Corporate entrepreneurship is a philosophy whose time has come. In an age where speed is of the essence, the road to business success includes the ability to move quickly and accurately. In the universe of business, entrepreneurs as a segment have responded to that need. But what about corporate business entities?
What philosophies do corporations need to adopt in order to qualify as a corporate entrepreneurship?
Here are a few key qualities that are necessary for corporations to make the transition to corporate entrepreneurship.
Transparent Communications: Politics are death for any flourishing business. Management that allows their team to speak their mind, regardless of political correctness, is a good thing. When someone is more concerned about upsetting the “boss” by saying the wrong thing, all you have is a person filling a seat. The team members around the boardroom table that readily step up to the plate and speak their minds honestly are more dedicated and committed. They are looking only to improve business outcomes and should be valued for that. Think about it: Why else are they there? Hindering the openness in which views and ideas should be welcomed can only be met with delays, failure and loss of business. What’s more, by allowing your team to speak up, you empower them by letting them know their and opinions are valued.
Invest versus Spend: Often, innovative products are not properly supported because their launch budgets are perceived as spends and not investments. This leads to those products never reaching their full potential. If a product is worthy of being developed and manufactured, the premise should be that the market is there to sustain it over a period of time. When promoting or launching a product the question should be, “What will it take to carve out a significant position in the marketplace?” Many entrepreneurs launch their business by putting it all on the line and end up being are very, very successful. Products should be perceived in the same light.
Decisiveness. Being decisive is imperative in today’s market environment. In my marketing world, I always say: “Let’s put a stake in the sand.” Hand in hand with speed, decisiveness can springboard a business or brand to stardom. Although often, decisions are slow to happen (if any actually take place). By not having transparent communications (point #1), the result is a lack decision-making. A lack of decision-making results in a loss of opportunity.
Fluidity versus Perfection. Alas, perfection is not of this world – at least not for the business world. Too often, reworking a project until it’s 100% perfect means that 80% of the time and effort is spent achieving the additional 20% that will get it there. That’s usually the 20% no one notices. Understanding when to let go and when not to let go is key to success. Sometimes doing something is better than doing nothing. You can always perfect it as you go. But if you wait too long to get going, you could lose the opportunity and never get into a momentum.
More often than not, in today’s business environment, the philosophies behind corporate entrepreneurship are becoming necessary to survive the rate at which the speed of business is evolving. Do you have any other indicators that are key to business success today?