How can we build an intrapreneurial organization?

Today I am looking into the following question:

Obviously, this has a lot to do with culture. And culture changes slowly. But let’s go one step at a time…

Intrapreneurship

An intrapreneurial organization is one that encourages and fosters innovation and entrepreneurship within its existing structure and resources. To build such an organization, you can follow these steps:

1. Encourage a culture of risk-taking and experimentation: Employees should feel comfortable proposing new ideas and taking calculated risks. This can be achieved through regular communication, recognition, and reward of innovation.
2. Establish a dedicated team or department to focus on innovation: This team should have the resources and autonomy to experiment and test new ideas, and should be responsible for identifying and developing new business opportunities.
3. Provide training and development opportunities: Employees should have access to the skills and knowledge they need to identify new opportunities and develop new products or services.
4. Foster collaboration and cross-functional working: Encourage employees to work together across different departments and teams to identify new opportunities and develop new products or services.
5. Emphasize on continuous improvement: Regularly review and evaluate the organization’s performance and processes to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for innovation.

You can find ways for innovation and organisational design here:

• Ansätze für Innovation (DE)
• Organisationale Gestaltung – Ambidextrie (DE)
• 10 commandments of intrapreneurship (EN)

Now let’s face it again – Culture is really important!

Corporate Culture

Corporate culture is extremely important as it shapes the behavior and attitudes of employees within an organization.

A positive and supportive corporate culture can lead to increased employee engagement and productivity, while a negative culture can lead to high turnover and low morale.

As already stated above, an intrapreneurial culture is one that encourages and fosters innovation, risk-taking, and entrepreneurship within the organization. To change the corporate culture in this direction, the following steps can be taken:

1. Communicate the change: Clearly communicate the desired change in culture to all employees and explain the reasons for the change and the benefits it will bring.
2. Lead by example: The leadership team should model the behavior and attitudes they want to see in the rest of the organization.
3. Empower employees: Give employees autonomy and trust them to take on responsibilities and make decisions.
4. Reward and recognize innovation: Reward and recognize employees who come up with new ideas and take risks to implement them.
5. Encourage collaboration: Encourage employees to work together across different departments and teams to identify new opportunities and develop new products or services.
6. Provide training and development opportunities: Employees should have access to the skills and knowledge they need to identify new opportunities and develop new products or services.
7. Make a continuous process: Making the culture change a continuous process by regularly assessing the progress and making necessary adjustments.

Pinchot’s 10 commandments of intrapreneurship

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by inspiique (@inspiique)

Cultural change

Changing a corporate culture is a gradual process that can take several years to fully implement and for employees to fully adopt the new culture. The length of time it takes to adjust a corporate culture can depend on a variety of factors, such as the size of the organization, the level of resistance to change, and the effectiveness of the change management strategy.

In general, it can take a few months to a year to communicate the desired change in culture and to develop a change management strategy. However, it can take several years for the new culture to fully take root and for employees to fully adopt the new behaviors and attitudes. The process is ongoing and requires consistent effort over time.

It is important to note that changing a corporate culture is not a one-time event, but rather a continuous process. Even after the culture has been successfully changed, it is important to regularly assess the progress and make any necessary adjustments to ensure that the culture remains aligned with the organization’s goals and values.

It’s worth to mention that some authors like John Kotter, the author of “Leading Change” suggest that culture change takes on average 2-3 years, while other authors like Gary Hamel, the author of “Leading the Revolution” mention that it might take longer, in some cases even a decade.

More to read about

1. Murphy, J. J. (2019). The Intrapreneur: A Step-By-Step Guide to Starting and Running a Business from Within a Business.
2. Pinchot III, G. (2015). Intrapreneurship: How to Create a Culture of Innovation and Responsibility Within Your Company.
3. Hunger, J. D., & Wheelen, T. L. (2021). Corporate Entrepreneurship: Top Managers and New Business Creation.
4. Brown, R. E. (2018). The Intrapreneurial Mindset: How to Make Innovation a Way of Life.
5. Goldsby, M. (2018). The Intrapreneur’s Guide: How to Create a Culture of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
6. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change.
7. Hamel, G. (2000). Leading the Revolution.

Hinweis: In dieser Serie der Zukunftsfragen versucht der Autor spontan seine Sicht auf die entsprechenden Fragen niederzuschreiben. Was gerade dazu einfällt. Mal mehr – und mal weniger. Die Diskussion ist eröffnet!

Featured Image: by Flavio x Dall-E (Human & AI)