Building a Culture of Intrapreneurship

Listen to François de Gaspé Beaubien discuss the meaning of intrapreneurship and how to encourage it in the workplace. It is important to allow the next generation to be intrapreneurs in the field that they are passionate about, so that they will be increasingly committed and invested in the project. Additionally, it is important to set realistic expectations, and teach the next generation that everyone fails and it is inevitable to do so.

I think it’s more important in the journey that the family member is undergoing to instill that intrapreneurship. And intrapreneurship, the definition of intrapreneurship is within an organization, so I keep coming back to entrepreneurship, because the intrapreneur is the entrepreneur that’s in a structured environment. It’s for me, six, half dozen of the other, right? I’d like the next generation to become entrepreneurs and whether we place them at Zoom or somewhere else, who cares, right? They’re learning. The ideal though is when they have a project, whether it be inside an organization or outside, that’s theirs. Eventually that’s the goal. Because you want them to own it, and that’s the biggest challenge, when you’re owning the project, when it’s your project to own, soup to nuts. Concept, execution. Start with a smaller project, right, I’ve seen, start with a smaller project they can get their hands around and complete it. And even if they make mistakes, and they will make mistakes, even if they fail in the project, the learning there is tremendous. And the other thing I would say too is, enable the next generation, to be intrapreneurs, I like entrepreneurs, on the fields that they’re passionate about. Initially they won’t know what they’re passionate about, so that’s good, let’s give them projects, let’s give them a taste, taste. Look at the water idea, that wasn’t us. So provide an environment where we foster intrapreneurship or entrepreneurship, but we set parameters. So it’s not carte blanche, right it’s not do whatever you want. There’s structure around them, there’s coaching structure around them. Tell them out of the gate, you’re going to fail, you’re going to fail. We don’t know when or how, but you’re going to. Cause you’re a human being. That’s ok.