IntraPRENEUR LIBERATING LEADERSHIP, INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY
CREATIVITY
IN THE
4
th
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
YUSUF MUTAMBA:
Bolstering Intrapreneurship Could You Be An
INTRAPRENEUR?
DAVID GRAM: BECOMING A DIPLOMATIC REBEL
LOUISE KYHL TRIOLO
MEET THE FATHER OF INTRAPRENEURIALISM
GIFFORD PINCHOT
DARES YOU TO DREAM BIG
Human Helium PROGRAM
CREATES INTRAPRENEURS THAT HELP ORGANIZATIONS TO SOAR
Did You Know... There are some very compelling reasons to place emphasis on intrepreneurialism in the workplace. The term intrapreneurialism is about demonstrating the qualities of an entrepreneur - inside an organization. A number of studies have shown that:
One Intrapreneurial employee is worth more than multiple engaged employees in terms of the VALUE they bring through innovation and creativity
Interpreneurs proactively pursue opportunities for improving business systems and business models from the inside out
Bringing an intrapreneurial mind-set to day-to-day workplace activity, can help individuals, teams and organisations achieve their strategic goals and unleash potential.
Intrapreneurialism is a relatively new concept so there is a skills gap in this area. This program addresses that gap.
“I love effective processes! So I love the structure that Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw provides in this program for influencing and implementing innovation and change through intrapreneurialism.� - W. Boulton, Manager, HPW.
Using a masterful blend of integrated channels and experiences, the Human Helium Program unleashes intrapreneaurial talent to create proactive opportunity-finders and problem solvers.
THIS PROGRAM IS IDEAL FOR
Leaders Emerging leaders Aspiring leaders Project managers Influencers High-potentials
Team leaders and supervisors Anyone who wants to create value and make a positive contribution to their workplace and the clients/ customers/ citizens they serve.
HOW WILL YOUR WORKPLACE BENEFIT Proactive thinkers and problem- solvers who are ahead of the curve Proactive (rather than reactive) decision-making People tapping into their talent to become high-performers Entrepreneurial employees who have incrementally developed their skills AND applied them in a real context
People who are opportunity finders for positive change and innovation Strategic thinkers who see the big picture in order to create a future ready organization Tangible measurable outcomes from a high value project Reskill your workforce for the fourth industrial revolution
Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw can work with your organization and your people to create an energised, future-ready workplace and workforce. Contact her about the Human Helium Program on + 61 411330301 or irena@drirenayashinshaw.com
CONTENTS 08
Gifford Pinchot: Solving Problems
12
Creativity In The Fourth Industrial Revolution
15
3M Innovates With Intrapreneurs
20
Could You Be An Intrapreneur?
22
Louise Kyhl Triolo: Innovations From Which To Dream Big
29
David Gram: Becoming A Diplomatic Rebel
34
Yusuf Mutamba: Bolstering Intrapreneurship
37
From Leftovers To Life-Changers: Soulmuch Inspiration
IntraPRENEUR
or recommendation by READ PUBLISHING. Links outside of this publication are provided LIBERATING LEADERSHIP, INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY for user convenience and do not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favouring by READ PUBLISHING. ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: The publisher or any of the editors, writers READ PUBLISHING or contributors will not accept responsibility PUBLISHED BY: or liability for the correctness of information READ PUBLISHING or opinions expressed in the publication. All DISTRIBUTED BY: material submitted is at the owners risk and while every care will be taken the publisher READ PUBLISHING does not accept liability for loss or damage. DESIGNED BY: No person, organisation or party can copy READ PUBLISHING or re-produce the content on this site and or ALL RIGHTS RESERVED magazine or any part of this publication Reference to any specific without a written consent from the editors’ commercial product, process, or panel and the author of the content, as services by trade name, trademark, applicable. The publisher, authors and manufacturer, or otherwise, does not contributors reserve their rights with regards constitute or imply its endorsement to copyright of their work.
CONTRIBUTORS Louise is the Vice President of Intrapreneurship at Airbus and Talent Development at A³ by Airbus. Previously, she spearheaded leadership development, culture innovation, and created the Leadership University in North America. She was part of the team responsible for launching A³ by Airbus and Airbus Ventures and managed new injections of innovation leadership practices and tools in the Airbus DNA through her work with Singularity University/XPrize, SolveNext and other experts from Silicon Valley, which led to the global transformational initiative Dream Big. She also led the cultural transformation called ‘New Ways’ in Louise Kyhl Triolo Airbus Helicopters, implementing new behavioural and management practices aligned with achieving corporate goals. In addition, she has held various roles in talent and executive management, learning and leadership development. Her passion lies in people, innovation, culture and change. linkedin.com/in/louise-kyhl-triolo-instigator
Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot III coined the terms “intrapreneur and intrapreneurship.” His book, Intrapreneuring: Why You Don’t Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur (1985), introduced a new way of fostering innovation by creating space for innovators to express their entrepreneurial spirit within existing organizations. The book was a NY Times bestseller and published in 15 languages. He has received numerous awards in his lifetime, among them, Executive Excellence, naming him number 19 among the top 100 leadershipthinkers. Gifford is also writing a new book entitled The New Intrapreneuring. David Gram has worked with radical innovation and lean start-up methods in large global corporations for the last 15 years, as Senior Innovation Director in the LEGO Group’s Future Lab, as Head of Innovation at Scandinavian Airlines - and most recently as Head of Venturing, EMEA at LEGO Ventures. He is also the co-founder of Diplomatic Rebels; a company dedicated to empowering companies and intrapreneurs around the world to become stronger innovators.
David Gram
diplomaticrebels.com
Yusuf Mutamba is a qualified Attorney with 10 years of extensive experience in Intellectual Property Law and Management. He is currently working as an Innovation Manager at The Innovation Village (TIV) - a one stop innovation community for startups, global players, local corporates and investors in Uganda. At TIV, Yusuf’s work revolves around initiating, structuring and delivering innovation projects for partners, clients and sponsors spanning across different sectors. Yusuf holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Management law (specializing in Intellectual Property Rights) from the University of Strasbourg, France, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Uganda Christian University, and a Diploma in Project Yusuf Mutamba Management from the International Business Management Institute, Berlin, Germany. He is very passionate about Intraprenuership, and he strongly believes that any employee, at any level, who cares about the future of his or her company must be willing to become an activist. Yusuf Mutamba
A nutrition enthusiast and startup co-founder, dedicated to closing the gap within our food system by making healthier food more accessible while reducing our carbon footprint. Reyanne and Kristian were shocked by the overwhelming amount of food waste being discarded at the end of each day from their San Diego workplace. They embarked on a mission to create a new product that used the leftover cooked rice and quinoa, turning it into cookies and helping stop the unnecessary discarding of perfectly good food into landfill. soulmuchfoods.com/collections/all
Reyanne Mustafa
FROM THE
EDITOR IN CHIEF DR. IRENA YASHIN-SHAW
The momentum that is being generated by Intrapreneur Magazine is very exciting. It is now a global publication with contributors from all around the world. In this issue we take a look at intrapreneurs who are doing great things in Australia, US, Europe and Africa. I am particularly excited about being able to feature on the cover of this Issue Gifford Pinchot III. Gifford is the ‘Godfather’ of modern day intrapreneurialism having coined the term in a paper he wrote with his wife Libba back in 1978 and then elaborated it further in his 1985 book Intrapreneuring. It is available on Kindle so you can download it and read it right now (or as soon as you’ve finished reading this issue). Be sure to watch my interview with Gifford on Intrapreneur TV as well as the discussion lead by Gifford for Thames TV back in 1986 with Richard Branson (Virgin) and Anita Roddick (The Body Shop) in the early days of their entrepreneurial careers. What really struck me about this discussion is its contemporary applicability despite it having been recorded over 30 years ago. It is a testament to how far ahead of the times these brilliant thinkers were.
Also, in this issue we hear from Louise Kyhl Triolo, VP of Intrapreneurial Culture at Airbus, who is working on making intrapreneurship the new normal throughout the organisation. Don’t you just love the title of her role! I’m sure we will see more of these kinds of titles as progressive organisations take up the challenge to unleash intrapreneurialism. We gain some insight into the state of intrapreneurialism in Africa through an interview with Yusuf Mutamba, an attorney and innovation management specialist in Uganda. From Australia we bring you the story of intrapreneurialism in 3M, an organisation with a proud history of innovation. Unofficial intrapreneur-in-residence for LEGO, David Gram puts out the challenge to intrapreneurs to be ‘Diplomatic Rebels’. Read about how he adds value to this iconic brand. What has now become a regular feature in each publication is a story about the transition from intrapreneur to entrepreneur. You won’t want to miss the inspiring story of two intrapreneurs in San Diego who tried unsuccessfully to get their employer to adopt their idea. In the end they started their own business and now repurpose tonnes of perfectly good food that would otherwise end up in landfill. If you know of intrapreneurs doing remarkable things or have a story you feel should be included in a future issue – please contact me at editorinchief@intrapreneurmagazine.com and my highly capable and talented team will take it from there.
Gifford Pinchot
SOLVING PROBLEMS
Entrepreneurship isn’t about leaving your 9-5 job to start a company. It’s passion – a passion to solve problems and scale your project in the right direction. And to passionately solve problems within an industry doesn’t require starting a brand new company. Sometimes, all it takes is opportunity and support.
1980’s interview Gifford Pinchot, Richard Branson and Anita Roddick
This is where intrapreneurialism comes in. And the idea is growing in popularity on a large scale. More and more large organisations are putting programs in place to encourage intrapreneurship. Likewise, there is an increase in companies, like Pinchot & Co., whose sole mission is to help organizations celebrate and cater to their intrapreneurs. Pinchot & Co. was founded over 30 years ago, by Gifford Pinchot III and his wife Libba, 08 intrapreneurmagazine.com
to liberate the creativity and passion of employees and drive profitable innovation inside of sizeable firms. To launch the intrapreneuring movement, they wrote Intrapreneuring: Why You Don’t Have to Leave the Corporation to Become and Intrapreneur. The book was wildly successful, being translated into 15 different languages, and began the long string of offering with their, now, long-term clients.
For the past 34 years, Pinchot & Co. has been helping companies use the intrapreneurial spirit of their employees to launch over 800 new products and services, implement new strategies, cut costs, address climate change, and improve functional performances. We spoke to Pinchot about how employees can navigate the resistance of the organisational immune system, how upper management can best utilise their intrapreneurs, and a brief forecast of the intrapreneurial scene. . How exactly does Pinchot & Co. help companies encourage and utilise intrapreneurs within their company? Gifford Pinchot III: There are 3 main phases: 1. Widespread education in the basics of innovation and intrapreneurship: Intrapreneurs can come from anywhere in the company. Many potential intrapreneurs, when they hear stories about intrapreneurs, have sudden realisations about who they really are. Even a mere 2-hour online training has surfaced a lot of intrapreneurs and given managers a sense of what to do when they seek coaching and support. 2. Quick successes: Accelerators that help would-be intrapreneurs develop their vision, team, and business plan. We couple the accelerator with a module in the high potential training that develops managers’ ability to understand and coach intrapreneurs. Then we guide those managers in coaching the accelerator participants. The accelerators get quick wins, build internal support for intrapreneuring and leave a cohort of developed intrapreneurs and sponsors.
Using intrapreneurs to cut expenses, but not jobs, is another way to get some guaranteed ultra-quick wins. 3. Institutional intrapreneurial systems and culture: This requires studying the culture and targeted organisational, system, and mindset changes. It includes building a “community of the willing,” committed to make the organisation better, safer, more resilient, and stronger. It requires bringing the rest of the employees along at a pace they can embrace. What is the “organisational immune system?” GP: The organisational immune system is an evocative name for the web of resistance that too often bogs down intrapreneurs. In the formal decision system, there are too many people who have to say yes to an innovative idea. It’s the collective weight of all the decisions and delays that discourages innovation. intrapreneurmagazine.com 09
We help leaders working to increase innovation and intrapreneurship in their organisations by identifying the barriers and building on the existing positive cultural factors to create an environment more supportive of intrapreneurship. We also teach intrapreneurs ways to calm the organisational immune system so it does not reject them, but instead lets them proceed. So how does an employee best act upon their innovative ideas? GP: Often that takes patience. A few hints: Ask for advice before you ask for resources. Everyone is willing to give advice. Ask them to refer you to others for answers to your questions. After talking to those suggested, go back and express gratitude for the advice. Then ask for a bit more help. The more they help, the more willing they are to help more. Building the relationship slowly by not asking for too much too soon. Test rapid prototypes with potential customers and users. Face reality, redesign, and try again. Build your team, at first with volunteers. Meet regularly. Eat together. As success grows, build an approved project and get your teammates time and budget to work on it officially. Build a high performance team. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Find sponsors and build a strong relationship with them. Keep them informed about the problems as well as the successes. 10 intrapreneurmagazine.com
Don’t oversell your idea. Be honest and you are more likely to earn the trust of managers who then take up your cause. Overselling doesn’t work in close, long-term relationships. What about tips for upper management in terms of creating an intrapreneur friendly environment within their company? GP: Bet on people, not ideas: 80% of determining success in innovation is the quality of the people doing it. What makes intrapreneurship work is not a process, but rather a relationship: In big companies, what works, instead of formal processes, is a supportive relationship of trust between one or more courageous managers and an intrapreneurial team.
Trusting the right intrapreneurs is the innovation system that works. A good first step is to learn how to tell the true intrapreneurs from the “promoters,” a venture capital term for those who talk a good game, but don’t have the character to finish the job. The big shortage is sponsors: There are plenty of potential intrapreneurs hidden in the woodwork who will come out in a supportive environment. Courageous sponsors are rare. How will you find them? Ask your intrapreneurs, “In your darkest hour, who still supported and coached you?” Those are the real sponsors, not the higher ups that came in once the idea was successful. Do you see any global trends for intrapreneurship emerging? 1. Intrapreneurship describes what the young increasingly want from work freedom and a change to make a difference early in their careers. Intrapreneurship is the answer to the epic levels of disengagement among the young. It’s gaining currency with both employees and employers. 2. Increasingly the best intrapreneurs choose projects that address challenges that address issues like the environment, health,
happiness and poverty. Their connection to deep values often drives creativity and unstoppably determined implementation that is both highly profitable and successful in addressing the world’s major challenges. Leaders are learning to respect a burning purpose coupled with frequent market testing as a predictor of success rather than an indicator of excess emotion. 3. As machines take over mechanical and analytical work, the bulk of work that is left for humans will require some combination of caring and creating. Machines don’t do these two things well and neither do humans in a command and control system. You cannot command someone to care or to innovate; it has to come from the inside – from “intrinsic motivation,” which can only flourish if employees have freedom to make many of their own decisions. Intrapreneurship provides the tools for managing intrinsic motivation and these growing categories of work. 4. It used to be that most intrapreneurs were men. Now 50% plus are women. In intrapreneurship you often get unambiguous feedback from the marketplace. Success is factual, not a matter of opinion. It requires collaboration across boundaries. An intrapreneurial role helps to offset the tendency to undervalue the contributions of women. 5. There are now ways to use intrapreneurship to drive efficiency, quality, and innovation in the internal facing and operational jobs, and even jobs doing the everyday work at the very bottom of the hierarchy. This can vastly increase the scope of intrapreneurship – it’s not just about new products, it is about getting anything done better, faster, cheaper, and more sustainably. intrapreneurmagazine.com 11
CREATIVITY IN THE FOURTH
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION By Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw
The dawn of the fourth industrial revolution has made creative thinking a core workplace activity. As we move away from a workplace paradigm where creativity is seen as a ‘fringe’ activity, into an era where creative thinking has gained the respect and attention it deserves, progressive organisations are now looking at creative thinkers as an intrinsic component of company culture. In a VUCA (Volatile. Uncertain. Complex. Ambiguous) world where success is now dependent on producing rather than reproducing; experimentation not just efficiencies; and flexibility as much as formulas, creative thinkers complement the analytical thinking. This unlocks the full gamut and spectrum of higher order thought processes and problem-solving approaches. 12 intrapreneurmagazine.com
The World Economic Forum report entitled The Three Key Skill Sets for The Workers Of 2030 shows that workers need to focus on developing their higher order cognitive skills i.e. critical and analytical thinking AND creative problem-solving. People and teams who have cognitive flexibility and are comfortable with switching among different kinds of thinking without being trapped in rigid mental models are the ones who will bring deep and holistic solutions to complex problems. In an era of unprecedented knowledge proliferation and access, we have unlimited raw materials for new ideas. Information can be combined, packaged and applied in a vast variety of new ways. It means that in order
to function well in the modern workplace we need to be able to handle complexity without compromising outcomes and combine disciplines and knowledge bases to produce innovative results. This is how high performing teams and organisations will be able to maximise the value of their intellectual capital’ (i.e. their smart people). Cognitive flexibility means being able to combine artistic and technical skills, professional knowledge and interpersonal ability and enterprise acumen with deep subject matter expertise. Organisations and businesses wishing to succeed in today’s innovation age need to develop the creative problem-solving capacity of their workforce.
intrapreneurmagazine.com 13
Unleashing creativity within the workplace is fundamental to your business success as it: Enables you to see opportunities in the marketplace or come up with a unique solution to a problem, which is the cornerstone of any business. Unlocks innovation and allows employees to see solutions for moving past, under, or through roadblocks more easily. Helps keep your business presence fresh in order to stay in your clients’ awareness. Better understand clients’ point of view. Improves leadership skills. When you have the capacity to let go of the outcome, you free your business team up for generating new ideas. Strengthens resilience. When stressful periods come up, creative thinkers bounce back faster instead of getting derailed. Increases flow and feels good. When you feel good, you attract your ideal customers and clients. To learn more about developing your creative problem-solving abilities and that of your teams visit http://www.drirenayashinshaw.com/creative-solutions/
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3M
INNOVATES WITH INTRAPRENEURS
intrapreneurmagazine.com 15
3M continues it’s bold, bright future as it embraces a new generation of thinkers and encourages high-potential employees to design and implement out-of-the-box solutions. They recently participated in a specially designed program, which encourages intrapreneurialism; Human Helium: Creating intrapreneurs that help organisations to SOAR, which was created and delivered by a woman who is leading the charge in Australia to bring intrapreneurialism to workplaces, Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw. ‘Intrapreneur’ is a relatively new concept in the corporate world. It’s the employee who brings an entrepreneurial approach to their work. Generally speaking, these employees care about the future of the company, embrace change, and want to make a difference. They are hungry for professional growth, and enjoy taking on challenges and learning new skills. The Human Helium program is geared towards inspiring employees at all levels within the organisation; reinvigorating their thought process and creating a space where the implementation of fresh thinking and new ideas can flourish. It is a carefully crafted program that takes participants on a professional development journey, resulting in innovative solutions to workplace challenges. Brendan Baker, 3M Leadership and Talent Development Manager for Australia and New Zealand, calculated the estimated value of the work delivered by the program participants to be over $1,000,000. “The program really guided participants, step-by-step, through the process of intrapreneurialism,” he explained, “It’s not just 16 intrapreneurmagazine.com
a skill or behavior that they learn, but also a process. The outcomes for the business were fantastic. We had proposals ranging from launching an app to help our sales teams be more effective, to improving efficiencies and reducing costs in many of our processes, and simple things like enhancing team culture and productivity. Many of the initiatives are currently being implemented into the business as the next phase of the process,” Brendan said.
THE ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE WORK DELIVERED HAS BEEN CALCULATED TO BE WORTH OVER $1,000,000 TO THEIR COMPANY.
Intrapreneurialism is part of the corporate DNA in 3M. Back in 1983, the chairman of 3M, Lew Lehr, gave a speech at the University of Nebraska entitled ‘Dreaming in Color: The engineer as entrepreneur’. In it he said, “For many years the corporate structure [at 3M] has been designed specifically to encourage young entrepreneurs to take an idea and run with it. If they succeed, they can and do find themselves running their own business under the 3M umbrella. The entrepreneurial approach is not a sideline at 3M. It is at the heart of our design for growth.” Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw, consultant and educator said, “There is a huge amount of untapped talent in most organisations, and 3M is benefiting from mining this talent”. “Intrapreneurialism is a relatively new concept so there is a skills gap in most organisations as leaders and managers are usually not equipped to draw out, encourage and develop employees who are intrapreneurs-in-waiting,” Dr. Yashin-Shaw said. “With training, encouragement and structured opportunities, these hidden gems are worth their weight in gold. They identify areas of the organisation that can be improved and come up with creative solutions. Their fresh perspective leads to greater customer satisfaction, heightened performance in the workplace and the organisation as a whole will stay ahead of the curve.” Program participant, Pramita Gaikwad, Product Manager for 3M’s Medical Solutions Division said, “The program has unique content and fabulous delivery with real life examples. I would highly recommend it, not
only for budding leaders, but also for seasoned ones as it helps to nourish the “Intrapreneur” concept within the organisation.” Another program participant Michelle Odayan, from 3M’s Scientific Affairs And Education area, observed that the key benefits were the ability to develop complex problem-solving frameworks by understanding the models on which the program was built, as well as how to use cross-functional teamwork to optimise product solutions. She said, “The content was very high quality and well sequenced providing an in-depth understanding of intrapreneurialism. Everyone in the organisation has a unique contribution to make. They should be respected for their ideas and actively encouraged to pioneer them. The Human Helium Program was a valuable learning experience.”
For more information on the Human Helium program, training for leaders and encouraging intrapreneurs in the workplace contact Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw on irena@drirenayashinshaw.com or visit www.drirenayashinshaw.com/intrapreneurs/ For further interviews, images or information, please contact: Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw Editor-In-Chief on editorinchief@intrapreneurmagazine.com or media@readpublishing.group
intrapreneurmagazine.com 17
ONE DAY WORKSHOP
Organizations today, are transforming themselves in order to rise to the complex challenges of the 21st century. INTRAPRENEURS can be the driving force behind this transformation!
CREATIN
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN!
G INTRA
PRENEU
RS
What it means to be an intrapreneur and why it is so important Why nurturing your intrapreneurial abilities is the BEST investment you can make in yourself, career and workplace How to be intrapreneurial inside a large organisation How to spot innovation opportunities and capitalise on them A proven pathway for developing your confidence and influence as an agent of positive change Ways of quantifying the impact of intrapreneurial activities
“Developing our intrapreneurial skills with Dr. Irena has been hugely beneficial for changing the way we think about our business problems and their solutions.” — K. Dyble. Manager. QSA.
Processes for developing business acumen How to overcome barriers to intrapreneurialism The intrapreneurial mindset and skillset and how to use them to turbo charge intrapreneurial and transformation efforts!
“Great program! I have used the central model as a reference in developing my own change strategy.” — I. MacDonald. A/Manager. DigitalArchiving Program.
18 intrapreneurmagazine.com
ONE DAY WORKSHOP PACKAGE
CREATING INTRAPRENEURS
Find ways of addressing key organisational challenges such as: Cutting red tape ‘De-siloing’ Transforming legacy systems and evolving the business model Streamlining bureaucratic outdated processes Transitioning to digitisation Finding clever ways to reclaim tens of thousands of dollars of lost productivity within your workplace! Inspiring participation and collaboration to address complex challenges. Introducing new revenue streams
WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Leaders, emerging leaders, aspiring leaders and influencers at ALL LEVELS who want to create positive and meaningful change while developing their intrapreneurial skills. Ideal for people and teams tasked with driving, catalysing and championing innovation. If your area is undergoing change, this is your opportunity to help shape that. WANT TO RUN THIS WORKSHOP IN-HOUSE? admin@drirenayashinshaw.com P: +61 7 3849 5003 M: +61 411 330 301
Dr Irena Yashin-Shaw, PhD Liberating Intrapreneurialism, Innovation, Creativity and Leadership With a PhD in Creative Problem-Solving and a Master’s Degree in Adult Education, Dr. Irena is a highly experienced corporate educator adept at helping people to liberate their creativity and intrapreneurial thinking to solve problems and drive innovation. As one of Australia’s leading authorities on intrapreneurialism, she understands what works and why when it comes to helping people, teams and organisations learn, transform and evolve to be future-ready and future-fluent.
admin@drirenayashinshaw.com
intrapreneurmagazine.com 19
www.drirenayashinshaw.com
COULD YOU BE AN
INTRAPRENEUR? When we think of ‘innovation,’ we often think about those classic stories of people tinkering away in the pursuit of scientific and technological progress. That’s where so many key companies began, after all. But, it’s important to remember that it’s not the only way it happens. There’s a reason some companies manage to stay in the game for so long: They recognise the creative and technical geniuses that are innovating within the structure of business and harness their potential. This practice is known as intrapreneurialism. An intrapreneur creates, pitches, and gets funding for their own business ideas or products while working as an employees within a larger corporate structure. It’s about identifying a new opportunity and leading from the front. If you’re someone who likes the idea of contributing to a larger team, having steady pay and benefits, and getting exposure to the workings of a major corporation, but you still want to make something new, then find a company with a culture of intrapreneurship. If you want to exercise your 20 intrapreneurmagazine.com
intrapreneurial spirit within the company you currently work for, here are some ways you can become recognised as the valuable asset you are.
Understand the company. It all begins with a deep understanding of the unique challenges that the company faces. Spend time researching a specific issue within your area of expertise to gain an understanding of what needs fixing and consider some viable strategies. Look at your department’s unique pain points and the way they impact customers or colleagues. An intrapreneur’s focus is on transforming the company from the inside out. Build relationships. Build your user knowledge and insider relationships to gain allies, resources and support for your ideas. You need to build a team, invest your own time, and seek sponsorship from executives in the right department. Be brave and take risks. You have to be able to put yourself on the line and say ‘I really think it’s worth doing something about this.’ Then, go and create the story, the arguments, support, just as you would if you were going it solo out in the business world. You can’t be afraid to fail. A love of experimentation means you explore different potential paths to produce innovative breakthroughs. This can often result in failure, but as an intrapreneur, you can’t see a failed experiment as permanent failure. Failure is an important and unavoidable stepping-stone on the path to success. Step out your role. An intrapreneurial spirit isn’t confined by an official role or title. No matter what role you’re in, take the steps to build informal leadership by applying critical and creative thinking to come up with out-of-the-box solutions. When you understand your colleagues’ most pressing problems you can empathize, which leads to valuable outcomes for the company.
Take initiative and have faith. An intrapreneur doesn’t ask permission first, they get permission along the way. Focus on getting investment dollars, a head count, project teams and whatever else is needed to create that new business. You tend to ask a little more forgiveness than permission, with the bigger picture in mind. Your passion, empathy, critical thinking and collaboration will help your organisation compete and evolve. An intrapreneur, you will constantly seek innovative solutions to the problems you see around you and bring opportunities to light as a part of your normal role and responsibilities. So, if you wake up every morning itching to go to work to swim against the tide, if you are committed to helping your company become more innovative, can see the future coming and are committed to ensuring your company survives in that future, you may just be an intrapreneur. intrapreneurmagazine.com 21
Innovations From Which To Dream
BIG “All innovation is driven by people.” – Louise Kyhl Triolo, VP Intrapreneurial Culture, Airbus A3 22 intrapreneurmagazine.com
From the early days in her career working with L’Oreal in Paris, to landing a job with Airbus Helicopters in the south of France, to ultimately spearheading a groundbreaking innovation project with Airbus A3, Louise Kyhl Triolo has always believed in the power of intrapreneurialism. “Intrapreneurialism, for me, is not a trend; it is the most natural form of human expression - thinking, creating, federating, building, making…. Although not each and every one of us has the desire, nor the skills to do so, I believe nevertheless that it is our way forward,” she said. “Intrapreneurship allows businesses and organisations to ‘drill holes in the walls’ – it creates airflow between in and out, thus more oxygen within. It revolutionises ancient and outdated systems, processes and workflows that stifle initiative, autonomy and mastery.” Louise was instrumental in creating Airbus’s crowdsourcing innovation initiative and cultural transformation project known as Dream Big. People from within the organisation, of which there are over 135,000 across Airbus, are encouraged and supported to see innovative ideas come to light. Internal innovation labs and programs offer intrapreneurs space, coaching and capital to work on their ideas, taking them all the way through from concept, to acceleration phase and, in many cases, implementation. The business is now cementing the intrapreneurial mindset within both its culture and processes by updating policy, redefining roles and responsibilities of management and HR, and defining the recognition system for those who step up and offer new light to the culture and inner workings of the business.
“Intrapreneurship is now becoming a priority for our various businesses as it’s seen as a way to accelerate new growth and change our ways of working,” Louise said. Dream Big became a reality after Louise was asked by the management of Airbus Helicopters to lead the cultural transformation of the business. While the company was maintaining success, forward-thinking leaders of the time knew there was a better way forward. With a small team by her side, Louise invented New Ways. With this system, performance management was overhauled, along with leadership programs and business objectives. “What I learnt as a result of this experience and felt passionate about, was that people drive all innovation. The way we work, think, collaborate, learn and incubate ideas, is all dictated by the culture in which we do it in,” Louise recalls. Two years later, Airbus was poised to establish an innovation centre and venture capital fund in the Silicon Valley, US. After her work with New Ways, Louise had some innovative ideas of her own when it came to such a project: “I thought, if we were to do that, we needed to focus on the technological and financial side of innovation, as well as the human side of change. We should learn about the culture in which all the disruptive ideas are born and implemented, to extract what could help us at Airbus,” she said. “So I wrote a note of what, in my opinion, was needed for us to learn there and I landed myself a job four years ago in the Silicon Valley!”
intrapreneurmagazine.com 23
From here, Louise was on what she describes as an “intrapreneurial 3-fold mission”: to set up the innovation centre and venture fund, start-up the Airbus Leadership University in North America, and bring back the learnings and practices from the Valley to help change the culture within Airbus as a whole.
employees to dream, to give our ‘hidden’ talent a voice in the transformation of our company and let them help shape our future, learn and make our dreams come true.”
It was while working in Silicon Valley on this project that Louise developed the Dream Big concept.
plays within Airbus’s businesses.
Her role within the organisation shifted to become VP of Global Intrapreneurial Culture and officialise the part intrapreneurship
“I learned that the talent, the ‘entrepreneurial’ drive, skills and passion, the big thinking, the transversal collaboration, the positive ‘yes, and’ culture were the keys that make the Silicon Valley the innovation hotspot of the world.
Not even one year into the Dream Big journey and incredible innovations are already emerging from the diverse talent that was waiting in the wings of Airbus. For example, by using incentive challenges, the business has been able to tap into a vast talent pool to come up with solutions to mind-bending problems.
“So, I decided that the most important thing I could do to infuse that innovative spirit and mindset into Airbus was to inspire all
“Instead of us finding the needle in the haystack, the needle is finding us! We are thus engaging with the external ecosystem
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in a completely different way, ‘hidden’ talent is helping us create new designs, and we collectively save costs overall,” Louise said. For a company such as Airbus, there is a delicate balance between control and creativity. Safety is of paramount concern, therefore there will always be an element of
futures,” Louise said. Ironically, Louise sees the future of the initiative as one that is obsolete, where intrapreneurialism becomes so ingrained in the organisation’s culture, that there is no longer a need for formalised systems. Intrapreneurialism will have a permanent
“Intrapreneurship allows businesses and organisations to ‘drill holes in the walls’ – it creates airflow between in and out, thus more oxygen within.” compliance necessary to any new way of working, but this does not need to be all-consuming. “We are continuously navigating between these two notions within our culture - strong control necessary for optimum safety and compliance, and empowerment necessary for innovation and growth. However, intrapreneurship enables our people and the organisation tangibly and methodologically to navigate this uncertainty, loosen some of the tension and constructively challenge the status quo to transform and build new
seat at executive meetings and be uncompromisingly welcomed top-down. While there is still work to be done in reaching this intrapreneurial nirvana across the business world, Airbus is leading the way. “Intrapreneurs drive change with purpose - there is a higher cause, they/we want to make a positive difference to humanity and our planet - the world can only be a better place once we allow that spirit to flourish in our organisations.” intrapreneurmagazine.com 25
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Be introduced to the next gen technology platforms that are liberating intrapreneurialism and intrapreneurs around the world Meet our amazing international and Australian speakers who are on the cutting edge of this global movement Discover the practical strategies that will unlock the underutilised potential in you and your teams Hang out and network with your tribe of diverse intrapreneurs and have some fun Learn how to prepare, rejuvenate and reskill your workforce for the future Gain valuable insights into how other sectors are doing intrapreneurialism Find out how to unleash the intrapreneurial talent in your ranks Be inspired by remarkable stories of intrapreneurial success Understand why intrapreneurialism is the future of talent Put some rocket fuel into your career trajectory Experience some very cool new technology! More information is available at australianintraapreneurssummit.com.au/
26 intrapreneurmagazine.com
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IntraPRENEUR TV
Gifford Pinchot
Louise Khyl Triolo
Yusuf Mutamba
David Gram
26 intrapreneurmagazine.com
David Gram:
BECOMING A
DIPLOMATIC REBEL
Entrepreneurs often face an uphill battle. It’s difficult enough to come up with a product, service, or system that’s innovative, useful, and effective. When you add in hours of solo work and trying to gain funding, it’s no wonder entrepreneurs seem stressed. intrapreneurmagazine.com 29
That’s where intrapreneurs have it easy, right? They are already employed within an established company, with resources and budgeting. Well, that notion is incorrect. Intrapraneurs don’t walk a path of leisure. Deriving new thinking and strategies within a business is notoriously difficult, and it’s especially difficult to be an intrapreneur within a legacy company. The bigger and older the organization, the more difficult the task. That being said, change is constant, and businesses have to adapt. The result? Intrapreneurs are becoming more important. David Gram worked as an intrapreneur within companies for 15 years, including LEGO, before starting his own company, Diplomatic Rebels. Growing up with two artist parents, Gram had always been drawn to creativity. His career started as a semi-pro drummer before he ventured into the realm of music management. There, he found he was really good at management and began to realize there needed to be a balance between the creative and business mind, which the skill intrapreneurs often excel with. …On Being an Intrapreneur at LEGO Although ‘Intrapreneur in Residence’ isn’t Gram’s official title, it is a good representation of what he does at LEGO. By working at LEGO as his own company, he isn’t forced to follow the organization hierarchy. Instead, he has the opportunity to follow the project. He is able to work to solve the big challenges, build the structure or procedure, ensure the challenge is solved, and move on to the next project. And more and more businesses are pulling in intrapreneurs for these types of positions. Similar to freelance contractors, these interim intrapreneurs are able to move freely 30 intrapreneurmagazine.com
and strategically within a company, solving problems and driving radical innovation within an organization without having to worry about the otherwise mundane tasks of the org’s employees and managers. There’s no question that there’s an influx of employees operating with an intrapreneurial mindset, and when businesses employ this forward way of thinking, it appeals to those intrapreneurial individuals. They care more about the project and less about their position. They’re less interested in managing than they are in problem solving. This is why employees like Gram thrive in free positions like resident intrapreneurs. At LEGO, he is able to engage in digital transformation, launching pilot programs, and propelling a legacy company forward. He explained his role as questioning “How do you merge digital and play in a way that doesn’t compromise the creativity of the child?” …On Being a Diplomatic Rebel Questioning how to transform and add value to a company/system without compromising the integrity is the job of an intrapreneur. However, creativity and project management can be difficult to balance, especially within a legacy company that is set in its ways. This is why Gram started Diplomatic Rebels, to teach intrapreneurs the skills required to work within an established company. The key, according to gram is to be both a rebel, who can challenge the system and ask why, and a diplomat, who can be strategic and business minded enough to get the corporation on board.
Implementing new techniques, systems, products, etc. without getting locked into the system you’re trying to change is the challenge intrapreneurs will face. And according to Gram, there aren’t many people who can naturally be a diplomat and a rebel at the same time. From his experience, Gram derived five habits needed to serve as a diplomatic rebel: 1. Accept resistance: “There will be resistance,” says Gram, “It’s human nature.” If you understand that, you won’t burn out as easily. 2. Understand the rules you’re breaking and why they were there: Why is the company built the way it is? Why do people behave the way they do? What are the rules, and why are they there? Your job as an intrapreneur is not to disrupt the existing organization, it’s to improve it. By understanding why the current rules are in place, you are better able to assess the ways to alter and improve upon them in a way that doesn’t undermine the mission of the company. 3. Build a tribe: Intrapreneurs shouldn’t be confused with introverts. Well, they could be introverts. But one of the keys, according to Gram, of successful change is building a tribe, a group of like-minded individuals. He explained, “this is less about the project and more about making a movement.” Find others within the institution that have skill sets and attitudes necessary to complete the project and include them in your process.
4. Write love letters, literally: Gram explained that entrepreneurs tend to be a little arrogant, in a good way. Their work is impressive. But intrapreneurs should remember to be humble and kind and cultivate humility. Aside from having the resources of a large company, intrapreneurs are in the same position as entrepreneurs, says Gram; they’re building from scratch. And to do that, they must get people on board. He suggests, literally, writing love letters: “Reach out to those people and ask them to help you, knowing you’re standing on the shoulder of giants to look into the future.” 5. Make others shine along the way: Like resistance, it’s human nature to want to save successes for ourselves, meaning taking credit for our wins. And this is something you definitely should do! However, it’s important to give credit to other when credit is due. Gram says that in his experience, it drives morale and excitement. At LEGO, he explained working on a small project, Life of George, a quirky little game that involved building something and being scored on accuracy. “A lot of people helped,” he said, “So toward the end, we created golden bricks (within the game) and gave them in boxes to people who’d done a lot. They received a little statuette, and people were happy and excited. Remembering who helped and celebrating them is powerful when trying to change behavior.” To find out more about ‘Diplomatic Rebels’ visit diplomaticrebels.com
intrapreneurmagazine.com 31
INVITATION TO A LEADERSHIP MASTERCLASS with
space
Mom Wife
SCIENTIST
Space Scientist Neuroscientist Engineer
Archaeologist Entrepreneur
Tara M Ruttley, PhD
Inventor
Aquanaut
Astronaut Finalist
Internationally-acclaimed Speaker Routine Explorer
As a kid growing up in southern Louisiana, Tara had always wanted to work for NASA. Today she is located in Washington DC where she is part of NASA’s top leadership and has been instrumental in creating a strong scientific program on the International Space Station (ISS). In her current role as Associate Chief Scientist she supports NASA’s chief scientist for lunar and Martian scientific planning by developing research recommendations to NASA Headquarters.
Combining her love for biology and human spaceflight, Tara pursued her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University. While working as a biomedical engineer at the Johnson Space Centre she concurrently pursued her PhD in Neuroscience. This has given her a deep understanding of how the brain literally changes for the better when we have new experiences making us better able to adapt to change, overcome fear and adversity, and invite new
opportunities in our personal and professional lives. Dr. Ruttley has also recently completed a MA degree in Anthropology-Archaeology from the University of Houston; has authored numerous publications ranging from hardware design to neurological science, and also holds a U.S. utility patent. www.tararuttley.com
“I help people to better adapt to any situation by inspiring them to try new
30 intrapreneurmagazine.com experiences beyond their routine. We can all be Routine Explorers.”
EXPLORING BEYOND THE ROUTINE KEY TAKEAWAYS Leaders can be so busy pushing themselves in their daily lives, that they often get swept away by this routine of showing up, giving it all, advancing, and doing it all again. While it may yield professional success (and sometimes it doesn’t) there is something missing – the joy of exploration and discovery. Our brains are literally rewired for the better when we try new experiences. This makes it easier for us to adapt to change and build resiliency. Big experiences, small experiences, memory making, revisiting old passions. This masterclass class touches on the fun science behind what the brain does with new experiences (hint: it changes, big time!). Find out how this can help us overcome barriers so that we can meet our full leadership potential. Plus, it helps us live more fully!
You will: Experience a little bit of fun science on how the brain literally changes during new experiences. Understand the neuroscience behind the four areas that benefit when we try new things: Overcome fear Inspire yourself Invite new opportunities Promote resourcefulness Find the balance in your life that comes through trying new experiences, big and small Learn how to address barriers to adaptability associated with daily routines Go on a unique journey with Tara as she shares her experiences and how they made her a better leader at NASA (and also mother and wife). Her stories range from experiencing microgravity to volunteering for archaeology expeditions and many things in-between. Hear examples of experiences around the world that are accessible to everyone.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity! Places are limited and this event WILL sell out - so register early Date & Time:
Friday, 20th March 2020, 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Cost :
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Location: Royal on the Park, 152 Alice St. Brisbane. Use this link to register and pay (https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/leadership-masterclass-with-nasas-associate-chief-scientist-tara-ruttley-registration-74637064469)
Enquiries: irena@drirenayashinshaw.com 0411330301
intrapreneurmagazine.com 31
Yusuf Mutamba:
BOLSTERING
INTRAPRENEU
Rags to riches stories about entrepreneurs starting businesses from their garages seem more appealing than working within an established company. However, while intriguing, entrepreneurship comes with some liabilities such as the potential of failure and a lack of job security. Many large organisations are harnessing the innovation and energy of the startup sector into their companies through intrapreneurship.
34 intrapreneurmagazine.com
Companies in countries all over the world are encouraging existing employees to be more entrepreneurial as a way of benefiting the organisation through intrapreneurship. However, while the idea is becoming increasingly popular within businesses and organisations, there’s still a long way to go. To learn more about intrapreneurship in the African business space, we spoke to Rwandan attorney, Yusuf Mutamba.
URSHIP
“Managers are often bound by conventional wisdom which can make it difficult for them to move beyond established practices,” explains Mutamba.”When the organisation finds itself in crisis, they resort to restructuring because that’s what the corporate handbook dictates. Unfortunately a company loses tomorrow’s business if they simply restructure or downsize without doing differently.” When top managers refuse to acknowledge their company is in need of change and innovation, they are only hurting their own bottom line. Instead, managers should embrace change and be open to new, innovative and unique ideas. Africa’s innovation landscape is in its infancy compared to other continents, but Mutamba says “Africa is not seeking to play catch up.” Instead, African businesses are conducting intrapreneurship experiments at an increasing rate and gaining ground across the continent. Key experiments across the continent include: A start-up (AXIS) in Kigali driving the digitalisation of Rwanda through the development of its platform
Mutamba specialises in private sector development in emerging markets and issues related to international trade, development finance, private investment, commercial agriculture, and industrial development. He also has particular interest in intellectual property and innovation management.
An Egyptian crowd solving platform (Yomken.com) enabling African companies to find African solutions to the industrial challenges they face
Earlier this year, Mutamba wrote a piece for The New Times, Rwanda’s leading daily newspaper, about Intrapreneurship and how businesses can grow when top managers allow for intrapreneurship in their organisations.
A Senegalese telecom group supporting an employee intrapreneur with his start-up initiative in the health sector
A Moroccan start-up (Screendy) catalyzing the open innovation of large organisations via hackathons
intrapreneurmagazine.com 35
According to Mutamba, the African business space has identified five key factors of success that need to be implemented to bolster intrapreneurship within an established company. These include: 1. Secure strategic buy-in from top management “Nothing happens in a large company unless top management is involved and willing to make it happen,” explains Mutamba, “Therefore, its buy-in is absolutely vital. Using either a trickle down approach, where management addresses an issue and sends it down the production line or a trickle up method, where the operational team encourage the work from the top, upper management has a critical role in involving intrapreneurship within their company. At some point, top management has to get involved.” 2. Be agile in structured approaches
4. Adopt an open mindset
“Structured approaches no doubt reassure established companies because relations with external stakeholders are easier to manage. But they don’t guarantee fluidity,” according to Matamba, “Companies should be prepared to cope with uncertain situations - and for this they need agility.”
Businesses must be open to new methodologies like design thinking and lean start-up and train their teams in how to use them. Managers must be open to the prospect of failure, but more importantly understanding and learning from it so they can change direction quickly if necessary.
3. Manage the short and long term
5. Engage teams
Timing is another important factor in achieving intrapreneurial outcomes. Realistically that won’t happen overnight. Companies must allow time for that transformation to take place. It takes time to find the right approach, to convince others and to prepare for and manage the change.
The success of intrapreneurial initiatives is dependent on being able to engage teams throughout the entire organisation, not just in one area such as the company’s core business. This could be done through internal competitions, incentives, empowering them to redesign processes and giving recognition where it is due. innovationvillage.co.ug
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FROM LEFTOVERS TO
LIFE-CHANGERS:
SOULMUCH
INSPIRATION Reyanne Mustafe
While working in a San Diego restaurant, Reyanne Mustafa and Kristian Krugman witnessed an overwhelming amount of food waste being discarded at the end of each day. Most notably was the leftover cooked rice and quinoa that had not had the chance to get to hungry customers. As forward-thinking, sustainability-minded individuals, this did not sit right with them and they wanted to find a solution to the wastage.
intrapreneurmagazine.com 37
Reyanne and Kristian did not set out to become entrepreneurs - or even intrapreneurs - all they wanted was to stop the unnecessary discarding of perfectly good food into landfill. Their first solution was to package up the leftover rice and take it downtown to people who needed it, but soon realised it was not a sustainable option, nor was it safe or entirely legal in San Diego. Their next idea was to create a protein powder. “This ‘aha moment’ came when I was walking down the protein aisle at Sprouts and picked up a protein powder that I was interested in buying. The first ingredient on the package was dehydrated rice, and the second ingredient was dehydrated quinoa. I thought, my gosh, this is the stuff we are throwing away every single day,” Reyanne said. Unfortunately, this idea didn’t progress, as they quickly discovered a saturated market and that people were loyal to their tried-and-trusted brands. With Reyanne’s background in food science and nutrition, she knew there had to be something new and exciting they could create, but it was Reyanne’s mother who came up with the idea that would eventually stick – cookies. The two of them were driving back from a big food expo called Expo West that showcases the latest in food innovations and ideas. “Driving back home, I started brainstorming, maybe I could make a veggie patty out of the brown rice, or dog treats, chips or something similar. But then mum goes ‘I got it’ and slaps me on the thigh - ‘how do you make food waste sexy? Cookies, everyone loves 38 intrapreneurmagazine.com
cookies!’. Honestly, I wasn’t sure at that stage!” So, Reyanne and Kristian started their market research to see what people wanted and work out whether cookies were a viable option. They conducted hundreds of customer surveys and interviews and discovered that people wanted a fast, convenient snack such as a bar or biscuit. “The reason we chose a cookie rather than a protein bar was because playing with cookies is so much more fun, and the marketing is a lot more enticing - it’s different, otherwise we would likely get lost in the sea of protein bars all on the market,” Reyanne said. From there, Reyanne and Kristian started experimenting with their product idea,
They had found a solution for the mass amounts of food waste leaving the restaurant’s kitchen each night, so they took their plan to management. It seemed like a no-brainer to Reyanne and Kristian, but their idea of drying the leftover rice and turning it into flour to be repurposed fell flat with management. They were all set to pitch them the cookie idea too, but Reyanne’s mother encouraged them to be bold and take ownership of their hard work and create a business of their own. They took the ‘leap of faith’, and SOULMUCH became a reality. “Creating a company was actually the last thing that we wanted to do. We had gone to our management several times and told them; ‘look, why don’t you guys do something with this rice? You are already purchasing 50 pounds of brown rice and brown rice flour every single week, why don’t you just take the rice you are throwing away and repurpose it?’” Reyanne said. finishing their shift at the restaurant and staying back to throw the rice and other potential ingredients in a mixer to see what happened. The first (of many) batches were an abysmal failure, and the pair became close to giving up. The turning point came when they decided to switch from trying to make something new and instead go back to basics, then work out how to incorporate the brown rice into a traditional cookie recipe – and it worked. “We made a regular chocolate chip cookie and those tasted really good, so then we tried to see what we could sub out or sub in to add the rice. We figured out that we needed to dry the rice and then turn it into flour, rather than just making a cookie and inserting cooked rice into it. It was such a slight change, but that really was a pivotal moment in the early stages,” Reyanne said.
“We were not being heard and it was really frustrating, but I think that that is what inspired us. We thought, okay, if you’re not going to hear us, you’re going to hear us eventually when we make our own company.” While they already had the passion and the culinary skills to make their dream a reality, business was another beast altogether. They joined a business incubator on the local university’s campus which helped them create a business framework that could take their idea to a full-blown enterprise. This taught them everything from business framework to marketing and logo creation, taxes and accounting.
intrapreneurmagazine.com 39
you evolve your idea into something workable and, eventually, profitable. Her other piece of advice is to find a partner that helps push you in the right direction. “There are two types of people in the entrepreneur world; the ringleaders or executors, then there’s the idea monkeys or visionaries. You need both to make something work because ideas are just ideas until you make them happen,” she said. “Without Krissy, my co-founder who is the executor, I would still be sitting on the idea of trying to figure out something to do with this rice and not know how to actually start.”
“They walked us through the whole process and without that, we would have been extremely overwhelmed and not have known where to start,” Reyanne said. When it comes to advice for other would-be entrepreneurs moving from the comforts of someone else’s business to contemplating their own, finding a similar support scheme, as they did, is Reyanne’s first piece of advice. This could be through the local, small business administration, an online community, or something set up through a private corporate system. Finding your support group and your cheerleaders is very important, especially in the early stages as 40 intrapreneurmagazine.com
Reyanne’s third piece of advice is just to take that leap of faith and do it! As she puts it, fall in love with your problem, not your solution. From here, start conducting your research on what people want and how you can solve the problem in a useful and innovative way. Now that their kitchen is thriving, Reyanne and Kristian have set themselves a new goal – to rescue 1 million pounds of food in the next five years. They can’t do it alone, so will be working hard to inspire others to join the movement and make a lasting impact. They have become much more than a cookie company; they are a source of education, inspiration and power. “It is our goal that every bite you take out of our cookie, you take the opportunity to reflect and be inspired, knowing that your purchasing habits have so much power and you really can shape the world you live in,” Reyanne said. “And that is what’s so beautiful about entrepreneurship, that being able to create that impact in every single sale that you do.” soulmuchfoods.com
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