| Overview from a Successful Serial Intrapreneur | | | | consultant Gifford Pinchot(1985) made it famous in |
| The word, in-tra-pre-neur (In tre-pre-nur) did not | | | | his book Intrapreneuring. Apple's Chairman, |
| exist in the dictionary until 1975-1980. The | | | | Stephen Jobs popularized the term |
| dictionary defines intrapreneur as "an employee of | | | | "intrapreneurship" in his article in the September |
| a large corporation who is given freedom and | | | | 30, 1985 issue of Newsweek, in which he said, |
| financial support to create new products, services, | | | | "The Macintosh team was what is commonly |
| systems, etc, and [who] does not have to follow | | | | known as intrapreneurship-only a few years |
| the corporation's usual routine or protocols." | | | | before the term was coined - a group of people |
| (Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, | | | | going, in essence, back to the garage, but in a |
| 1996, p.1001) This textbook definition is a little | | | | large company." |
| naive and simply not realistic within a typical large | | | | Norman Macrae (The Economist, 1976) predicted |
| corporation. | | | | a number of trends in business - one of them |
| Anyone who has worked in a large corporation | | | | being "that dynamic corporations of the future |
| knows that in most cases a rigid set of corporate | | | | should simultaneously be trying alternative ways |
| rules, corporate standard operating procedures, | | | | of doing things in competition within themselves". |
| and corporate policies exists for almost | | | | Macrae reaffirmed that idea in another article |
| everything and anything. Yet, some enlightened | | | | (The Economist in 1982). |
| corporations do allow an employee-intrapreneur | | | | Author John Naisbett (1986) cited |
| limited freedom to pursue new ideas. To | | | | "intrapreneurship" as a way for established |
| overcome the roadblocks of formal structure and | | | | businesses to find new markets and new |
| a very slow moving corporate bureaucracy, the | | | | products in his book, "Re-Inventing the |
| intrapreneur must convince senior management | | | | Corporation" The concept was established enough |
| that the new, "out of the box" idea has merit, | | | | that in 1990 Rosabeth Moss Kanter of Harvard |
| market, and would be both profitable and | | | | Business School discussed in her book, "When |
| synergistic to the corporate mission. | | | | Giants Learn to Dance" for intrapreneurial |
| An intrapreneur is really an entrepreneur who has | | | | development as a key factor in ensuring the |
| less risk in a venture. He also has much less | | | | survival of the company. |
| control of when, or even whether, the product will | | | | Tom Nies, CEO of Cincom has noted that "A key |
| be launched. Being an intrapreneur takes a unique | | | | element of intrapreneurship is the ability of a |
| set of skills beyond creativity, including being willing | | | | company to support expedited decision-making |
| to take some risks at sharing and pushing an | | | | processes." Nies continued "Intrapreneurs above all |
| unique idea, having the perseverance to wait for | | | | else thrive on the freedom." |
| senior management's approval to create and | | | | PR1ME Computer Inc's growth is a real world |
| launch the product or service, and the drive to | | | | successful case study of a firm that used |
| see it through to fruition, no matter what. | | | | Intrapreneurship to help them grow from a small |
| The terms and basic concepts of both | | | | OTC listed company to the Number 1 performing |
| intrapreneuring and intrapreneurship existed in | | | | company listed on the NYSE in just five years. |
| corporations for decades before the management | | | | |