The Raise of 'Intrapreneurs'
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By John Kurkowski   
Sunday, 01 July 2007
The line between established business executives and entrepreneurs appears to be blurring, at least in terms of how the two roles are perceived. A recent study by U.K.-based consultant McKinney Rogers found business leaders see entrepreneurial skills as being increasingly important to the role of CEO.

Also significantly, many seem to feel that entrepreneurial skills such as risk-taking and flexibility can be developed, rather than viewing them as innate talents unique to a select few. CEO Damian McKinney commented that a competitive business today needs to develop a culture of “intrapreneurship.”

“What business leaders need to understand is that this isn’t about recruiting a number of entrepreneurs and hoping that they will make changes and expect them to mold the current culture,” McKinney said. “The key is to identify and nurture entrepreneurial qualities in existing employees and create a culture that supports some of the innovation, risk-taking and flexibility that is associated with entrepreneurs.”

The conclusions mirror the advice given each month by several of our columnists – foster creativity and passion among your work force if you want to be successful, and that starts at the top, with you.

If anything, the survey underscores the need for businesses to continue to nurture a risk-taking culture even as they mature. “For older, more established markets to continue to flourish,” McKinney said, “they need to keep pace and this means ... injecting some of the core qualities of an entrepreneurship into a large business and adapting the culture to allow this to sit comfortably.”

His company’s findings, McKinney claimed, “clearly highlight a real understanding across industry that entrepreneurship has an increasingly important part to play in driving a successful business.”
 
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