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Intrapreneuring T h is G uid e i s fo r y o u , i f You’re not satisfied with your current level of responsibilities and you are looking for ways to make your job more challenging, meaningful and fun
You’ve great ideas for doing things differently, but you are not sure how to turn your ideas into actions and results
You’d like to do work beyond your job description, but you don’t know where to find the time for that because you’re already swamped
We created this guide especially for you, because we want you to know there IS a way to use your talents, implement your ideas and do work you really like and it is a very rewarding career path, you’ll love it! You see, there used to be one ladder to success for most corporate folks: doing a decent job and get promoted every 3 years (until the Peter Principle knocks you out). Not anymore. There’s a ladder to the top that is much more enjoyable and it gets you there faster. It builds on your strengths and ambitions, and gets you to solve real (but sometimes hidden) issues and to implement ideas that make a positive difference (inside and outside your company). It’s the perfect ladder for the ones who clearly see ways to do things differently. The ones who believe their work should have a positive impact. The ones who spot opportunities miles away. The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world.
Are you one of them? In this guide you’ll discover everything about that new ladder. It’s called intrapreneuring. And you can start climbing immediately. sa.am/intrapreneurs
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In tra p r e n e u r i n g,w h a t ’ s t h a t ? Intrapreneurs change companies from within. Intrapreneurs launch new products and ventures from within companies. Intrapreneurs are the change makers inside organizations, using their entrepreneurial skills and great ideas to change the direction of the most powerful institutions on earth. Intrapreneurs showcase what Dan Pink’s says in his best selling book Drive: they are higher performers with a high degree of personal satisfaction, because they have embedded autonomy, mastery and purpose into their work. Intrapreneurship is not a job title. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether you’re the lowest in the pyramid or you’re some levels up. It’s not a task and it’s not a skill like mastering excel. It’s a mindset. It’s an attitude. It’s almost like a lifestyle.
Richard Branson is often called one of the best entrepreneurs in the world. Do you know his secret? His companies are fully staffed with intrapreneurs. Your secret? You can become an intrapreneur right now. A rapidly growing number of young people commit to changing a company from within over starting up their own business. Companies need innovation to stay in business. Companies need you to step up and lead change. It starts with getting better at your current job in less time, so that you free up time for your intrapreneurial side-project. Does that idea excite you? Feeling a bit uncomfortable? Now, take a deep breath and read on. You’re about to discover the 5 steps you can take to start intrapreneuring.
“Virgin could never have grown into the group of more than 200 companies it is now, were it not for a steady stream of intrapreneurs who looked for and developed opportunities, often leading efforts that went against the grain.” - Richard Branson
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STEP 1 : YO U Only when you know yourself, you can lead others. It’s crucial to first take some time and reflect upon the question: who are you? What makes you, you? What are your values, what do you find important in life? What are your dreams? Which dreams have come true already? What is your passion? What are your talents – what are you good at? Make a list of answers to these questions, and don’t limit yourself – write all possible answers. Or create a vision board. Draw. The format doesn’t matter, as long as you put everything about YOU together.
“The Macintosh team was what is commonly known as intrapreneurship; only a few years before the term was coined — a group of people going, in essence, back to the garage, but in a large company.” - Steve Jobs
Be proud. And smile. This is the foundation for success in every area of your life. Reflecting on what’s most important to you and about what makes you tick leaves you with more clarity and confidence when big decisions and small challenges are coming your way. It prevens you from getting lost. It’s good to know YOU!
STE P 2 : YO UR CO M PA NY sa.am/intrapreneurs
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STEP 2 : YO U R CO M PA NY Intrapreneurs are changing companies from within. Intrapreneurs launch new ventures inside an existing company. Do you notice the difference with entrepreneurs? Exactly. You operate within an running business. You are responsible for contributing to the goals goals of a bigger organization. As an intrapreneur, it’s your quest to really understand the core of your company’s existence. Only then you will be able to judge which of your ideas make sense and can add real value to the company. You might think- that’s fine, I just read the annual report and the strategy document, so I know everything I need to know. False. You don’t really get to know your company and the companyculture by reading docs on the intranet. Sure, you’ll get a flavour. But make sure you step outside your fancy office and talk to a new colleague every day. Ask questions to colleagues from oversees whenever you have 5 minutes left in a meeting. Be genuinely interested in how things are getting done (or not).
Explore. Be a secret agent who maps her territory in the greatest detail. Listen to the interviews of your CEO about that new strategy and the comments in the press. Understand exactly which markets your company is in, and what is relevant to those markets. Study industry trends. Get curious about your competitors. In step 1 you found out which things are important to you. Now, let’s start the matching process. If you value the preservation of our beautiful planet, start to understand how your company deals with waste management and other manufacturing processes. If you have a big passion for the latest technology trends, try to find out how your company could be affected by them. Observe. Listen. Don’t be too quick with your opinion. Step 2 is an ongoing process of deepening your understanding of the company you work for, its customers, its employees, its communities. Its operations, its financial figures, its strategy. Its values, its culture, its stories. Make them all yours. But don’t take all of them for granted – use your critical thinking skills to ask yourself what’s really going on around you.
Most likely, you’ll get more than a handful of ideas during this process, which is great – write them down. We’ll deal with them in step 3.
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STEP 3 : YO UR B I G I D E A Admit it. You’ve done it.
More than once. Maybe even weekly or daily. When is the last time you thought: “I can do this better.” “I think there’s more effective ways to do this.” “If I was at his level, I’d immediately take action.” “Why do we do the things this way, if there are better ways?” “They really don’t understand how to manage a company” Contrary to what you might think, this is a good sign. Pretty good, actually. Thinking thoughts along those lines is the perfect sign you have the potential to be a successful, impactful, inspiring intrapreneur. Unleash that power by becoming a magnet for things-that-must-change-and-can-bebetter. For ideas and opportunities. For people who are as eager as you are. Note down everything you see, hear, feel. Every single idea. Every opportunity. If you are not sure where to start, listen to customers. Listen to people who actually interact with customers. Smile to the ones
who design the strategy, respect them. But spend time with people in the field, on the road, at the shopfloor. What would make their work more effective and their jobs more enjoyable? Talk with colleagues. Chat about shared ideas and frustrations. How would the four of you lead this company if you were on the helm? Soak up all their input. They see other things, speak to other people and have different perspectives. The more their “The best way to ‘things’ resemble predict the future yours, the more is to create it” you know you’re targeting something - Peter Drucker important. How can you use your talents in solving these issues? What ideas do you have for helping your company becoming better? How can you use your biggest strengths in creating results for the company? Use these questions to list your 10 brightest ideas and then nail down your single biggest idea. Keep the others in your notebook. Focus on one at a time.
One idea. It can make all the difference if you do it right. sa.am/intrapreneurs
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STEP 4 : E X EC UT I O N Now we get to the crucial phase: execution. Before you take any action to implement your biggest idea, you make sure you excel at your current job – in less time. There’s various ways you can do that. For example: • Schedule all your meetings in half of the usual time • Give yourself less time for completing tasks; set deadlines earlier and stick to them (according to Parkinson’s law, we always use the scheduled time period available, while in fact we could do with far less time). • Get rid of the idea that your inbox is your action list – don’t start your working day checking email. After that, it’s about developing implementation-skills on the go. Think of:
• Patience (who has got time for that) • Discipline (yikes) • Perseverance (when the going gets though,
Of course you don’t master these skills yet – they are being developed by experience. Did you learn to walk in 5 minutes? Were you able to swim when you dipped your toes into the water the first time? Inspiring leaders of change, disruptors of industries, pioneers of innovation, they all understood the need to master these skills and so they did. You want to have a bigger impact at work, getting your ideas implemented. You are eager to shake things up - right? Commit to developing these skills. Master them. Build your daily routine upon them. You’ll love it eventually. Succeeding as an intrapreneur means knowing how to influence others the right way, by establishing and nurturing relationships, following through and facing challenges of any kind.
did you try that didn’t work?)
You’ll discover how to free up significant amounts of time and build the habits of success in our 6-weeks Training Program. In this program, we support you to turn your biggest idea into a project and get results.
no class about that)
More about that later.
I’ll start something new)
• Time management (how many techniques • Dealing with difficult situations (you had • And political savvyness (no, this is not only for those running for president)
Successful people are simple those with successful habits. sa.am/intrapreneurs
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STEP 5 : P L AN & AC T I O N So you’re almost there. You started with reflecting on what you find important and what you’re good at. You examined your company and deepened your understanding of its operations. You collected issues and ideas and nailed your top 10 down to your single biggest idea. You got clarity about the skills you need to develop to execute upon that idea and you understood it takes practice to build those success muscles. In this step, it’s about setting up the plan. How are you going to make your biggest idea work? Really think through the steps and milestones. Ask yourself these questions: Why this? Why now? Why does it fit within the company? Why you? What’s in it for the people you are going the collaborate with or need approval from (wait with asking, but still think about it)? Start with getting some feedback on your idea. Your idea will never survive out there if it’s just yours. Get others to add their perspective to it. Never give up on the goal, but be flexible in how you get there.
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Think of ways you can pilot your idea. If it’s about a new way of working, test it out within your department. If it’s about turning a customer complaint into a new product, work with the product manager to get some initial customer feedback. Or, when you’re able to, co-create with customers. Before you ask for big resources in time or money, be able to show data. Show some kind of proof that it has the potential to become big. Don’t ask for approval – show results and ask for resources to scale. Don’t show slides with your idea to some senior manager. You’ll never get the second chance for the first impression, so do it right the first time. After finalizing your plan, start the action. Build that bridge when you cross the river – you cannot plan your adventure fully in advance.
“You are either a faceless corporate cog in the machine of a large, soulless organization, or you are fighting the good fight as a free and independent entrepreneur in charge of his own destiny. But I’m here to tell you from experience that there is a third way, and it’s called being an intrapreneur.” - David Armano
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E AGE R TO S TA RT INTR A P R E N EUR I NG? Remember we spoke about the three crucial elements for better performance and personal satisfaction: autonomy, mastery and purpose? For you to feel more happy, motivated and rewarded at work, we designed Start Intrapreneuring!, a 6-weeks Secret Mission Training Program, upon these three crucial elements. By the end of the program, you have implemented at least one idea. We’ll help you aligning your talents and ideas with the organization’s objectives, coming up with a plan and finding out how to execute that Because of this program you’ll get better at your job faster, so that you free up time for your first intrapreneurial project. Building the habits for success is the cornerstone of our Secret Mission. Habits that make you better, faster. If you are ready for doing more meaningful work, growing your influence and improving your results - let us guide you in building the habits for sustainable success.
Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. A team of experienced mentors is waiting to guide you in accelerating your growth and results. They respond within 24 hours. Always. Moreover, you become part of a group of amazing people, just like yourself. You can ask questions, test assumptions, share results. You connect with vcp (very cool people) from other companies, from other industries and from other countries. People you can call any time of the day to just blow off some steam and talk about your mutual ideas. People you trust. People willing to listen and provide invaluable feedback. People who also share their goals. People who become allies, friends. You need people like that. You can not do it alone. Innovation is a result of people working together. Change occurs when a new idea catches fire in many minds. There will always be roadblocks, but the best chance of overcoming them is by organizing support long before you are banging your head against the wall (that means, pretty early in advance).
EAGER TO START INTRAPRENEURING? sa.am/intrapreneurs
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Start Intrapreneuring! is not a lecture. It’s not a book. It’s a mission. That means action. Movement. Fun. Rewards. The good guys win. Hasta la vista, baby. During the 6 weeks of the program, you’ll get short assignments to complete three to five times a week. Don’t worry, they’re short and focused - you’ll spend max 2 hours a week on them (but experience the benefits all day every day). For this program, we put together stuff that has worked for millions of people. It is based on proven techniques. It’s almost like this delicious fresh lasagna that we prepared especially for you, based on the used-in-Italy-for-decades winning recipe. Your mouth waters, ready to eat. And the eating is of course the best part. We wanted to make the program affordable for you and we are able to do that by using online tools to facilitate your training. You’ll get all the information, inspiration and personal support you need, directly in your inbox and on your screen.
You don’t find a training program anywhere in the universe offering this dedicated personal support for a fee of only € 169 (and you can pay in two installments, if you prefer). We even offer a DIY package, without the personal support from our inspiring mentors, at the price of a book (€ 19) if budget is tight. Let’s make this journey even more fun. Why not invite one of your colleagues or friends on this secret mission? I bet you know some people who are as eager and passionate as you, and who are also looking for ways to have more impact and boost their careers. Ask him or her to join you. Team up. Call each other every week to track progress. Be each other’s accountability buddy. Prepare for your big next step behind the curtains. Simply enter your co-pilot’s name and email address when you sign up via the link below. They join for free (or you split the investment – up to you!).
Start Intrapreneuring? Click here
See you on the other side! sa.am/intrapreneurs
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Get luck y? G e t s t a r te d ! P.S. In the new economy, there’s no such thing as a 9 to 5 job. Most of that work can and will be automated, outsourced or simply vanish. According to one very famous guy (he doesn’t like the word guru), as an individual, there’s just two ways to succeed in the new economy. You have to become an Entrepreneur or an Expert. Either you create big value from new ideas or you are the go-to guy or gal for some very special thing. Note, this is not about a job title. It is about a role, a mindset, a lifestyle (where have you heard that before). Now, you are lucky. You can choose. Within an organization, there is always need for people entrepreneuring and for people experting (not a real word, but you get the point). Intrapreneurs are either entrepreneurs or experts within the environment of an existing company.
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Don’t waste your time. Be prepared to lead in the new economy. The habits you build, the mindsets and skills you learn, the people you meet as part of the secret training mission are invaluable whatever you do next. You might just job. You might just life more. You might just your ideas. You might just
want to become better at your want to enjoy your corporate want to implement one of want to change the world.
Check out the Start Intrapreneuring Training Program >> click here
About sa.am We plan to make sa.am the #1 resource for people in their 20’s and 30’s who want to make a difference, on developing the mindset and skills to be successful. We believe that while as humanity, we face enormuous challenges, there are endless opportunities for solving them. That’s why we support change makers - the modernday super heroes. Connect with us on our website http://sa.am
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