Let’s start with a fun fact. Did you know that Apple Mac is an intrapreneur baby? Probably not; because intrapreneur is not one of the most common or well-known terms in the industry.
Gifford Pinchot described Intrapreneurs as “dreamers who do. Those who take hands-on responsibility for creating innovation of any kind within a business.”
History
This term, intrapreneur, was coined in the 1980s by Gifford Pinchot, a management consultant and his wife, Elizabeth Pinchot. During that time, there was an influx of people leaving their organizations to watch their dream of innovative ideas for groundbreaking products and services turn into reality.
The most common reason for this was their superiors or bosses not giving them the freedom to work on these ideas. However, Pinchot noticed this pattern and suggested in one of his papers that if employers changed their attitude and allowed some of their employees with a profitable idea to work on their own within the realm of the enterprise, it could help them not only break away from stagnation but also bring in higher returns on investment.
Definition
Intrapreneur was born out of an entrepreneur, but since their role still stays within the company – it became INTRA-preneur! They were the geniuses behind innovative products are services that empowered the organization to thrive and win in an ever-evolving and highly competitive environment.
The main driving force behind their innovations is personal achievement and not monetary gains; hence developing new products or services with a secure financial system is crucial for Intrapreneurs.
Intrapreneurs are divided into three main categories:
Creator:
They are the creative brains behind every innovation. Thinking outside the box is their forte, and they love doing things differently from the rest of the world. They prefer working individually and do not enjoy a structured style of work. They are always thinking of the next big idea, and hence there is a possibility of them moving on from one idea to another way too quickly without paying much attention to details.
Doer:
Highly focused and goal-oriented, doers understand what needs to be done to achieve the desired results and straight away go for it. They are not afraid to speak up or challenge the authority if they believe in something. They don’t care much about structure in work culture either. They are extremely dedicated and task-oriented.
Implementer:
They work in an extremely high-pressure environment, and their only goal is to make things happen! They thrive in competitive scenarios very well. They are super creative and goal-oriented. They are great planners as well as negotiators too. They not only initiate outstanding achievements but also motivate the others in their team to do the same. And as the name of this category goes, they are really good with the execution of ideas and processes and hence always see through the projects to completion with efficiency.
Intrapreneurship is great for people who have the skills and mindset of an entrepreneur but are not financially inclined to see through their innovative projects.
