a risk is right for you, don’t let reason get in the way of passion. A “right risk” isn’t a function of safety or security, it’s a function of compatibility – a risk that’s right for you may not be for someone else. Believe in yourself, your abilities, your gut, your goals. Every risk can be split into two: the risk of action and the risk of inaction. The real harm in risk taking often comes in letting the opportunity pass by.

8. Play The Long Game
Rewarding risk taking is about playing the long game; to look far enough ahead to be able to see the ultimate prize. Fearing short-term failure and loss is normal, yet successful risk-takers focus on long-term gains. We will often lose individual bets, but the primary goal is to make a return over the duration. As risk takers, we must face our trepidations of short-term loss and accept that this doesn’t constitute failure. If we make lots of calculated gambles where the odds are favourable we will often lose individual bets, but in the long-term we’ll make a positive return.

9. Build a Risk Tolerance
If we play the long-term game and adopt a strategy of making a multitude of considered short-term risks, over time we become more attuned and confident in our risk-taking capacity. In this respect, taking risks becomes such a part of who we are that it actually develops into our comfort zone. Our tolerance to risk increases. That’s not to say that we become reckless; as we become more familiar with risk we start to have a better ‘feel’, to understand the nuances of playing the odds, and have a greater capacity to take calculated gambles.

10. Have a Back-Up Plan
What’s the contingency plan? You won’t succeed all of the time and you need to understand and be prepared for the downside in every risk. The contingency plan needs to start with the question, “If the worst were to happen, what can I do to recover?” By considering the implications of losing and having a plan, you’ll be better prepared to take your next risk in order to ultimately prevail in the long-term.

1. Be Self Aware

Know, understand and learn to leverage your strengths and weaknesses. Focus on your achievements and consider what factors drove you to success in those cases; how can these same practices be applied to your current role and situation to achieve success? Admit your previous mistakes, but understand how you can profit from them – what could you have done differently to bring about a positive outcome? Only by knowing where you are, can you create a path to where you need to be.

To maximise your potential as an Intrapreneur you must know your passions, what do you love doing? How can you marry these to the achievement of your personal goals and to the goals of the organisation?

By having awareness of your own skills, competencies and expertise you can then surround yourself with people who provide complimentary abilities to maximum your own effectiveness. A big misnomer of the Intrapreneur is that they act alone. In reality, an Intrapreneur cannot be successful without mobilising others around them. To achieve this you must understand how you fit into the team equation, where you can most bring value, and where your talents will best shine through.

2. Have a Success Focus

An Intrapreneur is un-waving in their drive for success. The path to achievement is never straight. There will be hurdles, knock-backs and rejections which must be overcome if the Intrapreneur is to attain their personal and the company’s ambitions. Intrapreneurs have the confidence in their abilities and what they’re doing to be able to see the job through.

If you don’t have confidence in yourself, how do you expect others to have confidence in you?

But the Intrapreneur doesn’t rest on their laurels. To achieve your potential you must commit to constant improvement. Develop a need for learning and up-skilling to provide you with the knowledge and tools to grow your capabilities and remit.

3. Define Your Own Role

One of the defining characteristics of the Intrapreneur is that they don’t confine themselves to the parameters of their prescribed role. The art of the Intrapreneur is to create an expanded job that leverages their strengths, whilst adding greater value to the organisation overall. Only by moving beyond their remit can they accomplish their elevated goals, build their personal brand, and innovate in product and project delivery.

4. Become A Resource Squirrel

Extending beyond their role necessitates Intrapreneurs to acquire and leverage additional resources from inside and outside of their organisation. To support and fuel a project or innovation requires human, financial and material resources which for the Intrapreneur aren’t readily available. One of the benefits of operating as an Intrapreneur is that you do so within an existing business which provides the environment for you to innovate. That’s not to say that this organisation is either set-up to facilitate your intrapreneurialism, or has the resources readily available to support it. It is up to you to identify, hunt, secure and activate those resources for the advancement of your endeavour. Doing so requires you to understand your company, its systems and its politics, to be able to develop the relationships and endorsements required to gain buy-in for your project, and to have the negotiation skills to acquire the necessary backing.

5. Hack The System

Our everyday business lives are filled with incumbent systems, procedures and tools that simply don’t work. They’re constraining, inefficient and block the development of new, better ways-of-working. The Intrapreneur is a hacker at heart. They find the loops in the system; the paths to get around the blocks.

This isn’t hacking in the disruptive sense but the creative. It’s about the development of new and better processes and methods that lead to increased efficiency, new thinking and ideas, and ultimately new products and ways of doing business.

6. Be Prepared to Take Risks

By not taking risks you accept the status quo. You can’t invent and intraprenate by doing what’s always been done. To move outside the box, to innovate and come up with new approaches requires taking risks. Risk taking isn’t recklessness; it should be measured, considered and, where possible, planned.

Successful risk taking entails having a clear understanding of the environment and pertaining conditions, conducting a thorough assessment of the possible outcomes given all scenarios, consideration of the implications for both success and failure, and a knowledge of the most likely outcomes born of experience, training and learning. In this respect, risk taking isn’t a ‘leap of faith’, but gut instinct ultimately plays a part in the decision making process; the Intrapreneur learns to feel and trust their gut – more often than not it will be correct.

7. Create Your Personal Brand

An Intrapreneur is an expert in self promotion. That’s not to say you should take every opportunity to “big yourself up”; personal branding requires subtlety. Look for opportunities to gain positive exposure for your work and initiatives, without being self congratulatory. Understand the vehicles of internal communication within your business, both formal and informal, and identify for ways to inject your message. Are there internal blogs that you can contribute to? Can you provide updates on your projects through newsletters or in team meetings? Be creative if you want to gain real standout.

It’s important to develop your personal brand from within. Be clear on the message that you’re looking to portray. What impression do you want to leave on others? Being an Intrapreneur doesn’t equate to being a mercenary – remember, an Intrapreneur can’t achieve success alone, they must work with and mobilise others to achieve their goals.

8. Network

Be politically savvy to create strategic alliances beyond your specific job function. Know how your company operates and who the key players are. Networking for the Intrapreneur has 3 key objectives: 1) to facilitate the securing of incremental resources, 2) to gain exposure for your personal brand, and 3) to communicate the benefits and successes of your project, thus securing buy-in and endorsement to make the path to success smoother.

An Intrepreneur must be prepared to work collaboratively outside their boundaries, readily building cross-functional relationships. An Intrapreneur is a leader; to achieve success they must mobilise those around them towards their personal and ultimately mutual goals.

9. Be Heard

In order to be successful, you must be seen to be successful…seen, and heard. To be an Intrapreneur you must have ideas and opinions; but to make these a reality they need to be communicated. This means participating during meetings – be vocal – share. Don’t be a “black box”. Again, this is part of personal branding; brands exist through every touch point with their audience. There’s no down time when building your personal Intrapreneur brand.

10. Make Time to Think and Plan

Understand what’s working and what’s not, consider how you can take your contribution to the next level. Build dedicated time into your schedule to take a step back, assess and plan. An Intrapreneur constantly moves forward, but without setting a direction, forward may not be an advancement.