如何把內部創業從神話變為現實

培訓員工具備創業精神

????“很多研究顯示，創新不只是上天的饋贈，同時也是一項可以通過后天學習掌握、并且不斷提高的技藝，”Innosight的安東尼說。他同時還是《創新黑皮書》（The Little Black Book of Innovation）一書的作者。公關公司Prosek Partners則安排員工參加新兵訓練營，講授公司業務基本信息以及內部創業觀。“我的員工普遍變得更主動，更有創業精神。拉出來和誰比都不遜色，”《創業之師》（Army of Entrepreneurs）一書的作者詹妮弗?波羅塞表示。

提供不務正業的空間

????眾所周知，谷歌（Google）允許員工每周花一天時間嘗試一些與日常工作無關的項目。員工可以用這20%的時間實踐，可以進行大量的測試，不用擔心犯錯。

????喬登?戈德斯坦加入建筑設計公司Gensler后不久就建議結合新技術、全面改革設計流程，這個成功的實驗很快就推廣到了整個公司。受此鼓舞，他又實施了一些項目，還建議設立Fuel實驗室——這是一個Gensler內部孵化實驗室，與學術機構和非傳統的潛在客戶一起測試新的設計模型。

????Gensler同意為這一項目出資，做法與天使投資者和獨立創業者之間的合作無異。今年夏初，戈德斯坦在泰國帶領一隊學生為低收入家庭和社區中心提供了空間擴展選擇。“我總感覺，公司已經搭好了舞臺，只要合適，我就可以在登臺演出，”他說。“現在（他們）更愿意讓我上臺了。”

獎勵成功者

????成就一番事業是激勵人們成功創業的主要因素。但一個極佳點子可能帶來的幾百萬或幾十億美元的財富也同樣不容忽視。蘇潘克和戈德斯坦都表示，他們很滿意創業帶來的巨大回報。

????對于一位最先發現機會并安排首次客戶會談的員工，波羅塞把來自這位客戶的銷售收入按5%回饋給這位員工——終生有效。另外，她還給予8位創業員工以公司股票，表彰他們開發的新產品。當然，在大公司內部創業的風險也低于獨立創業——如果失敗，他們在公司內部的聲譽可能會受損，但職位應該會得到保留。

????不過，大公司內部的創業項目給創業者帶來的成就感也難以媲美獨立的初創公司。

????最后，有些前沿公司正在想辦法支持內部創業，它們依托規模優勢，或許有機會趕上活的初創企業。“大公司的員工們開始像創業家一樣行動起來，釋放出巨大的增長，”安東尼稱。他在文章中給出的例子包括美敦力（Medtronic）、IBM、先正達（Sygenta）和聯合利華（Unilever）等公司。

????蘇潘克認為，培生的資產和行業經驗使Alleyoop在快速變化的環境中享有競爭優勢，不枉他費盡周章地向委員會成員解釋一家創業企業的里程碑和策略。蘇潘克說：“初創企業的增速、不斷調整以及變化從文化和經營上都迥異于一家成熟”企業。

????但隨著更多公司在內部龐大而守舊的體系中尋找新點子，或許越來越多的人都會高調地宣揚內部創業理論。不過，投資者、員工和客戶最好還是留個心眼。

????譯者：早稻米

Train staffers to be entrepreneurial

????"There's a lot of research that suggests that innovation is not just a gift from above, but it's a learned skill that you can improve," says Innosight's Anthony, author of The Little Black Book of Innovation. Public relations firm Prosek Partners sends employees to a boot camp that covers both the fundamentals of the company's business and its take on intrapreneurship. "My employees, across the board, are more engaged and entrepreneurial. I'd stack them up against anyone," says Jennifer Prosek, author of Army of Entrepreneurs.

Offer room to play around

????Google (GOOG) famously provides employees one day a week to experiment on projects outside of their day-to-day tasks. With 20% of your time to practice, you can conduct a lot of trial and error.

????Soon after joining architecture and design firm Gensler, Jordan Goldstein proposed to revamp the design process by incorporating new technology, a successful experiment that soon spread throughout the firm. Emboldened, he ran with a few more projects before proposing Fuel Lab, an incubation lab within Gensler that works with academic institutions and nontraditional potential clients to test new design models.

????Gensler agreed to fund the venture, not unlike the way an angel investor works with independent entrepreneurs. Earlier this summer, Goldstein led a team of students in Thailand to create a scalable options for low-income housing and community centers. "I've always felt that the company has set the stage and I could play on it as I see fit," he says. "There's a greater willingness to let me run with it."

Reward the successful ones

????Successful entrepreneurs are primarily motivated by the opportunity to make an impact of some sort. But the millions or billions of dollars in potential equity a fantastic idea can deliver carries weight too. Supanc and Goldstein both say they're happy with the compensation they've received, thanks to their ventures.

????Prosek gives 5% of the revenue from a customer account to an employee who identified the opportunity and set up the first meeting -- for life. She's also given eight entrepreneurial employees equity stakes in the firm in recognition of the new products they've created. Certainly, the downside risk with being an intrapreneur is somewhat less than it is for independent entrepreneurs -- they can lose reputational capital within the firm but likely keep their jobs.

????But it's hard to find an entrepreneurial venture within a corporation that rewards the founders for a home run to the same degree that a stand-alone startup would.

????Ultimately, some cutting edge companies are finding ways to support internal entrepreneurs and may have a chance of keeping up with lean startups, thanks to the benefit their size conveys. "People inside large companies have acted like entrepreneurs and unleashed massive growth," says Anthony, who cites Medtronic, IBM, Sygenta, and Unilever as examples in his article.

????Supanc feels Pearson's assets and experience in the business have given Alleyoop a competitive advantage in a quickly changing environment, and made it worth the extra effort he spends to translate the milestones and strategy of an entrepreneurial enterprise to his board members. "The pace, the ongoing adaptation, and level of change inherent to a startup is culturally and operationally very different from a mature and established" profit and loss statement, he says.

????But as more corporations look for new ideas within their hidebound bureaucracies, we're likely to see continued effusive rhetoric about internal entrepreneurs. Investors, employees, and customers alike would do well to remain skeptical.