Intrapreneurship: Where the mind is without fear

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Where the mind is without fear Intrapreneurship helps both the employee and the employer unlock their hidden potential and take the innovation route /Vimarsh Bajpai

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re you planning to quit your job to realize your dream of becoming an entrepreneur?

Think again. You may get the “freedom” to hone your entrepreneurial skills within your workplace itself. As Indian companies across sectors devise new strategies to compete in the global marketplace, they are learning the importance of retaining their best brains at any cost. They are tapping, like never before, into the most valu-

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able resource at their disposal – the idea bank of their best employees. Not only this, big businesses are taking to 'decentralization' in a big way, slicing their behemoth operations into small units, each run independently by the new-age manager – the intrapreneur.

Management consultant Gifford Pinchot coined the word ‘intrapreneur’ back in 1978. He later dealt at length on the subject in his bestselling book, Intrapreneuring: Why You Don’t

Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur. Pinchot elaborated on the importance of freedom to think and act within a corporation.

He also showed how companies could stay on the leading edge by fostering intrapreneurship at all levels of corporate hierarchy.

“Dynamic and competitive business environments of modern organizations are increasingly pressurizing them to become more receptive

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issues/intrapreneurship DARE/who is an intrapreneur?

1. (S)he loves the freedom to think beyond the obvious 2. (S)he adopts unconventional routes to process functioning 3. (S)he speaks his mind 4. (S)he builds or runs the business as his own 5. (S)he is a risk-taker 6. (S)he tries to kill bureaucracy 7. (S)he lacks the fear of failure 8. (S)he is a team player 9. (S)he thrives on innovation 10. (S)he is a self-motivator

to novel ideas, approaches and attitudes,” says Ganesh Natarajan, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director, Zensar Technologies.

The intrapreneurial genome The twin efforts on the idea and responsibility front are bearing fruits.

Letting their employees air freely even their wildest thoughts are turning shop floors into fertile grounds for innovation. At the same time, giving intrapreneurs a free hand in running business units equals to quenching their desire of having their own startups. Agrees Natarajan. “The fact that rapid and cost-effective innovations are the only source of gaining and sustaining competitive advantage is ensuring that large organizations move towards encouraging intrapreneurship amongst their employees,” he says.

Many of Zensar’s innovative ideas have been born out of its intrapreneurship efforts that have found their way into successful scaling up and commercialization. Zensar’s Solution BluePrint (SBP), a unique framework

that automates the software engineering process, began as an effort of some individuals. SimiTalent Transformation and Intrapreneurship Delarly, “Google has an velopment, the training wing at HCL, has initiated intranet where every employee can post a number of organizationally strategic programs their ideas. Toyota that help employees at every level to get opporgets a million ideas tunities to discover and explore the intrepreneur a year from its rank within them. and its file workers. A manager has to manIGen and Value Creation Portal: Employees are age them from his encouraged to come forward with implementable heart. They don’t care ideas that would add value to the engagements how much you know, that they are working for. until they know how The Eagles Program: Aimed at grooming high permuch you care about them,” says Robert B formance managers, who would be the torchbearTucker, President, ers of intrapreneurship in the organization.

The Innovation Re“Employees are the assets at HCL and there is a source. constant quest to promote an intrapreneurial Take the example culture that fosters creativity and innovation, of Vineet Nayar, CEO, encourages proactive and collaborative behavior HCL Technologies. that ultimately increases the level of engagement Nayar began his caof our employees,” says Anand Pillai, Vice President reer with the tech & Global Head- Talent Transformation & Intrapremajor in 1985. Shiv neurship Development, HCL Technologies.

Nadar, the then President of HCL Tech took note of Nayar’s “leadership skills and provided him an opportunity to sat- in true intrapreneurial spirit. Many inisfy his entrepreneurial quest within trapreneurs move out of their mentor the organization.” In 1992, Nayar set organizations to start their own busiup HCL Comnet, a 100% subsidiary of nesses after gaining invaluable skills at HCL that dealt in remote infrastruc- running key operations.

Free flow of ideas is the essence of ture management and allied services.

There are many such examples, both intrapreneurship. Companies play the at the global and national level. It is role of mini-incubators – testing ideas, widely believed that Jack Welch, the doing feasibility studies, and providlegendary chairman of General Elec- ing unequivocal support in converting tric, built the company’s engineering the thought process into new products plastics business as his own company, or services. “It is the process by which

HCL Technologies

“Companies need to ask people to be creative, and praise employees who try things differently, irrespective of the outcome.”

— ROBERT B TUCKER PRESIDENT, THE INNOVATION RESOURCE JANUARY 2008 85

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the same, the levels and style of freedom may vary for different verticals. “In the context of the BPO industry, intrapreVision Community: A voluntary participative neurship separates the men from the forum of motivated individuals with capaboys,” says Ranjit bility and commitment to contribute to the Pisharoty, Senior VP (Global Techorganization. nology, Transitions & Strategic ProInnovation Forum: Associates are encouraged grams), Sutherland to think innovatively and are supported by the Global Services. “It management at all levels. is the spirit of ownership, innovation “Many of Zensar’s innovative ideas have and ‘value release’, brought about by the been born out of its intrapreneurship efforts creative engagement that have found their way into successful of individuals and scaling up and commercialization,” says Ganesh teams that drives excellence in serNatarajan, Deputy Chairman and MD, vice delivery, leadZensar Technologies. ing to breakthrough growth,” he says.

Intrapreneurship can thrive in public sector compaan individual or a team in an existing nies as well. In fact, many employees organization pursues new ideas and in public sector companies move off opportunities that results in new busi- the conveyor belt to operate indepennesses/revenue streams for the orga- dently. It is just that they have to push nization or significantly improves the a little harder, as Indian bureaucracy is quality or reduces the cost of its prod- a tough nut to crack. Delhi Metro Manucts or services,” says K Kumar, Profes- aging Director E Sreedharan is a case in point. He can be called a publicsor at IIM Bangalore.

Despite the impression that intra- sector intrapreneur. Leading from the preneurship works only in IT compa- front, Sreedharan has built Delhi Metnies, which run fast on the innovation ro with his efforts. He has ensured that treadmill, it is not so. Companies from clearances from various government sectors as diverse as BPO, banking, departments come flying. He also profoods, pharma, electronics and auto motes the culture of “autonomous” are upbeat on the benefits on intra- functioning within the organization, preneurship. While the goals remain and delegates responsibilities to op-

Zensar Technologies

DARE/how to foster intrapreneurship?

Decentralize: The key to efficient management and quick decision-making lies in allocating responsibilities to team leaders and section heads.

Autonomy is the key.

Create a culture: It is for the top management to make intrapreneurship an inalienable part of the company’s work culture.

Trickle-down effect: It’s a top-down approach.

Intrapreneurship practices percolate down the corporate hierarchy.

Time to think: Your employees’ mind is a valuable resource. Give them time to think fresh thoughts.

Freedom of expression: Lend ears to your employees. Let them express their ideas through various channels, such as forums, idea boards, etc.

Reward out-of-the-box ideas: Even applause on the shop floor may be enough to send the message out that great ideas are welcome.

Motivate risk-takers: Those who have the courage to implement novel ideas, even if they sometimes go wrong, should be praised for their entrepreneurial pursuit.

Do not discriminate: A good idea can come from anyone within the corporate hierarchy. Don’t classify ideas as good or bad based on the persons it come from.

Promote innovation: Be it products or services, help employees devise new ways of innovation.

Though not all innovations are good, each one is a learning experience.

Supply resources: Provide financial, technical and motivational support to those with the entrepreneurial gene. Most of them will value the support they get.

erational heads. More than anything, it is the strong willpower that separates an intrapreneur from an ordinary employee.

Importance of intrapreneurship Encouraging employees to think creative and out-of-the-box can give companies access to a rich idea bank.

Agrees Tucker. “The curiosity of the younger lot is a great asset to the

“At the apex level, a CEO can attempt to instill an entrepreneurial mindset and push for continuous generation and pursuit of innovative ideas within the organization.”

— K KUMAR, PROFESSOR, IIM-BANGALORE 86

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issues/intrapreneurship organization. Also, research shows you need to have lot of ideas to have a breakthrough idea,” he says. So companies are now lending their ears to what their employees have to say about the business models, products and services.

“As organizations grow to larger sizes, it becomes important to shift from single leadership to shared leadership at the top and creation of leadership across the hierarchy. The value creation then starts to happen at every level and at a much faster pace,” says Ajay Soni, Business Leader, Hewitt Associates.

But do remember, it is not a oneway street. Intrapreneurship benefits both the employer and the employee.

While it gives the employer a chance to get a sneak preview of the employee’s thought process, it gives the latter the confidence to share even his wildest thoughts, which may bear the seeds of a big business idea.

“For the employer (read companies and organizations), the winning business ideas of the future are in the minds of the employees, and intrapreneurship is the process through which the organizations can uncover and nurture these ides to the benefit of the organization,” says Kumar. For the employee, intrapreneurship is “the most potent learning process” that challenges their knowledge, creativity and entrepreneurial skill – all of which are vital for their survival in a knowledge economy, he adds.

Take, for example, the foundation of the Testing Practice at Zensar, which Natarajan calls “one of the most significant business opportunities, both in terms of the market and the organization.” The Practice, which commenced

with merely ten resources, is today one of the major Practices with over 300 resources. It is a result I-model (Intrapreneurship model): This helps of several debates individuals “take unfettered business decisions” and deliberations of and celebrates “work-place innovation". The "global young individuals operations dashboard" is drilled to the lowest levels and the management at the Vision Commuin the organization, linking the parameters seen by nity, a voluntary parindividuals to their success factors. This has helped ticipative forum of associates, team leaders, managers and the senior motivated individuleadership to march to a common drum beat with als with capability no room for ambiguity or surprises. and commitment to contribute to the or“This has helped individuals come up with small ganization. and large projects for dramatic performance According to improvement and customer experience Hewitt’s Best Employenhancement,” says Pisharoty, Senior Vice ers Research 2007, President, Global Technology, Transitions & some of the compaStrategic Programs, Sutherland Global Services. nies that have very The company was recently awarded the PCMM strong visioning prolevel 5 certification, the first pure-play BPO cesses are seeped in the belief that entrecompany to get this honor in the world. preneurship can exist across all levels within the organization. The process enables the young talent of the organiza- Fostering intrapreneurship tion to create the next 10-year vision for Building an environment that fosters the company. The top leadership then intrapreneurship is an ongoing spends time with the teams to identify process. It has to find place in the the most exciting opportunities. Hewitt culture of the company and has to predicts that innovation and entrepre- be driven from the top management neurship will be one of the biggest dif- level. Intrapreneurship thrives on ferentiators in the marketplace. rewarding risk-taking behavior and Intrapreneurship is also been used motivating out-of-the-box ideas. as an important employee retention When driven from the top, it seeps tool by many companies. Some of through set processes at all levels them have already devised programs to reach those at the bottom of the aimed at giving “more autonomy” to hierarchy. “An overall change in their employees while others are work- mindset and culture is needed, where ing on setting up “think forums” to tap every associate of the firm knows into their employees’ mindshare. that there will be no punishment for

Sutherland Global Services

“Companies are increasingly looking towards their intrapreneurs to take them beyond competition to create new businesses in new markets.”

— GANESH NATARAJAN DEPUTY CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR, ZENSAR TECHNOLOGIES JANUARY 2008 87

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“There is a need to have a structured program for workplace innovation with the appropriate, solid rewards and recognition program.”

— RANJIT PISHAROTY SR. VP, SUTHERLAND GLOBAL SERVICES experimentation and ample rewards for success,” says Natarajan.

Startups stand a good chance of creating the intrapreneurial culture right from the beginning. Entrapreneurs are more likely to value “free flow of ideas” and “autonomous” thought process, and thus make it a part and parcel of their business operations.

At the business level, says Kumar, a technologist or a manager can doggedly pursue a technology/innovationled product idea or a perceived insight about a market opportunity to its logical end in terms of generating a business/revenue stream within the organization.

According to Tucker, companies need to ask people to be creative, and praise employees who try things differently, irrespective of the outcome. “I urge SPARK (Systematic Pooling, Analyzing and Remanagers to stroke their chins and ask searching Knowledge): Facilitates organization-wide their teams if there involvement in innovative idea generation leading to is a better way to do new products, solutions and service offerings. The what they are doing, SPARK framework manages various stages from genor a third option that eration through evaluation and culminates in the might be considrealization of a potential ‘Idea’. The “Ideas” received ered. Most managers through SPARK, are then processed through a multinever ask this quesstage validation process that establishes the feasibiltion, or they ask it ity and need of the proposed offering. in a confrontational manner,” he says.

Business Analysis and Incubation Cell: Tracks techIs intrapreneurnology updates, changes in governing laws and reguship only an academlations, competitor offerings, as well as academic afic exercise for many filiations that give insights on the expected business Indian companies? and IT scenario changes. Once an Idea is selected, Is it characterized the Incubation Cell develops the offering with supby the ideas pushed porting methodologies, tools, white papers and exdown from the top? pertise. The solution is test marketed, and a small “Yes,” says Kumar. customer base is built before releasing it to the main“There are instances stream market. of new business lines being developed “This benefits the organization, and the employee under existing orgets recognized for his/her contribution and their ganizations, but my ability to make a difference that is realized,” says impression is that Kalpana Jaishankar, VP, HR operations and people not many of them development, Patni. are ideas generated at the trenches – a la ‘Post It’,” he says.

Patni Computer Systems

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According to Pisharoty, the first covenant for fostering intrapreneurship in an organization is a roll-down process for important operational information dissemination. This drives ownership down to all levels. The next important step is training the employees on interpretation of the information, allowing individuals and leaders to take ownership and tweak the knobs. “This leads to creative and innovative ideation and execution where results are seen in real-time,” he says.

Intrapreneurship and innovation The link between intrapreneurship and innovation is inalienable. If the former leads to generation of ideas, the latter gives those ideas a concrete shape. So much is the importance of ideas that Tucker goes to the extent of saying that “a company is a result of its ideas.” Intrapreneurship can be seen as the first step to innovation.

“If you see creative ideas as the foundation of innovation, intrapreneurship is the process by which the superstructure is built so that the result is the innovation that is real and visible. In an organizational context, ideas become innovations (in business, processes etc) only through intrapreneurship,” says Kumar.

Thus, to create a culture of innovation, a company should first create a culture of intrapreneurship. “Behaviour that gets rewarded gets repeated. So your managers need to reward people who are taking risks, people who are experimenting with ideas, people who are being creative and are attempting to do things better. When you reward such behaviour you are sure to create a culture of innovation,” DAR E says Tucker.

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