Fostering And Encouraging A Spirit Of Intrapreneurship Among Your Team

In short

In his first Forbes Business Council post, Rob Lancit asks whether analytical, by-the-book problem-solving still serves executives when technology, AI and niche markets move faster than they can track. Speaking from more than three decades as a serial entrepreneur, he argues for intrapreneurship: an internal system that encourages employees to apply entrepreneurial skills to everyday problems.

He ties the wider shift to the pandemic and the period of mass resignations, citing an average of 4 million Americans quitting each month and a record 16 million new business applications filed since 2020. That mindset, he says, is now part of how business is done.

He lists the advantages: thinking that challenges ‘we’ve always done it this way’, experiments and action in place of overanalysis, calculated risk, and faster progress. He also sets limits. Highly regulated industries such as finance and healthcare, and nonprofits and government agencies, have good reasons to resist bold risk-taking.

To foster it he starts with knowing the customer’s needs through data, feedback and research. On that base he recommends open communication in which every employee feels heard, breaking large problems into smaller ones a team can solve, a bias toward action that treats mistakes as part of the process, and a team that can own failures without fear of reprisal.

Summary by the editors of this site. The original is Rob’s own writing; read the original at the source.