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In Greek mythology, Prometheus, a wise Titan whose name means "foresight," defied Zeus by gifting fire to humans, an act that revolutionised our civilization. Fire became a symbol of progress, providing the tools for growth and the spark for <keyword id="94495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="innovation" source="Orion">innovation</keyword>. This ancient tale mirrors the modern concept of <keyword id="3946833" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="intrapreneurship" source="Orion">intrapreneurship</keyword>—the process of fostering innovation within established companies. Intrapreneurship encourages an entrepreneurial mindset by providing staff with resources, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities, enhancing innovation in ideas, products, and processes.<br /><br />While startups are often seen as the hub of groundbreaking ideas, some of the most transformative innovations come from within the walls of larger organisations. These corporations, however, often face bureaucratic hurdles that slow progress. Intrapreneurship breaks down these barriers by giving employees the freedom and resources to experiment. Under strong leadership, companies can foster a culture of trust, empowering teams to solve problems creatively and drive growth.<br /><br /><h2>Nurturing the intrapreneurial spirit</h2>One of the key components of successful intrapreneurship is providing employees with a sense of ownership and autonomy. This approach taps into the vast potential within the workforce, unlocking creativity that might otherwise remain dormant in a traditional corporate structure. It encourages risk-taking and creative problem-solving, boosting innovation and enhancing employee engagement and satisfaction.<br /><br />Take 3M for example, Spencer Silver’s discovery of a unique adhesive led to the creation of the iconic Post-it note, despite initial skepticism.Yet, the company’s intrapreneurial environment allowed for exploration, leading to the development of a product that revolutionised communication. <br /><br />Similarly, Lockheed Martin’s ‘Skunk Works’ is a division that operates with the agility of a startup within the larger organisation. Skunk Works’ autonomy has resulted in numerous aerospace innovations, including stealth technology and fighter jets. <br /><br />These examples underscore the transformative potential of intrapreneurial freedom, where exploration leads to groundbreaking products and industry-shifting advancements. By giving employees space to explore ideas beyond their day-to-day tasks, organisations tap into a wealth of innovation, allowing intrapreneurs to flourish.<br /><br /><h2>The essence of intrapreneurship</h2>Innovation requires trial and error, and not every idea will succeed. The best environments for intrapreneurship are those that embrace failure as part of the learning process. Companies like Intel and Tesla have thrived by viewing setbacks as growth opportunities. <br /><br />In the 1980s, Intel faced a major crossroads when internal innovators identified a larger market opportunity and advocated for a shift from memory chips to microprocessors. They embraced potential failure with this pivot, which though risky, propelled Intel to become a leader in the tech industry. <br /><br />Tesla, known for its continuous drive for innovation, encourages its teams to experiment and push boundaries. Elon Musk’s willingness to accept failures along the path to innovation has led to significant breakthroughs, like the development of electric vehicles and space exploration technology.<br /><h2>Collaboration: The key to creative synergy</h2>Intrapreneurs don’t work in isolation. True innovation happens when employees collaborate across departments, combining different skills and perspectives to tackle complex challenges<br /><br />IBM’s Watson, a cognitive computing system, is a prime example of what can happen when cross-functional teams come together. Engineers, data scientists, and non-technical staff worked collaboratively to create a groundbreaking technology that has since been used in fields ranging from healthcare to finance. <br /><br />Facebook’s famous "hackathons" foster cross-departmental innovation. These 24-hour events allow employees to work on passion projects outside of their usual responsibilities, resulting in successful product features like the "Like" button. The melding of expertise has led to breakthroughs that might not have been possible within traditional silos.<br /><br /><h2>Intrapreneurship: Driving growth from within</h2>Innovation is more than generating ideas—it’s about bringing those ideas to life. Intrapreneurship provides a framework for turning creative concepts into reality. Just as Prometheus defied convention to give humanity the gift of fire, intrapreneurs challenge the status quo to drive progress within their organisations. By fostering a culture of risk-taking, collaboration, and continuous learning, companies can ignite the innovation that fuels long-term growth.<br /><br />Continuous support in the form of funding, mentorship, and resources is crucial for intrapreneurship to thrive. In today's <keyword id="6355515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="business" source="Orion">business</keyword> landscape, nurturing the intrapreneurial spirit is essential for companies striving to remain competitive and relevant. Encouraging collaboration across departments and providing autonomy to explore new ideas can lead to breakthroughs that fuel an organisation's success. As Prometheus’s fire illuminated the path to human progress, so too can the spark of intrapreneurship light the way toward a brighter future for businesses. <br /><br /><em>Disclaimer: This article is authored by </em><em>Manoj Nair</em><em>,</em><em>AVP &amp; Global Head of Marketing, Corporate Strategy &amp; Risk, Infosys BPM.</em> <em>The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Insider India. </em><em>This article is published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on </em><a href="mailto:insiderstudios@businessinsider.in"><em>insiderstudios@businessinsider.in</em></a><em>.</em>

Ignite the fire of innovation: The intrapreneurship advantage

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Simone Ahuja</span></p><p class="caption">Simone Ahuja is the founder of advisory firm Blood Orange.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Legacy companies challenged by new startups are rushing to create cultures of innovation internally in the hopes it will spur the next great product offering. Many of those efforts, however, fail to produce results. </li><li>To tackle the challenge, organizations are turning to intrapreneurs, a relatively new role within companies that is responsible for helping to lead and build excitement around innovation projects. </li><li>Organizations should start on their innovation journey by analyzing where they are currently and the ideal "future state," according to Simone Ahuja, found of advisory firm Blood Orange, which has advised companies like UnitedHealth Group on its own intrapreneurial efforts. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime content</a>.</li></ul><p>When Procter &amp; Gamble wanted try to disrupt the household insecticide market, it relied on a smaller, more nimble team to develop <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/p-g-in-search-of-new-markets-is-going-after-bugs-11562578207">Zevo</a>, a kid-and-pet-friendly product that was initially purchased as a startup by the company in 2017. </p><p>It's a testament to the ability of the Cincinatti-based consumer goods maker to find new ways to spur research and development across its <a href="http://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NYSE_PG_2018.pdf">92,000 employees</a>. Zevo, for example, began selling in Target earlier this year. It's also an inceasingly common strategy. Legacy companies <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/technology-transforming-future-of-healthcare-intro-2019-4">challenged by a surge</a> of nimble startups <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-mm-parent-company-mars-incorporateds-two-accelerator-programs-2019-9">are rushing to try to create cultures of innovation</a> internally in the hopes it will spur new competitive offerings. </p><p>But among companies that have invested in so-called "innovation units," only 23% say it has yieled a successful product, according to a <a href="https://www.ieseinsight.com/fichaMaterial.aspx?pk=149398&amp;idi=2&amp;origen=1&amp;ar=16&amp;buscador=1&amp;general=agility">recent study</a>. That's a whopping 77% fail rate.</p><p>Hence the need for the "intrapreneur"- a word <a href="https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/candlepwr/a-very-enterprising-suffix/">coined in 1978</a> but freshly relevant in large companies as they recast themselves as tech firms. The intrapraneur is the visionary, cheerleader, and cross-functional coach who advocates for, and pushes along, innovation efforts. But, as CTOs have<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-gani-humana-cto-turned-behavr-founder-on-corporate-innovation-2019-9"> told us</a>, the very environment of an organization can stymy the innovation that's being sought. </p><p>For many companies, the biggest challenge is figuring out how to begin, according to Simone Ahuja, founder of advisory firm Blood Orange and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Disrupt-Yourself-Better-Business-Before-Competition-ebook/dp/B07BB5FS2S">intrapreneurship guidebook</a> "Disrupt-It-Yourself."</p><p>"When I talk to leaders about innovation generally, they are kind of overwhelmed," she told Business Insider. "They don't know what to do, they don't know where to start."</p><p>Ahuja, who advised companies like UnitedHealth Group and Stanley Black &amp; Decker on internal innovation efforts, outlined the four-step checklist organizations should consider when aiming to formalize their own programs. </p><h2>Be clear on the innovation strategy</h2><p>A company's innovation strategy should be an overarching set of principles that are used to guide efforts across the organization.</p><p>The first step for executives, according to Ahuja, is figuring out where the company is currently and the ideal "future state." That can include a move from an environment where leaders don't micromanage to one where they say "yes" more often to riskier projects. </p><p>Formalizing that process, however, requires buy-in from the top, according to Ahuja. That's why the conversation will typically start with a group of high-level executives. But that doesn't mean completely ignoring the rest of the company. </p><p>"The mandate starts with senior leadership, but immediately we go across the organization to find out how to define this vision for the future," said Ahuja.</p><p><em><strong>Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ibms-watson-head-outlines-model-for-successful-digital-overhaul-2019-10">The head of IBM's Watson walks us through the exact model tech leaders can use to build excitement around any AI project</a></strong></em></p><p>All overarching goals should also include smaller, more specific action-items to make execution easier so individuals don't feel overwhelmed. </p><p>"This is where everybody seems to get stuck. Give them some very, very tangible things that they can dive into. Or better yet, ask them to create it," she added. </p><p>Say a company wants to make it less risky for employees to pursue projects outside the scope of their daily jobs. One immediate action item could be finding several examples of other organizations that have such a culture and figuring out what makes it succeed.</p><h2>Launch an 'intrapreneur protection program'</h2><p>One of the most difficult tasks for companies is figuring out how to incorporate intraprenuers into the organizational structure.</p><p>Legacy firms are typically built on rigid structures to give employees a clear path towards advancements. But if organizations are trying to create a more innovation-driven culture, workers could be spending more time outside of their regular job tasks on initiatives that may or may not succeed. Organizations must assure employees that, if a project does fail, they won't lose their job. </p><p>"Senior leaders can ask for it but then the question becomes, 'Why should I take this risk? I'm not being measured for this,'" said Ahuja. "It's almost like you need an intrapreneur protection program."</p><p>One way to do that is to tout examples of projects that didn't go to market - or went to market and failed - but provided valuable information for future efforts. Another is ensuring that those employees who drift from their daily job tasks are able to re-enter the more formal organizational structure when their projects wrap up. That becomes easier as companies promote more of those individuals to senior management roles. </p><p>The most successful intrapreneurs "are the ones that had the air cover from leaders who are also kind of intrapreneurial," Ahuja said.</p><h2>Create the right intrapreneurial team</h2><p>Another key question that executives must answer is whether to hire externally to help lead innovation-heavy projects or to appoint someone internally.</p><p>For so-called "core innovation" efforts, or those that don't carry a large amount of risk, Ahuja says internal teams are fine. For initiatives that go beyond the scope of incremental improvements, like the creation of an internal startup accelerator, it's more necessary to bring in outside experts.</p><p>"This is one of the most challenging and artful pieces of innovation because a lot of it is just testing and trying it out," said Ahuja.</p><p>But external hires - even those with a strong track record of success or were past leaders at companies viewed as leading the innovation charge, <a href="https://www.inc.com/michael-schneider/how-google-built-a-culture-that-inspires-new-ideas-every-day.html">like Google</a> - still need to be paired with those who intrinsically know the ins-and-outs of the organization.</p><h2>Craft clear metrics for success</h2><p>Companies should partner clear financial goals with "softer targets," like how many new ideas were generated or whether you figured out if customers are willing to pay for products outside the traditional offerings, advises Ahuja.</p><p>"You've got to have some metrics that start to build a culture and the capabilities of intrapreneurship, but eventually you also have to draw a line in the sand and get clear about how long you are willing to experiment on this," she said.</p><p>And evaluations should be done on a continual basis - as often as once a week - to figure out whether the project needs to be pivoted or shelved. Along those lines, Ahuja says intrapreneurs should be empowered and rewarded to end initiatives that are failing to produce results.</p><p>While individual innovation efforts will vary wildly by company, these four steps can serve as the foundation as organizations craft their own modernization journey. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/behind-scenes-fox-news-star-shepard-smith-donald-trump-politics-2017-12">Behind the scenes with Shepard Smith - the Fox News star who just announced his resignation from the network</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

77% of internal innovation efforts fail. Here's a 4-step checklist for ensuring that doesn't happen to your company.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Accenture</span></p><p class="caption">"It's like being an entrepreneur, minus the risk." An Accenture innovation hub in Detroit is pictured.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/home-depot">Home Depot</a>, IKEA, and Accenture are examples of major companies with innovation labs.</strong></li><li><strong>The labs are designed to attract the brightest minds in technology, giving them a place to channel their entrepreneurial spirit with the security of working for an established organization.</strong></li><li><strong>Companies benefit too, because they're less likely to lose their top talent to the startup world.</strong></li><li><strong>Alphabet, Google's parent company, has a famous innovation lab called X. </strong></li></ul><p><br />"It's like being an entrepreneur," said Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, "minus the risk."</p><p>Chamorro-Premuzic, a psychology professor at Columbia University and the chief talent scientist at <a href="https://www.manpower.com/wps/portal/ManpowerUSA/home">Manpower</a>, was referring to "intrapreneurship." It's a general term for acting like a company founder, but within the confines of an established organization - typically in what's called a corporate innovation lab. Think X, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chronicle-google-alphabet-x-cybersecurity-project-2018-1">Alphabet's research and development team</a> that's also been called a "moonshot factory."</p><p>Across industries, intrapreneurial opportunities have grown relatively common. And while few are as glamorous as traditional <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starting-business-entrepreneurship-hard-7">entrepreneurship can seem</a> - you are, after all, working for The Man - there can be practical benefits for both individuals and organizations.</p><p>Specifically, Chamorro-Premuzic mentioned money. As a startup founder, you never know "if you're going to be bankrupt in one or two years," he said, adding, "The likely outcomes for founders or entrepreneurs are very bleak." Working under the umbrella of a major corporation provides financial and job security, since you aren't constantly hunting for funding.</p><p>The business case for intrapreneurship, according to Chamorro-Premuzic, is simply that companies aren't losing their most driven and most talented people to the startup world. Instead, companies dangle the prospect of relative freedom and creativity and hope that aspiring entrepreneurs will snatch it up.</p><p>To be sure, intrapreneurship has its detractors. In 2017, Anderee Berngian listed <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/22/its-time-to-ditch-your-innovation-lab/">on VentureBeat</a> all the companies that have closed their innovation labs in the last few years, including Nordstrom, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola. One potential reason Berngian floats: "Google has millions to spare" on failed projects. "Most companies don't."</p><p>Business Insider took a look at three corporate innovation labs, the kinds of challenges they're tackling, and the creatives they're hoping to attract.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Space10</span></p><p class="caption">IKEA's innovation lab, Space10.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>IKEA's 'global future living lab' aims to head off impending disasters like food insecurity</h2><p>One of the corporate innovation labs that's received the most media attention is <a href="https://space10.io/">IKEA's Space10</a>. A "global future living lab" launched in Copenhagen in 2015, its creations include <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ikeas-space10-designed-a-vertical-farm-for-the-home-2017-9">hydroponic farms</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ikea-place/id1279244498?mt=8">IKEA Place</a>, an augmented-reality app that lets you see how furniture would look in your home.</p><p>"IKEA's overall mission is to create a better everyday life," said Simon Caspersen, cofounder of Space10. "We are basically set up to see how they can live up to that mission in new ways, that their current business is not delivering on." That means tackling current and coming challenges such as food insecurity and loneliness in cities, Caspersen said.</p><p>Only 25 people have full-time jobs at Space10. The lab then hires project specialists for temporary stints, or "residencies," as it calls them. Space10 also collaborates with different startups whose interests align with theirs.</p><p>Caspersen made the case for working at Space10 this way: "You are put together with some other incredible people that don't necessarily share your background or expertise," adding that "otherwise people often work in silos." An engineer might be working alongside a farmer, for example.</p><p>Plus, there's the exposure that a fledgling startup wouldn't ordinarily receive. "We do a lot to really highlight and promote the people that are part of the journey," Caspersen said.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Home Depot</span></p><p class="caption">An associate learns to use the virtual pallet stacker at OrangeWorks.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Home Depot's innovation lab is tapping into college students' technological prowess</h2><p>OrangeWorks is Home Depot's <a href="https://corporate.homedepot.com/newsroom/turning-campus-orange-home-depot-partners-georgia-tech">innovation lab</a>, located on the campus of Georgia Tech University in Atlanta. The goal is to evaluate emerging technologies that could change either the customer experience or corporate operations (the lab isn't looking into products that would wind up on shelves).</p><p>The lab was launched in 2015, and since then it's produced things like a virtual pallet stacker, which moves heavy items around the warehouse. Anthony Gregorio, a senior manager at the Innovation Center, described the technology that led to the pallet stacker as a "3D Tetris for shipping containers that allows us to be as efficient as we possibly can."</p><p>Like Space10, OrangeWorks has a small core team: Just eight people, with varying technical skill sets, work there full time. About 60 Georgia Tech students also pitch in at OrangeWorks. Recently, Gregorio said, the team has been working on ways to use computer vision for inventory tracking and customer-service opportunities.</p><p>As for why someone would want to join OrangeWorks instead of starting something on their own, Gregorio said it's all about the "size, scale, and resources that an enterprise like our own can provide."</p><p>He used data as a prime example: "If somebody's trying to do something in the data analytics space, readily available data that'll help them build out their model isn't always something that's possible. … Something our size, we're able to provide that."</p><h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Accenture</span></p><p class="caption">Accenture's Detroit innovation hub.</p></div><p></p></div></div></h2><h2>Accenture's innovation hubs are helping their biggest clients avoid 'disruption' by getting creative</h2><p>At Accenture, employees know that their clients - which include many Fortune 500 companies - are at constant risk of getting "disrupted" by new technology. That's a major reason why Accenture is working on launching at least 10 <a href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en/innovation-architecture-accenture-innovation-centers">innovation hubs</a> in the US by 2020, putting some of the most creative minds in digital technology to work serving their clientele.</p><p>"One of the things our clients suffer from a little bit is they're part of large corporations with a lot of cultural inertia," said Bob Markham, managing director at Accenture Digital. "They don't always get exposed to a lot of diversity of thought."</p><p>Markham heads up the Chicago innovation hub, which was the first to launch, in 2016. It now has 600 full-time employees and is collaborating with four startups. But Markham said that it can be hard to attract top tech talent in the midwest.</p><p>What's more, Markham said, "our large enterprises sometimes have a mentality that they have to do it themselves." However, "oftentimes there are startups that have been thinking about the same problem."</p><p>By collaborating with that startup, the organization can have a minimum viable product in four to eight weeks, as opposed to a year, and spend "hundreds of thousands of dollars less than if they were to try to do it on their own," Markham said.</p><p>One example is the Washington, DC innovation hub's <a href="http://news.marriott.com/2017/07/accenture-interactive-marriott-international-1776-launch-travel-experience-incubator/">work with Marriott</a>, whose business has been disrupted by online booking agencies like Kayak and Expedia. Accenture invested in a venturing arm that could help Marriott find startups that were thinking bout "travel experiences," such as a digital concierge.</p><p>In return, some startups receive mentoring, and all learn how to scale their product or service in a corporate environment.</p><h2>Intrapreneurship isn't for everyone</h2><p>While a job at a corporate innovation lab might seem thrilling, Chamorro-Premuzic sounded a note of caution.</p><p>"Not everybody is well-suited for this. It's really a minority of people who will thrive and enjoy and be good at this kind of job," he said. "But I think there's still an opportunity because many young people who decide to launch their own businesses could be employed by these largest corporations and basically do the same thing."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-apple-amazon-living-room-war-battle-smart-home-speaker-homepod-echo-alexa-2018-3">Google, Apple, and Amazon are in a war that no one will win</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Companies like IKEA and Accenture are following in Google's footsteps to stay ahead of the curve

You Searched For "intrapreneurial culture" and got 3 results

Ignite the fire of innovation: The intrapreneurship advantage

Manoj Nair

77% of internal innovation efforts fail. Here's a 4-step checklist for ensuring that doesn't happen to your company.

Joe Williams

Companies like IKEA and Accenture are following in Google's footsteps to stay ahead of the curve

Shana Lebowitz

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