Recommended
More Related Content
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (17)
Similar to Savvy intrapreneurs
Similar to Savvy intrapreneurs (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Savvy intrapreneurs
- 1. • Individuals or teams within an organization that take direct responsibility to support, resource, and/or transform an innovative idea into a new product, service or process. • This takes individual energy and a conducive environment Intrapreneurship
- 2. • Know how “navigate” the company maze • Know the “limits” of the maze • Know how to help others navigate the maze • Support • Resources • Transform Successful intrapreneurs
- 4. Intrapreneur Welcome ! Navigate 3 phases Support Ressources Transformation
- 5. • Based on the Intrapreneurial Maze Game by Paul Leonetti and Dan Evans • 8 tactical decisions to take • Each question allows your team to win (or lose) points (are you maze savvy?) Can you navigate like an intrapreneur
- 6. Your team is considering whether or not to develop a business plan at this stage. a) No. Too early, financials would be nothing but wild guesses filled with untested assumptions. b) Yes. Financials would be nothing but wild guesses and untested assumptions. c) Yes. Describe the business model but without the financials at this time. Question 1
- 7. Your team is considering whether or not to develop a business plan at this stage. a) No. Too early, financials would be nothing but wild guesses filled with untested assumptions. b) Yes. Financials would be nothing but wild guesses and untested assumptions. c) Yes. Describe the business model but without the financials at this time. Question 1
- 8. Your team has four potential candidates willing to be your first project sponsor. Which of the four would you select? a) A person who is a high-ranked executive at PRO-TEGE. b) A person who is able to be involved in all the stages of your intrapreneurial initiative. c) A person who is very friendly and kind. d) A person who has a favorable 5-year success average in risk-taking. Question 2
- 9. Your team has four potential candidates willing to be your first project sponsor. Which of the four would you select? a) A person who is a high-ranked executive at PRO-TEGE. b) A person who is able to be involved in all the stages of your intrapreneurial initiative. c) A person who is very friendly and kind. d) A person who has a favorable 5-year success average in risk-taking. Question 2
- 10. Your team will need resources soon. You’re about to approach someone who could be of help. Which of the following is the most effective tactic to use? a) Ask for everything you will need immediately so that there are no hidden requests later on. b) Ask for just a portion of what you need. c) Ask for 20 minutes of advice. d) Ask for 60 minutes of advice. Question 3
- 11. Your team will need resources soon. You’re about to approach someone who could be of help. Which of the following is the most effective tactic to use? a) Ask for everything you will need immediately so that there are no hidden requests later on. b) Ask for just a portion of what you need. c) Ask for 20 minutes of advice. d) Ask for 60 minutes of advice. Question 3
- 12. The company lawyer has taken a strong interest in your project and offered resources. You say no to the first offer because you don’t think it’s necessary. She offers help again. What should you do? a) Accept the help offer even though you may not ever need the resources. b) Say no again because you honestly believe you won’t need this person’s help. c) Don’t respond immediately but tell her that you’ll consider the offer later. Question 4
- 13. The company lawyer has taken a strong interest in your project and offered resources. You say no to the first offer because you don’t think it’s necessary. She offers help again. What should you do? a) Accept the help offer even though you may not ever need the resources. b) Say no again because you honestly believe you won’t need this person’s help. c) Don’t respond immediately but tell her that you’ll consider the offer later. Question 4
- 14. Despite the seeming fit with PRO-TEGE strategy, you feel you should reframe your idea in order to attract resources because the company’s financial performance has dropped slightly in the last two quarters. What re-positioning tactic should you deploy? a) De-emphasize the innovativeness of your idea and relate it more to established PRO-TEGE R&D practices and protocols. b) Emphasize the novelty of your idea and its relationship to change and growth. c) Take advantage of your idea’s ambiguous state and promise something substantial coming from the project even though it may not yet be certain. d) Don’t do anything at the moment as the financial situation could change and, thereby, negate your tactical maneuver. Question 5
- 15. Despite the seeming fit with PRO-TEGE strategy, you feel you should reframe your idea in order to attract resources because the company’s financial performance has dropped slightly in the last two quarters. What re-positioning tactic should you deploy? a) De-emphasize the innovativeness of your idea and relate it more to established PRO-TEGE R&D practices and protocols. b) Emphasize the novelty of your idea and its relationship to change and growth. c) Take advantage of your idea’s ambiguous state and promise something substantial coming from the project even though it may not yet be certain. d) Don’t do anything at the moment as the financial situation could change and, thereby, negate your tactical maneuver. Question 5
- 16. To keep things moving, you don’t want to lose time waiting for permission or trying to follow every rule. What tactic would best serve the interests of your project? a) Trust your judgment and break rules when necessary. If anyone objects, ask for forgiveness. b) Apply the “waterline rule” which says, “If it makes sense to drill holes above the waterline of the ship, just do it. But if you want to take risks and bore holes below the waterline, ask someone for clarification or approval first.” c) Don’t take the risk, it’s not worth it. Use your sponsor to gain permission. Question 6
- 17. To keep things moving, you don’t want to lose time waiting for permission or trying to follow every rule. What tactic would best serve the interests of your project? a) Trust your judgment and break rules when necessary. If anyone objects, ask for forgiveness. b) Apply the “waterline rule” which says, “If it makes sense to drill holes above the waterline of the ship, just do it. But if you want to take risks and bore holes below the waterline, ask someone for clarification or approval first.” c) Don’t take the risk, it’s not worth it. Use your sponsor to gain permission. Question 6
- 18. Your team has only one chance to sell its project to executive management. Which tactic do you think offers the best chance for your project presentation? a) Prepare lots of data to support your business plan. Assume that if data appears absolute then the outcome is insured, thus providing the best chance for approval. b) Concentrate your preparation more on building a vision of the project for executive management than on the business plan. c) Choose a team member with the best oral skills to make the presentation alone, minimizing the chance of inconsistencies and errors. The presentation should focus on the project strengths only. d) Have the entire team be involved in the presentation. It should include strengths and weaknesses. Question 7
- 19. Your team has only one chance to sell its project to executive management. Which tactic do you think offers the best chance for your project presentation? a) Prepare lots of data to support your business plan. Assume that if data appears absolute then the outcome is insured, thus providing the best chance for approval. b) Concentrate your preparation more on building a vision of the project for executive management than on the business plan. c) Choose a team member with the best oral skills to make the presentation alone, minimizing the chance of inconsistencies and errors. The presentation should focus on the project strengths only. d) Have the entire team be involved in the presentation. It should include strengths and weaknesses. Question 7
- 20. Should your idea be approved, you might be asked to hand-off the project to others to continue its development and implementation. What would you recommend? a) Good idea. Your team is untested and may not have the sophistication and know-how to bring the project to successful implementation. b) Bad idea. Your team knows the project better than anyone. If possible, keep the entire team intact without any hand-offs until the project is successfully implemented. c) Do hand-offs in stages to experienced, qualified specialists but keep as many original team members involved as long as possible. Question 8
- 21. Should your idea be approved, you might be asked to hand-off the project to others to continue its development and implementation. What would you recommend? a) Good idea. Your team is untested and may not have the sophistication and know-how to bring the project to successful implementation. b) Bad idea. Your team knows the project better than anyone. If possible, keep the entire team intact without any hand-offs until the project is successfully implemented. c) Do hand-offs in stages to experienced, qualified specialists but keep as many original team members involved as long as possible. Question 8
Editor's Notes
- a) Business planning begins by making up numbers. Start with a dream and work backward to a realistic vision. If you said no, it’s a missed opportunity to begin questioning inconsistencies and testing assumptions. Lose 2 points. b) Business planning begins by making up numbers. Start with a dream and work backward to a realistic vision. If you said yes, it’s an early opportunity to question inconsistencies and to test assumptions. Gain 2 points (+2) (It is important to define the business “model” and test it with numbers. Are the numbers “RIGHT” – no ! But YOU WILL SEE IF THERE ARE INCONSISTENCIES IN THE MODEL !!! c) Business planning begins by making up numbers. Start with a dream and work backward to a realistic vision. The financials, no matter how unreal, should be included because they provide a platform for questioning inconsistencies and testing assumptions. Lose 1 point
- a) Although the sponsor must be in a position of influence, being at a work level too far removed from the team can be intimidating and counter-productive. The sponsor must know how to relate to the team and understand its operational problems. You could pick a loser if you base the choice strictly on rank. Spin the Low-Risk wheel. b) This is not that critical as most successful teams have several sponsors during the life of the project (i.e. first, second, third sponsors) . As the initiative evolves, new sponsors are needed. No gain. (0) c) Although this could be an asset, it is more important that the sponsor has political savvy and is not afraid to ask tough and, maybe even unpopular, questions. No gain. (0) d) Good indicator that the person understands internal Pro-Tege politics, has effective obstacle-blocking capability, and knows the difference between calculated and uncalculated risks. This choice is worth 2 points (+2).
- a) This is a certain dead-end because you’ll likely meet resistance. Requests for resources should follow advice and only then ask for small contributions. If the person says no, he/she may also unconsciously devalue your idea even if it’s worthwhile. Make another choice. Lose 1 point (-1) b) You don’t need resources NOW! At this point you should be asking for advice on how to proceed before asking for resources, regardless how small. Somewhat risky move, spin the Low-Risk wheel. c) This is the recommended approach at this stage. However, be careful not to ask whether your idea is good or bad. Ask for advice on how to move forward before requesting resources. Gain 2 points (+2) d) Asking for advice should come before resources but don’t take more than 20 minutes with the initial contact. Since it’s too early to determine if your idea really has merit, the person will probably be somewhat positively disposed. Long meetings may open you up to questions that you can’t answer or are not at ease with. Risk! Spin the Low-Risk wheel.
- a) You should accept. If you continue refusing her help, eventually you could make an enemy. You build friends and resources by accepting help. Gain 3 points (+3). b) You should have accepted even though you don’t think you’ll need her help. Continue refusing and eventually you could make an enemy. If you accept, you reinforce her desire to help, which may prove important later. Lose 2 points (-2). c) You should have accepted. A delay could be perceived as a refusal that could turn her into an enemy. Building friends at Pro-Tege is not easy. You should have taken advantage of this opportunity. Lose 2 points (-2).
- a) Research suggests that when performance is slightly lower than expected, firms support innovative, risky ideas more. However, a serious decline will generally cause a firm to become more risk-averse. Since the performance decline is only slight, your decision doesn’t match the situation. Lose 2 points b) Research suggests that when performance is slightly lower than expected, firms more actively seek and support internal novel ideas. This decision matches the current situation. Note that a serious decline, however, will generally cause a firm to become more risk-averse. Gain 2 points. c) This tactic has merit sometimes when management knows little about the innovative idea. However, it involves a lot of risk and may be viewed as unethical unless you can definitely deliver on your promise. Spin the High-Risk wheel. d) This tactic has merit if you expect a sudden significant upward or downward change in the firm’s near-term performance. Since this information is not available now, spin the Low-Risk wheel.
- a) If your judgement is accurate, breaking a rule will save time and there should be little objection. However, if you fail to first consult with someone of authority and you’re wrong, don’t expect forgiveness. Since you are willing to bet on your judgement, spin the High-Risk wheel. b) This is a more useful guideline. Effective intrapreneurs know the permission waterline. They will not put major resources at risk without official approval and they never compromise safety or environmental standards. The biggest risk is that they may not use all of their discretionary latitude. Regardless, you gain 3 points. c) Although a sponsor can help gain permission, taking a no risk approach could be time-consuming and the most risky for the success of your project. Learn to take calculated risks. Lose 3 points.
- a) This tactic may lessen the importance of your team. Successful project presentations reflect the relative strengths of team and business plan. In fact, venture capitalists typically favor team strength over business plan. In addition, too much data may overwhelm your audience. Lose 2 points. b) Although visioning can be an effective tactic, without support of key business plan data, the presentation may appear too abstract, especially for Pro-Tege’s management. Is this what the audience wants? It’s important to know your audience to determine the balance. This tactic could yield positive results but it’s risky. Spin the Low-Risk wheel. c) Reliance on one person has its advantages but it could send the wrong message about team cohesion and competence. Although you gain time preparing, you may lose with this presentation. Emphasizing strengths alone is dangerous – the listener may start to wonder if you are able to assess your weaknesses and manage them ! Spin the High-Risk wheel. d) A team presentation sends a strong positive message and allows for more participation. An objective, balanced presentation (including weaknesses) has the best chance to win. Choice remains strong. Gain 2 points
- a) This is a bad idea. If the project is completely handed off, much of the learning value could be lost. This is a good way to kill the project. Lose 3 points. b) This is a bad idea, but for different reasons. Limiting membership to only the original team runs the risk of not improving the team talent mix, not gaining different perspectives, and becoming isolated. You lose 3 points. c) This is the preferred choice as it allows the project to benefit from new team member experience and talent without losing much of the accrued learning value. You gain 4 points.