From the course: Become an Entrepreneur Inside a Company
Determine your stakeholders
From the course: Become an Entrepreneur Inside a Company
Determine your stakeholders
- Entrepreneurs often make fun of big organizations because they move so slow. If startups are speedboats, Fortune 500 companies are cruise ships. The reason startups can often spin circles around much larger businesses is that, like speedboats, they have no cargo. That is, no existing customers, no legacy systems, no major investments to slow them down. But you can't sleep, dine, or play tennis on a speedboat. Large companies can have advantages over small ones. Large companies have expertise, distribution channels, and resources that startups only dream of. And you, as an intrapreneur, should keep this in mind. Stealth mode isn't as critical inside the organization. You're not a company founder trying to build something by yourself for your own financial gain. Everything you create at work belongs to your company and not to you, so anyone who works for the company could be available to help you, once you prove that your idea has merit. A big difference from a startup is that intrapreneurs don't own their ideas. You're not doin' it for the money. You're doing it for the organization, for your reputation, and hopefully, because you're learning and having fun too. In big companies, things can get political. It's important to understand how decisions get made and budgets get allocated. And make sure you gain support from the right people. You need to understand both the official and unofficial power within your organization. Then you want to build support for your idea among the people who will decide if your idea lives or dies. You might have your immediate manager sponsoring you, but think more broadly. Maybe you recruit team members from other parts of the organization with useful skills and resources that can help you move faster and with more confidence. And when the time is right, you want to build support among influencers across the company, not just in your group. Share the credit. You'll attract more engagement and help from key stakeholders and you'll increase your likelihood to succeed. Even if you have a smaller part, it will be a bigger win, and most likely others will recognize that you created the spark that launched the fire.
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