BEST PRACTICES/INTRAPRENUERS
INTRAPRENUERS ARE VITAL EMPLOYEES
IF A COMPANY IS GOING TO SUCCEED
Have you ever had an idea for a new product or service or
thought something could be done better? Chances are you have.
Because you’re reading this publication, it gives me some idea
that you’re interested in business on the Treasure Coast.
You probably fall under one of two categories of work personnel:
self-employed or work in a small business such as a small
accounting office, dry cleaners, etc. Or you work for a larger
company or organization such as Target, Bank of America, or a
municipality or government entity such as the City of Stuart, St.
Lucie Tax office, etc. Regardless of your job or organization, the
reality is that we must change with the times and solve problems
for our institutions and customers alike.
Many of us go to work each day, do what’s minimally required,
leave at the end of the day and feel satisfied. If you’re a small
business owner, this will never be the case. Why? Because small
business owners know how important it is to keep ahead of the
competition, reduce errors and improve. The question is, how is
all of this accomplished?
SAVING COMPANY MONEY
The answer is: internal Intraprenuership. If you’ve not heard the
term, it’s time you get familiar with it as it could save your company
or organization. The term intrapreneur is given to employees
within organizations who exhibit entrepreneurial tendencies.
These are employees who are motivated, optimistic and driven to
solve problems. They are the idea generators, status quo disrupters
and change agents. They can be leaders, managers, supervisors
or frontline employees.
Other less interesting characteristics these individuals exhibit
are high levels of frustration, concern and impatience. These
characteristics arise when they are confronted with policies and
procedures that are being touted as the gospel of the department
or as they try to solve problems and need support from the
team and are confronted with resistance. Many intrapreneurs are
frontline workers who see the problem firsthand. This can be an
issue with the supplier, customer or internal mechanisms. Often
one is actively trying to solve the problem but is met with at best
apathy or worst defiance. The result is no change to the problem
and a frustrated employee.
We talk about solving problems in terms such as think outside
the box or let’s come up with new ideas. When an employee
actually does this, we respond with a myriad of reasons why the
problem can’t be solved. And just for the sake of this article, we
will take the issue of needing more money and personnel off the
table because this is always the way to solve problems, throw
more money and hire more personnel.
COMPLEX SUBJECT
Intrapreneurs are frugal and know there is no money in the
budget. They realize many of the solutions would not cost the
institution a dime. So why don’t we embrace intrapreneurs? The
answer is simple and complex at the same time.
The first obstacle is comfort, we all have a comfort zone and we
resist anyone messing with it. The second is change and how do
we get our employees to embrace change.
Prior to serving as a business school
professor at Indian River State College,
Herbert P. Ricardo spent a decade working
as a healthcare administrator. He has
consulted with police departments on
reducing job stress and designing
employee assistance programs. He teaches
organizational behavior, management and
international business courses at IRSC. He
also instructs global trade and commerce
courses at Czech University of Life Sciences
Prague, where he is a part-time resident. His
field of expertise includes organizational
culture, entrepreneurship, drive and motivation in the workplace. His
most recent book, Balance: Work Culture in the 21st Century, How
Work Defines Us And Shapes Our Society, is his contribution to the
study of organizational management.
Entrepreneurs see something and want to fix it or make it better.
Intrapreneurs are cut from the same cloth, they work within
an organization and want to change programs for the better.
Entrepreneurs often work by themselves; it’s their idea, their
company and only their way. With intrapreneurs, they must work
with others. They need to sell their ideas to their colleagues,
supervisors and managers. It’s actually harder to be intrapreneurs
but they embrace challenges. Each one of these individuals
may have a reason not to change the way things are done, so it
becomes an uphill battle.
FEARING CHANGE
Our organizations create a stable environment, which cause
us to do things efficiently for ourselves with as little disruption as
possible. There is a natural inclination within an organization to
fear change and people may ask: What if it doesn’t work? We will
look like fools. Who gets the blame for it? Not me.
We want to solve problems, design new products and create
better systems, but find it to be quite arduous and exhausting to
get it done.
What can leaders and managers do?
First, they can change the culture and encourage more
ideas. Managers can hold staff meetings once a month at which
employees must present three new ideas or identify problems
that need to be solved.
Second, leaders must empower and promote proactive employees.
Third, we will not tolerate the status quo, together we must create
a culture of continuous quality improvement.
This will not be easy. Disrupting and changing a culture can
cause fear, anxiety and stress among employees. But if leaders
really want to make the organization better, they must take the
shackles off the employees and tear down the barriers that are
obstructing positive change. v
26 TCBusiness.com
HERBERT P. RICARDO
/TCBusiness.com
