Sir Richard Branson successful multi-billionaire entrepreneur supports and uses Intrapreneurship

May 3, 2012 - PRLog -- Sir Richard Branson Virgin Group on Intrapreneurship

Sir Richard Branson is the author of an Intrapreneurship article in the January 31, 2011 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine “Sir Richard Branson on Intrapreneurs: The business icon talks about empowering employees to break the rules.”

Sir Richard Branson’s direct quote from 2011 Entrepreneur Magazine article on Intrapreneurs:
“Many millions of people proudly claim the title ‘entrepreneur.’ On the other hand, a title that hasn’t gotten nearly the amount of attention it deserves is entrepreneur’s little brother, ‘intrapreneur:’ an employee who is given freedom and financial support to create new products, services and systems, who does not have to follow the company’s usual routines or protocols.’ While it’s true that every company needs an entrepreneur to get it under way, healthy growth requires a smattering of intrapreneurs who drive new projects and explore new and unexpected directions for business development.”

Intrapreneurship, which many still refer to as Corporate Entrepreneurship, comes from the idea of using entrepreneurial ideas, innovation and start-up business techniques within an large (or medium sized) organization. The type of organization that could take advantage of intrapreneurship could include a corporation, partnership, association, or a non-profit organization. Intrapreneurship can be effectively used to create a new product line or a new service by using intrapreneurship to increase creativity, by unlocking innovation, and maximizing the human capital with the firm, thereby increase profits and increasing their long-term success.

There are existing formal intrapreneurship programs in place throughout the world. Many forward-thinking organizations allow their employees time and freedom to pursue new ideas for the organization, sometimes within the existence of a formal intrapreneurship program. Intrapreneurship Programs very widely in their scope, structure, and incentives to employees for successful creation of a product.

Self-made Billionaire, Sir Richard commented on the importance and significant contributions of Intrapreneurship and intrapreneurs in helping him build Virgin: “Virgin could never have grown into the group of more than 200 companies it is now, were it not for a steady stream of intrapreneurs who looked for and developed opportunities, often leading efforts that went against the grain.”

“Intrapreneurship has successfully been utilized by corporations, partnerships and non-profit firms in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa. The underlying concept and idea of Intrapreneurship or Corporate Entrepreneurship had been present in corporations in the United States, Japan, and all around the world.” Quote from Dr. Howard Edward Haller’s 2009 published book, “Intrapreneurship Success.”

One example of Intrapreneurship in action was an issue at Virgin Atlantic [Airlines] that occurred 10 years ago. The airlines problem was that none of the big expensive seat design firms seemed able to solve the design problems posed by our specifications for Virgin Atlantic Airlines Upper Class cabin. Fortunately for Virgin a bright creative, but young designer, Joe Ferry, volunteered (insistently) to give the project a go for Virgin and was empowered and encouraged to be an intrapreneur by Virgin.

This young innovative Intrapreneur – employee (corporate entrepreneur) was given a free hand and the herringbone-configured Virgin private sleeper suites that resulted. Branson commented that “from his ‘outside the box’ creativity put us years ahead of the pack and made for millions of very happy horizontal fliers.”

Intrapreneurship is the answer for companies to tap and unleash the power of innovation and creativity with their firm. Intrapreneurship will enable companies and organization to maximize the human capital within the firm and support the firm’s effort in key employee recruiting and key retention. Intrapreneurship allows and encourages employee intrapreneurs to pursue their vision and dreams with the firm they would for to benefit of both the employee and their employer.

Sir Richard Branson noted about the value of intrapreneurship: “We inadvertently developed this role at Virgin by virtue of the fact that when we’ve chosen to jump into a business about which we have little or no real knowledge, we’ve had to enable a few carefully selected people who do know which end is up.”

The intrapreneurship project Sir Richard was referring in the quote above was about Virgin’s entry into the mobile phone industry. Virgin previously had no experience in the mobile phone business. Virgin sought out to hire away the mobile phone industries (including Virgin’s soon to be rivals) best managers. Virgin was able to the best mobile phone industry manager be offering them intrapreneurial freedom and empowered them as corporate entrepreneurs (intrapreneurs) to “set up their own ventures within the Virgin Group.”

Virgin clearly has a very successful ongoing Intrapreneurship program. Virgin helps their intrapreneurs by removing the formal organizational structures, eliminating internal roadblocks, and sidestepping organizational bureaucracy. The Corporate Entrepreneur will need to be able to convince both their organization’s middle and senior management that a new creative idea or service has strong market, and would be profitable for the organization, and also synergistic to the organization’s basic mission.

Empowerment, freedom, and openness to innovation are the hallmarks of Intrapreneurship success. The total support of the intrapreneurs and their Intrapreneurship program by both senior management and middle management is very critical to Intrapreneurship success and the firm’s long-term success.

Self-made Billionaire Sir Richard Branson concluded his Intrapreneurship article with an insightful quote: “Perhaps the greatest thing about this form of enabled intrapreneurship is that often everyone becomes so immersed in what they’re doing that they feel like they own their companies. They don’t feel like employees working for someone else, they feel much more like … well, I think the only word to describe it is…“belongers.”

To be a successful intrapreneur takes much more than just creativity or an idea. The successful intrapreneur has to be willing to take real risks at sharing and pushing a unique idea. Intrapreneurs may have to be patient and have wait for their organization’s senior management’s final approval to create and launch a product or to create a new service, and they must be willing to push-wait-push-wait and never quit.

Copyright (C) 1982-2012, Intrapreneurship Institute and Dr. Howard Edward Haller

Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D. is Professional Keynote Speaker on Intrapreneurship, Corporate Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship Program Creation, Using Intrapreneurship programs as a strategic tool for Recruiting and Retaining Key Employees, and Using Intrapreneurship to Increase Innovation and Foster Creativity.

Dr. Howard Edward Haller is a “street smart” serial Intrapreneur and Entrepreneur, and is the Leading Expert and Thought Leader on Intrapreneurship, Intrapreneurship Program Creation, Intrapreneurship Program Implementation & Operation, and Entrepreneurship.

Please call Dr. Haller directly at: 509 465-9300,   or email: DrHaller@IntrapreneurshipInstitute.com