How to Win at Innovation with Intrapreneurship [Infographic]

What is intrapreneurship?

Gifford Pinchot III came up with the concept of intrapreneurship in the 80s. Defined as "dreamers who do,” intrapreneurs are employees within a company who conduct themselves like entrepreneurs. This means that they take on responsibility for turning new ideas into profitable products or services.

What are the business benefits of intrapreneurship?

In 2019, innovation is one of the most important ways a brand can distinguish itself from its competitors. Intrapreneurship offers employers the opportunity to create a truly innovative organization by taking advantage of their employees’ experience, creativity and passion. Intrapreneurship programs offer a cost-effective way of boosting innovation within a company and can help with the development of new products. For example, Post-It Notes, Gmail and the Sony PlayStation are all results of intrapreneurship.

How can you encourage intrapreneurship in your organization?

Studies estimate that around 20% of all employees show some kind of entrepreneurial activity at work. So, how can employers unlock employee entrepreneurialism and develop it to its full potential? To be successful, it is key that employers give intrapreneurs support. This means being open-minded, understanding and patient. Managers need to take an active interest in the project while also giving the intrapreneur sufficient freedom to achieve their goals. However, constructive criticism is also key as managers can lend their own experience and hard-won knowledge to give insights on how to improve the product.

This infographic from the team at Trainwest looks at how businesses can leverage the intrapreneurship within their organization.