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INTRA— PRENEURIAL
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Why risk hiring or acquiring when you can build better from within? CEOs share tips on sparking homegrown innovation that wins.
companies have invested lots of time and money in the past several years reaching outside of their own outfits for innovative ideas and people, then bringing them under the tent in various ways: corporate venture arms, accelerators, incubators, stakes in startups, new partnerships and outright acquisitions. But in doing so, company chiefs may be neglecting to unlock the considerable innovation engines that already exist right under their noses. And now—abruptly facing stubborn and even acute problems, ranging from inflation to supply-chain instability to geopolitical woes and the threat of recession—may be a good time for leaders to try harder to tap the formidable power of “intrapreneurship.” “The pendulum is swinging,” says Andy Binns, director at Change Logic and author of a new book on intrapreneurship. “The lab model is great for play but not for execution, and many firms are unhappy with the outcomes being delivered by outside entities. Some are pulling out altogether or at least substantially changing how they function.” Linda Yates, founder of growth incubator Mach49, says more companies “are realizing they already have core assets and competencies and capabilities—like ideas, talent, brands, channels and customers,” providing strong foundations for greater intrapreneurship. Intrapreneurship is far from a new idea in Corporate America, of course. Serendipitously, for example, it led EOs OF LARGE AND MID-MARKET
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to 3M’s development of the miracle adhesive on Post-it Notes. Companies got more serious about it toward the end of the 20th century. Even some of the most significant innovations of the digital era have come from intrapreneurs, including Microsoft’s Office 365, Google’s Gmail, Amazon’s Prime and Fuji’s escape into broader chemical and biochemical markets instead of failing with the demise of photographic film as Eastman Kodak did. Many companies have been happy with ideas, products and talents generated by partnering with and investing in startups. “But where you run into difficulties is scaling it into a business,” Binns says. “There are no good examples of a business that creates new ventures through external, arm’s-length labs, but there are loads of examples of creating new businesses from internal innovation.” So intrapreneurship is getting more attention these days. For instance, last year, after years of reaching outside to acquire fast-growing innovators such as Annie’s Homegrown and setting up its 301 Inc. corporate-venture arm, General Mills established an intrapreneurship program called Gworks. It selects internal researchers and others to become “cofounders” of promising product and brand initiatives, including developing and testing a new low-blood-sugar brand of snacks, Good Measure. “We know we need world-class innovators and entrepreneurs in spaces where we don’t have brands, so we’re nurturing and growing our own talent in
