Promote Yourself (27 page)

Dan Satterthwaite, Head of HR at DreamWorks, told me a similar story, about an employee who had an idea for linking social media networks together in a unique way. “We're now investing millions of dollars in developing something that has nothing to do with actual filmmaking, but takes the core competency of storytelling and high-speed graphics rendering into an entirely new business model for us,” Dan said. “That's a pretty big deal for us because it didn't come from the mind of the senior most creative guy in the company, it came from somebody who's on the ground really working on making movies, but had a really cool idea.”

As great as these two projects were, they would never have gotten off the ground if they hadn't had some pretty heavy hitters behind them. And if you want your company to support your idea, you'll need the same. Start with your manager. Sit down with them and talk about the potential opportunity you see. They've worked at the company longer than you have and they know the path to making a project successful, including how to assemble a team and how to get decision makers to buy in. Have a presentation that describes the opportunity, how it benefits your company, and what resources you'll need to execute (people, materials, funding). Once your manager is solidly backing you, ask for their help in lining up a senior exec or major decision maker inside your company to put his or her name on the project. That will help you get the resources you'll need to give you the greatest chance of succeeding.

Remember, this is your project, and you want to be the center of attention, right? But don't try to do everything—you're going to need help. In addition, trying to do it all makes you seem either like you can't get others to work with you, you can't delegate, or you're trying to hog all the glory. Instead, surround yourself with people who have skills you don't but who can make your idea even better. Look for people who are passionate about the idea you want to develop. Some will come from inside your organization, but others may come from outside.

Optimism and self-confidence are great qualities for intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs alike. But they can easily turn into naïveté if you don't have a backup plan. Having a great idea, a great team, strong backing, and deep resources significantly increase your chances of success. But even with all that, sometimes things don't work out the way you'd hoped. Life can be awfully unpredictable, and it doesn't pay to be overconfident. There are too many factors beyond your control, such as your company's health, management changes, and corporate mergers. So you'll want to have a backup plan—at the very least so you can salvage the work you've done and have something to show for it. Not having a contingency plan is just plain foolish (and it'll be interpreted by people you're trying to turn into allies as amateurish and immature).

You also want to have a contingency plan because intrapreneurship, just like entrepreneurship—and everything else in life, for that matter—is risky. You could get laid off tomorrow. You could get hit by a bus on the way into the office. Likewise, there's no guarantee of success in business—most ideas fail.

Taking risks is what builds successful careers. Those who don't, get stuck (in fact, I'd argue that not taking risks at work will be more harmful to your career than failure, because your company needs new ideas in order to grow. So if you're holding back on proposing a new internal business opportunity, don't. In our study, we found that 58 percent of managers are either “very willing” or “extremely willing” to support an employee who wants to capitalize on a new business opportunity. But only 40 percent of young workers are actually willing to take the plunge. And keep in mind that you could benefit even if your project doesn't get funded. Matt McDonald, a marketing manager for Aflac, participated in a company-sponsored competition to develop a mobile app that would benefit employees, agents, or customers. Out of 500 entries, Matt's team made it to the final eight. “We had an opportunity to present our idea to top executives at our World Wide Headquarters in Columbus, Georgia,” he told me. “It was a truly engaging and rewarding experience—even though we didn't win the competition.”

Two final things and then we'll move on. First: As you go through the process, check in with your team to learn what's working and what isn't, what you'd need to do to improve. How could you prevent mistakes in the future and repeat your success? Intrapreneurship is all about experimenting/testing ideas, measuring the results, and improving on them. It can sometimes take a few tries to figure out whether or not something is right for your company. Finally, as soon as your project is up and running, start thinking about your next one and what kinds of people, backing, and resources you'll need to build it out.

 

Making the Pitch—And Winning Support

In order to make your project successful, you need a well-defined plan and the resources needed to ensure the best possible chance of success. Your plan should include a summary of the idea, a list of resources you will need and the cost associated with them, an idea of what the potential market opportunity is, the potential increase of revenue or decrease in cost that could result, and a step-by-step program (including milestones) on how you're going to pull it off.

Do not just make things up. Chances are that you'll be pitching to people who have a lot more experience in your business sector than you do, and if they sniff any BS, you're dead in the water. You'll also need accurate estimates of how much developing your project will cost your organization in terms of hard dollars and opportunity cost. And you'll need to know who else you'll want on your team and what each person's role will be, including yours.

Once you have your plan locked down, it's time to win the support you'll need in order to bring the project to life. You will want to make a formal presentation to your manager first, then your coworkers and potentially other groups based on your project requirements. This way, when you present to your coworkers, you can already say that your manager knows about it and is supporting it, which will make them pay closer attention to what you have to say.

 

Overcoming Your Fears

Deciding to pursue an intrapreneurial project can be a little intimidating—maybe even frightening. Fortunately, there are a few different ways to boost your self-confidence. The most important way is to believe in yourself, because if you don't no one else will. In order to do this, you need to pursue only the projects where you can best leverage your strengths and personality. We naturally have more confidence in areas where we are strong. Aside from looking inside yourself, you should look for the support of the team that already surrounds you. If you can get others to feel as passionately as you do about something, you'll feel a lot better, you'll be able to be more productive and accomplish more. Aside from having a strong team, it's even more important that your manager is behind you. If you can win their support, then the team will more likely join you. Managers can open doors for you and give you honest feedback that will help build your self-esteem and prevent you from quitting early—before your idea might actually take off. When all else fails, it's critical that you have something to fall back on. If you create a backup plan before you pursue your idea, you'll be more likely to take the risks associated with being an intrapreneur.

 

You and Your Manager: Supporting Each Other Through the Process

As we've talked about, your intrapreneurial efforts have to benefit your company. And, of course, they'll benefit you too. But there are also other winners in this win-win scenario, the biggest one being your manager.

Most ambitious bosses want to build their organizations and develop their employees because the better their team does, the more visibility and influence the managers will have. The promotions, salary bumps, and bonuses don't hurt either. That means that your ability to create new opportunities will position your manager as a real mover and shaker in the company.

Your manager can support you by linking you to the right resources, allowing you to spend part of your workday focused on the project you're developing, coaching and mentoring you, and protecting you from politics. At the same time, you support your manager by being honest with them, letting them know what's going on and the obstacles you're running into, and making sure their name gets on the project along with yours so they can reap some of the rewards if it's a success.

In my experience, most bosses are more than happy to support their employees' intrapreneurial projects. But every once in a while a boss won't support a project or will actively undermine it. If you're unlucky enough to have a boss like this, be absolutely sure that you're doing everything you possibly can to make your manager successful at their job. The more the boss can see the benefit to them personally, the more likely they'll be to get on board. In addition, be prepared to work harder for your manager in order to earn their trust. To do this, focus on delivering results before they'll even think of letting you “be more than your job description” and take on an intrapreneurial project. If you can't consistently get your current work done, this won't work for you. If you don't feel that you've contributed enough with your current responsibilities, then wait until you do so you can be more confident and have an easier time selling the idea.

If you don't see your manager ever supporting your ambitions, then it might be time to make a job or company change. Your goal should be to work for a boss and a company that allows employees to thrive by being intrapreneurial. If your current situation won't let you do it, look for one (either inside your company or outside it) that will.

 

When Things Don't Go as Planned

No one wants to fail, but sooner or later we all do (in my view, if you haven't failed at something at some point, you haven't taken enough risks). So what do you do if a project of yours goes south?

Well, the first thing is to
not
give into the temptation to allocate blame. Before you blame everyone else—or take it all on your own shoulders—look at things realistically and objectively. What went wrong? What went right? Could you have predicted whatever it was that caused the problems? What would you have had to do in advance to head off the obstacles you faced? What resources (again, people, material, finances) would you have needed to make the project a success?

The goal is to change your attitude about failure—and to brand yourself as someone who can make a mistake or take criticism and learn from it. Don't get frustrated or resent someone who gives you feedback because we can all become better workers. In order for you to promote yourself, you have to realize that you're always a student and that there's always room for improvement. None of us will ever be so good that we can't learn from our mistakes. You should also be willing to give feedback to your coworkers in a respectful way. This is one way to earn trust in the workplace and be seen as someone of great value. Believe me, that's a rare skill and your manager
will
take notice.

 

Hey, Who Owns This Thing, Anyway?

One of the big differences between entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs is that entrepreneurs generally own what they invent and develop—and the profits are divided among shareholders and investors. With intrapreneurs, things are a little less clear-cut. If, for example, you create a brand-new product that needs to be patented, the patent itself may be in your name, but chances are that your employer will own it—along with the profits and royalties it generates. Doesn't seem completely fair, does it? After all, the idea was yours. But in the company's view, they paid your salary, funded the project, picked up the tab for the patent attorneys, and handled all the marketing.

Of course, your employer may choose to give you a bonus or assign you a share of the royalties, but they're under no obligation. The official policy on this may be outlined in your employee handbook.

Something to think about as you're putting together your plan: If you've got a billion-dollar idea that will completely revolutionize your industry, you might want to consider getting the patent done on your own. That way you can
license
it to your employer instead of signing all the rights over. But be careful. Taking an overly aggressive stance (such as bringing your attorney into the pitch meeting) could kill the entire deal and maybe even your job.

 

Intrapreneurs Make the Biggest Impact and Get Ahead Faster

Intrapreneurship is the wave of the future, and it's how companies will remain competitive, innovative, and attractive to young workers. And with good reason. As an intrapreneur, you'll be able to almost literally create something from nothing—something that can have a measurable impact on your company's performance (imagine having “created a new division at XYZ Company that increased corporate profits 20 percent in twelve months” on your résumé instead of “was promoted to Senior Marketing Specialist”). Intrapreneurship differentiates you like nothing else. Your reputation will soar, everyone will know who you are, and you'll definitely be seen (and talked about) as leadership material. And because you're still an employee, you'll also have access to resources—financial and talent—that entrepreneurs usually don't.

That said, if you want to become an intrapreneur, you must—and I really mean
must—
focus on your current responsibilities first. While you're developing your idea into a project, think about how it will benefit the company and what resources you will need, including people, material, and financial backing. Once you have your current job taken care of, get your manager, or someone else with decision-making power, to buy into your idea. Since it's pretty unlikely that you'll be able to execute your idea alone, put together a top-notch team. But keep in mind that this is a step-by-step process and that if you don't have a well-thought-out idea in place
before
you start going after backing, no one will invest a nickel in you. Plus, by doing all the hard work before you make the pitch, you'll be more confident and better able to prove that your idea can help the company profit and get people interested in supporting you.