What Is Intrapreneurship?

The term intrapreneurship refers to a system that allows an

employee to act like an entrepreneur within a company or other
organization. Intrapreneurs are self-motivated, proactive, and
action-oriented people who take the initiative to pursue an
innovative product or service. An intrapreneur knows failure
does not have a personal cost as it does for an entrepreneur
since the organization absorbs losses that arise from failure.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

 Intrapreneurship is a system which allows an employee to

act like an entrepreneur within an organization.
 Intrapreneurs are self-motivated, proactive, and action-
oriented people who have leadership skills and think
outside the box.
 Intrapreneurship is one step toward entrepreneurship—
intrepreneurs can use what they've learned as part of a
team to develop their own businesses.
Understanding Intrapreneurships
An intrapreneurship creates an entrepreneurial environment by
allowing employees to use their entrepreneurial skills for the
benefit of both the company and the employee. It gives
employees the freedom to experiment, as well as the potential
for growth within an organization.

Intrapreneurships foster autonomy and independence, while

attempting to find the best resolution. For example, an
intrapreneurship may require an employee to research and
recommend a more efficient workflow chart to a company’s
brand within a target group or implement a way to
benefit company culture.
It's important for employers to recognize these employees. By
not promoting intrapreneurship or recognizing employees who
demonstrate an intrapreneurial spirit can be detrimental to a
brand or company. Employers who encourage intrapreneurship
stand to benefit because it leads to the success of the
department or the company as a whole. Keeping these
employees can help lead to innovation and growth. Companies
that don't promote them may lose intrapreneurs to other
companies, or they may end up working for themselves.

Identifying intrapreneurs can sometimes be difficult. These

employees are generally self-starters who are both ambitious
and goal oriented. They are often able to solve problems on
their own, and come up with ideas that lead to process
improvements. An intrapreneur may also take certain risks by
assuming multiple tasks—even some that he or she may not be
comfortable with—and look for new challenges.

 
Intrapreneurs are tasked with using the company's resources,
while entrepreneurs use their own.

Special Considerations
Intrapreneurship is one step toward entrepreneurship.
Intrapreneurs can develop and use their creativity to enhance
existing goods and services within the context of the business,
all without any of the risk attached to being an entrepreneur.
Using these skills as part of a team lets the intrapreneur test
theories and determine which methods are most effective for
solving problems.

Intrapreneurs may use what they've learned as part of an

organization's team to create their own company and reap the
benefits of their hard work rather than letting another
organization profit from their ideas.
Types of Intrapreneurs
By including employees from every age group when resolving
issues, a variety of answers are proposed and resolutions
determined in a more efficient manner, benefiting everyone in
the organization. A majority of millennials are embracing the
intrapreneurial style of work. They desire meaning, creativity
and autonomy when working. Millennials want their own
projects to develop as they help their companies grow.

Characteristics of Intrapreneurs
Intrapreneurs are able to resolve specific issues such as
increasing productivity or cutting costs. This requires a high
level of skill—namely leadership skills and thinking outside the
box—directly applicable to the assignment. An intrapreneur also
takes risks and drives innovation within a business to better
serve the market through increased goods and services.

A successful intrapreneur is comfortable being uncomfortable

while testing his or her ideas until achieving the desired results.
He or she is also able to interpret trends in the marketplace and
visualize how the company needs to evolve to stay ahead of its
competition. The intrapreneur is part of a company's backbone
and the driving force mapping out the organization’s future.

Example of Intrapreneurship
Ramzi Haidamus, the president of Nokia Technologies, is often
considered an intrapreneur because of his initiatives with the
company. He decided to do away with individual offices within
three months of starting his job in 2014. He believed an open
office led to more sharing of ideas and added greater value to
the organization. Haidamus interviewed more than 100
engineers individually to determine which technologies had the
greatest chance of being successful in the marketplace at the
time.