Why Intrapreneurship is a top wanted skill today?

We founded Studio Zao, a London based innovation and talent development studio, on the belief that Intrapreneurship is the future of work.

Today’s organisations face a world of fast change and heavy uncertainty.

Just to name a few examples, COVID-19 is set to trigger a $28 trillion drop in global GDP, and the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace is expected to displace up to 800 million jobs.

In such a challenging context, many leaders recognise they have to continue to innovate despite the dire situation — after all, it’s often in leaner times and recessions that new industry leaders emerge and thrive.
However, due to cost-reduction-mode, budgets for innovating may be one of the first to be reduced.

So how can you continue to get the outcomes and impact you need from innovation, with less budget?

To achieve more, with less, you have to build internally a lean innovation capability in your organisation.
This doesn’t mean only focusing on fancy startup partnerships, snazzy startup accelerators or innovation labs that generate hundreds of amazing ideas that never see the light.
Unsurprisingly, during the last decade the so-called “Innovation Labs” from Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, Disney, Coca Cola, Nordstrom have all closed, to the understandable dissatisfaction of executives who have spent up to $3.2 trillion in innovation only to see ROI declining by 27%.

You achieve more innovation with less investment through intrapreneurship — or developing an entrepreneurial skillset and mindset inside your organisation.

Embracing innovation and supporting entrepreneurial talent within large organisations will play an important role in how organisations can adapt to change, realign their focus, become more resilient, and drive growth.

This is why intrapreneurship is a skill on the top of the list for hiring managers across the world

In 2020 the global recruitment firm Michael Page named intrapreneurship as the most desirable skill of the year.

75% of HR professionals surveyed by the Society of Human Resource Management believe creative problem solving, communication and the ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity are critical skills to succeed in the future of work. These are the skills that identify an intrapreneur!

Moreover, research shows that organisations intend to focus 40% of their innovation budget on intrapreneurship in 2021.

Senior executives know this well. Research shows that 50% of them think that creativity and entrepreneurial spirit are primary workforce requirements for their organisations to excel in today’s increasingly complex world.

Eric Schmidt, former CEO at Google once said, “to upskill the workforce in entrepreneurial skills is critical to surviving through this new era.”

Intrapreneurs have a much higher likelihood to succeed at innovation, join them!

We recognise that Intrapreneurship is not for everyone, and a selected number of employees will become leaders of the future by becoming intrapreneurs.
For organisations to thrive in the future, it’s important that intrapreneurs work in a context where their approach and language is understood and appreciated.
This means upskilling the entire workforce to the basics of an entrepreneurial approach adapted to large organisations.

Individuals with an entrepreneurial attitude will find themselves in an advantaged position in the near future if they work within a large organisation. In fact, compared to entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs are better positioned for success.

As opposed to early startups, established organisations provide a series of advantages which put intrapreneurs in a favourable position:

• more regulatory cover
• larger amounts of data
• substantial financial support and predictability
• easier routes to market
• access to existing resources

Whether you are in sales, administration or engineering, companies are increasingly looking for intrapreneurship traits in their next hires, especially those at more senior levels, because these are the individuals who will be able to lead into the future.

Don’t miss the opportunity to make yourself stand out and boost your professional progression: become an intrapreneur now!

You can review a collection of successful intrapreneurship examples that we collected over the years here.

Originally published at StudioZao.com

If you are interested into Intrapreneurship, why not checking out our online Intrapreneurship course?