Why the Institute for Intrapreneurship?
An institute created by experienced business executives, thought leaders, and academic influencer’s to address and solve the challenges found in companies trying to innovate successfully. 98% of all companies find themselves lacking the right processes and execution methods to achieve the high levels desired.
Looking at the reasons why business growth is stagnant:
Because the structure of the economy has changed there needs to be a better way to manage companies. 40 years of unremitting pursuit of efficiency, principally in supply chains and near term ‘shareholder value’, have changed business dynamics. The result is widespread imbalances between supply and qualified demand. In 2012 the inability of the U.S. economy to consume its productive capacity reached all-time record levels. This structural imbalance renders established practices, economic development policies and education curricula functionally obsolescent. Conversations with senior thought leaders – executives, economists, academic researchers, and policymakers – confirm deepening concern about the consequences of past practices and the future of growth. While there is much talk, these discussions have not yet surfaced compelling answers. As a result too little of a practical nature is being done to reignite sustainable, profitable growth.
Innovation is key to the solution, but difficult:
Innovation is now recognized as crucial to company growth and survival. Innovation, especially game changing new value creation, is hard to initiate, challenging to execute and even harder to sustain. It is antithetical, even corrosive to the pursuit of operating efficiency. Breakthrough innovation threatens cultures, disrupts processes and performance measurement, diverts scarce resources, and challenges prevailing strategies and business models. Given the choice, therefore, most enterprises prefer to redouble their focus on incremental changes in processes and product. Innovation in ‘what’ people do, as contrasted to ‘how’ they do it, requires new dexterity and unprecedented collaboration within and between organizations. While this may be imperative for growth, such real innovation currently evokes anxiety and can freeze even the most experienced managers.
‘Impact’ is the objective and opportunity:
The case for innovation has long been made. This insight alone, however articulate or influential, is not sufficient to initiate compelling results in a changed economy. Practical application and impact must replace influence as the objective. Business, education and policy leadership is asking, “What’s next?” The question calls for an accelerator and force multiplier of the research of thought leaders, the vision of innovators, and the experience of operators to pool interests to find the answer.
The opportunity is for business, academia, and policy interests to coalesce brand, intellectual property, research and resources in a collaboration focused explicitly on one question: What must be true for existing businesses to develop and sustain profitable innovation-based growth in a changed economy? Once answered, the opportunity shifts to driving the answers to impact business growth globally.
Intrapreneurship drives Growth Centered Innovation
Effective, sustainable innovation-based growth is built on collaboration using a specialized combination of skills, techniques, resources, organization and culture, and responsive leadership – an emerging discipline called ‘intrapreneurship.’ The concept faces two very real challenges. Intrapreneurship is often seen as a kind of internal entrepreneurship. It is often dismissed as a ‘rogue’ activity of isolated individuals or groups that is not really supported across the organization. Second, when resources are scarce and management is overwhelmingly focused and measured by short term operating performance intrapreneurship is seen as disruptive. As a result most enterprises are not organized and resourced to undertake the experimentation necessary to gain understanding and build cultures of sustainable breakthrough innovation.
Case for the collaborative model:
Extended practical experience across multiple industries motivated Silver Park Group, LLC (SPG) to establish The Institute for Intrapreneurship, LLC. SPG is a strategic adviser and innovation program manager for businesses and organizations seeking redirection and growth. SPG is also a leading developer of innovative new enterprises – currently one to bring access to broadband communications to the 3rd world, and a second to transform workplace health practices in the U.S. In these roles SPG directly engages with investors, directors, senior and line management and employees. As a result SPG has an empathetic understanding of the fear, uncertainty and doubt experienced at all levels when facing the challenge to innovate.
SPG has some ideas as to why, but it doesn’t have all the answers; nor does anybody else. The structure of The Institute is dictated by the conviction that compelling answers to new problems can best be found in collaboration between the key stake holders – business, education and government. As answers are found, The Institute and its resources will drive impact and implement the actions necessary to change organizational cultures.