7 reasons why intrapreneurship culture doesn't work

The Dreamscape vs Reality

Current circumstances force large organisation leaders, corporate vice presidents, business unit general managers or even product managers to shift their way of thinking backwards in terms of the product scale and start to think as a startup more often. So, in the electric pulse of the business world, a chorus reverberates from the walls of old-guard corporations: "We're the new startup on the block! Innovation is our lifeblood!" It’s as if the grand old companies of yesteryears have donned the attire of the modern-day maverick, hopeful and ambitious. That takes us already to problem number one.

I'm a part of a digital watering hole — a popular comms channel with over 40 ex-intrapreneurs. All of us once entered these corporate wonderlands with stars in our eyes. The thought? "With these resources, I can change lives!" The reality? Some of them morphed into consultants (like me), some have changed their jobs multiple times and some have become millionaires, but not thanks to launching a venture inside their company. The why is a tapestry of reasons:

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Problem 1: Leaning on the hype cycle without a plan and preparation

To start with, the definition of intrapreneurship itself is blurry. While entrepreneurship pertains to the creation of new enterprises and assumes the associated risks, intrapreneurship is usually free from the typical financial risks that entrepreneurs bear. Thus, equating intrapreneurial endeavours with entrepreneurial ventures seems like a stretch. But what if it's just a well-scripted drama to woo the tech-savvy generation?

Companies that don't understand how to prepare their employees to become intrapreneurs shouldn't invest in innovative culture at all, as it's only going to bring costs, lowering business profitability, slowing down operations, lowering employee satisfaction... you don't want to do that. If you want to understand how to prepare people to become intrapreneurs, go here.

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Problem 2: The Start-up masquerade

Problem number 2 is directly linked to results of inappropriate resource and program management. In other words, it's a repercussion of falling into the first problem and not going out of it on time.

At first glance, it’s tempting to believe that all the tech giants praising the idea of intrapreneurship are genuinely reinventing themselves. But peel back the curtain, and what's unveiled? A frantic scramble to magnetize the luminous talent shaping the future — a future inextricably linked to tech. Sometimes, with snazzy office revamps, chill dress codes, grand budgets, and global impact dreams, these firms manage to net entrepreneurial prodigies. And these intrapreneurial champions? They’re showcased like golden trophies, heralded as the company's North Star.

Inspired by Christensen's "Innovator’s Dilemma," enterprises erect hipster work havens. Gone are dreary cubicle mazes. Instead, picture swanky espresso machines, beanbags, whiteboards sprawling with genius, post-its in a frenzy, and the ubiquitous silver apple devices. Autonomous kingdoms for these teams to reshape the future. A dream? Almost. But dreams have a tendency to shatter.

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Problem 3: The ownership problem.

Entrepreneurs chase solutions with a burning zeal, powered by personal stakes in their brainchild. They aren’t wired to merely hand off ideas at a milestone. Absent this burning sense of ownership, their fire dwindles amidst corporate jungles. One reason to this is the fact that there is almost no company in the world that would've figured out the problem of the ownership. ‍

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Problem 4: The Successful Idea Conundrum

If by chance, an intrapreneur strikes gold, what ensues? Instead of gearing up for exponential growth, they face the dreaded "IT" handover, where ideas often perish in the quagmire of red tape and misaligned priorities. This is why a company needs structures and processes, before running any intrapreneurship initiatives. I can't tell how many times have I heard stories about wasted opportunities because of the bad, misleading bureaucratic procedures, often caused by internal turf wars an politics.

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Problem 5: Integration chaos

Remember AOL’s “black turtleneck” squad? Innovation teams often birth ideas, leaving implementation to others. Result? Friction, resentment, and a chasm of misunderstanding. This problem is very much related to inner organisation silos. A meta-analysis of the available research on siloed business unit operations in large organisations reveals that this problem has a direct negative impacts on company development in the long-term. Silos refer to business units that operate in isolation, without effective communication or collaboration with other units. In order to avoid integration chaos, a company should carefully investigate potential issues with inner communication, cooperation and everything else related to silos problem.

Here is a checklist of all company metrics that should be analysed prior to establishing intrapreneurship culture.

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Problem 6: The Curse of External Glitter

Very often, companies rely on external consultants to back up their innovation strategy assumptions, carry out strategic foresight or do technology scouting based on their portfolio. As long as this can be a good idea (to some extend) the first time you attempt to define your strategic innovation goals, plan etc., relying on consulting firms to watch over strategic innovation execution is the same thing as you would decide to outsource your whole sales organisation. Just like your sales people should know the product, strategy, values and target market best, it's your intrapreneurs who should own the value of their innovations.

The cruel irony? Intrapreneurs are hailed as saviours, only until external consultants echo their words. The outsider's voice, for some inexplicable reason, carries more weight, dousing the intrapreneur's enthusiasm. That's why so many people become consultants nowadays.

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Problem 7: Lack of community support model and fear of cultural shifts.

The crux? Companies and entrepreneurial souls are at an impasse. Without a seismic cultural shift that infuses innovation across all strata and rewards it appropriately, this dance is doomed. This is where Intranove comes in with the Community of Practice concept, focused on the human-centric cultural shift.

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Let's start with the basics. At its heart, the Community is like the opening act of a concert, setting the mood and energy for everything that follows. Without this tight-knit community vibe, other parts of this innovation gig might just fall flat.

CoP is all about giving folks a judgement-free zone. Picture this: a space where you can let your wildest, wackiest, and most out-of-the-box ideas fly without a hint of side-eye. The reason? Creativity thrives where folks can be open and vulnerable. And it gets better: this isn't just about idea generation. CoP makes sure your fresh thoughts aren't coloured by company biases. So, no more shooting down ideas because "that's not how our unit does things". The CoP isn't just a fancy brainstorming club. It's like a hot pot of individuals who think alike, ready to help each other out. By pooling together diverse skills and expertise, complex problems aren't so complex anymore. In other words, many hands (and brains) make light and innovative work.

Alright, so let's say your company is bubbling with ideas and have a crew to back everything up. What's next? The Innovation Workshops Course. It’s a complete intrapreneurship masterclass, turning anyone with a passion into a bona fide innovator. Not only does it arm you with the tools to breathe life into an early business idea, but it also tackles the often-frustrating tug-of-war between individual contributors and middle management. Speaking more clearly - we prepare everyone in the company to be able to build a proper business case based on their idea. We teach everything from ideation to the investment pitch.

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Keep It Real: Ditch the Bells and Whistles, and Innovate for Humans

Ever noticed how innovators aren’t really fond of tons of rules? It’s like telling a bird not to fly. And let’s be honest, drop a huge manual on someone’s desk and you’ll probably hear a groan before you get to the door.

Here's the fresh scoopWe're not about wrapping innovators in red tape "Execs, get your act together and understand innovation resources.” Whereas, to innovators we say: "Here's how you judge your cool ideas; now, go make magic!" It’s as if they’re setting the stage but letting the artists paint their masterpieces.

Roll back to 1973, and Fritz Schumacher was already dropping some knowledge bombs. He penned down “Small is Beautiful: A study of Economics as if people mattered” - catchy title, right? He was onto the idea that super-sizing technology would lead to, well, a mess. Flash-forward to today, and he wasn’t wrong. Companies are so chopped up into bits and pieces that no one knows what the other arm is doing!

In simple terms, when everything's massive, people feel like tiny cogs in a machine. Nobody wants that. Not to mention, the environment gets a raw deal.

Fritz saw the future in two types of innovators:

1. The ones going full steam ahead, all about the big, the flashy, the noisy.
2. The “homecomers”, bringing it back to basics, focusing on what people really need.

And guess what? The latter? They're the real MVPs. It's easy to make things gigantic and flashy. But to simplify, to refine? That’s where the genius lies.