Thank you for sharing your wonderful insight, personal stories and learnings with us. I worked with an individual that used to say: be the cork! (cork stays afloat while navigating the uncharted chaotic waters.) For him, it was a reminder to stay flexible and adapt to the latest political changes in the organization to ensure his intrapreneural ideas survived. Though I haven’t learned to be that flexible, I do believe each one of us need to have a motto that helps us be resilient and stay true to ourselves and keep at it day after day. And you are right, this topic could easily turn in to a series of books. Thank you again for sharing.

–B

Today you are a prophet
For several years I served as a technical lead and strategic thinker for a large corporation. I held a vision of the future which I believed was technically inevitable. The evidence from the advancing capabilities of the technology convinced me our business was about to change forever – and we had the chance to lead, follow, or get run over by the resulting transformation. I had my team develop prototypes that showed in a limited way the potential of the new technology, but as low cost demo’s there were many gaps that required either faith or vision to see the implications. We developed presentations and delivered them to countless teams both inside the firm and in our customers’ technology teams – slowly building credibility as people began to see the potential. At the same time, we always faced considerable skepticism. After all we were threatening to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.

One afternoon I presented these ideas to a team of product managers from one of our business teams and was met with the usual polite disinterest. There was simply not sufficient motivation to consider the potential while the proven was still working. The next day I received an urgent call from a member of the team asking me to come back and give the presentation again and explain how it might work in more detail. Surprised at this response I asked why this unexpected change in interest had occurred. My caller responded, “Yesterday you were a mad man calling out in the wilderness. Today you are a prophet.” It turns out that our CEO had sent a company-wide email which my assessment of the future had effectively anticipated. My caller’s team wanted to capitalize on the advance work we had done to align with the new corporate vision and help set the related strategy.

Your post recommends that the reader-intrapreneur should “hitch a ride with corporate strategy”. Many initiatives will attempt to harness the power of a corporate thrust. The alignments will range from jaded opportunism to foolish enthusiasm with a few visionary ideas buried somewhere in the pack. While there may be little you can do to prompt the CEO’s effective endorsement of your ideas, you can be prepared. Focus on the ideas that fit with industry shifts and future directions. Offer options to address the changes proactively and productively. But keep an eye on the culture impacts on the firm and understand if people and organizations are changing or not.

The Innovator’s Dilemma
So you have this great idea that will transform the way your industry works. How can you understand drive the innovation internally, take it outside, or find another job in a different industry? This is the real innovator’s dilemma. First, read the book by Clayton M. Christensen. Once you understand if the change you foresee is an incremental improvement or a disruptive force, determine if your employer is capable of transforming as required to capitalize on your ideas. Then you are armed with the information to chart your course.

Like any good navigator you must take new readings regularly. In one case where I participated it seemed that the technical innovations were merely improvements but, despite efforts in my own firm to change, the distribution channel was not flexible and the firm was not willing to undermine them. Here again history is filled with the graves of shortsighted protectors of the status quo.

Beware the Siren Song
The economy today is likely to give every innovator a reason to think carefully before abandoning their opportunities as an intrapreneur for the seductive sirens of the startup VC. Many are addicted to OPM: Other People’s Money but real business have real business plans, not just enough powerpoint conjecture to show a big opportunity.

Even before the recent changes in the economy, the entrepreneur-billionaire was always the highly unlikely scenario. You wouldn’t buy a lottery ticket with the last of your lunch money so don’t fall to survivors’ bias when looking at the lure of the startup. The truth is most fail. Understand that unless you get funding from one of a very small group of successful VCs you are quite likely to be forced out of your business and then watch it fail. Don’t jump until you have a real customer tested plan (not a hope) to land.

It is hard to convince your executive management to go out on a limb and support your idea – because it is hard to be successful at a new business. If your new business idea dovetails well with the distribution channels of your firm, stick it out internally. The initial post challenges the reader to “test drive the concepts”. Prove that you have more than a great idea: why and how you will win customers to the new product. Get numbers. Who will pay how much? How do you know? Wishful thinking is a song well rehearsed by the sirens and only the best managers and VCs avoid the traps.

I have added a few basic thoughts from one who has lived in this neighborhood for a while. I hope you find them helpful.