You started your company to leave your mark and get away from the structure, hierarchy, and the limited impact you had in corporate America, right? So, you enjoy your leadership freedoms as an entrepreneur and you run your company like the Wild West. No rules, no regulations, and a strong individualistic identity. And guess what?  The Wild West actually works. I grew my organization an average 40% per year for five years this way.  And, if you were thinking I loved it, you are right on.

The Wild West is easy when you’re under 30 employees.  We would gather in a conference room or someone’s office and the entire company could get on the same page with the company direction.  In fact, everyone came to every meeting when we had them.  Which was not frequent, because I hated the meetings I had to attend in my last gig.

The Wild West is about letting people be themselves. Early employees join because they believe in the founder and in why the company exists. Employees simply made decisions. There are no job descriptions. When the phone rings someone answers it. When something needs to be done no one needs to ask, someone simply did it.  This time in the business is really special.  Every customer win or innovation is so easy to see and celebrate, and communication happens in real time, all of the time.

Then one day it all stops working.  The growth stops.  You might even lose ground!  This is my story.  The Wild West gun slinging era stopped producing results. Your staff hates it and can’t figure out why!  And they will leave unless you make changes to how you run the day to day. And many small business folks never figure out how or why.  As you grow communication begins to break down.

Everyone stops knowing everything. The business that ran so perfectly in its early years grinds to a halt. It seems like every person, every step in the business, every process, even every function of the business like accounting, sales, or marketing can’t keep up and does not know what the other parts of the business are trying to get done.

So why is growth so hard?

1.  Leaders find it hard to change the business routines.  Small business leaders love working long hours at first.  I was known to say “Every problem is mine to fix!”.  The variety of tasks and duties (although overwhelming) is intoxicating.  Delegation becomes really important here.

2. We have an identity crisis when it comes to putting process in place. If you worked in corporate America I bet there was lots of process and focus on systems. Early companies just exist. I find the hardest part of my job is right here. How much process is enough for the stage my company is right now?  Or if I am growing for next quarter? Don’t over-engineer and kill the entrepreneurial spirit. BUT, if you don’t put process in place your costs of doing business will escalate and not keep up of with your top line.

3.  All of a sudden competitors and clients know you exist.  Small business does not claim market share. Small business goes out and does what it needs to do to sell things and create top line revenues. Bills must get paid. The big hope really is that as you pay some bills, your customers will help refine and improve your products and services. This Outside-In® interaction with your market will drive creativity and new offerings to solve your customers challenges – and your growth cycle continues.  However, if you grow, your (bigger) competitors get to know you, …and they can lower costs or press to take away your clients.  So it is hard to mature and grow as a business, everything about your business must grow up too!

I know I said three reasons growth is hard.  However, there is one additional big challenge to stay aware of and that is the entrepreneurial leader. We as leaders must change our approach and style with the phases of growth of your business.  Yes, you still want to open the mail, and show that you’re hands on. But how does your role need to evolve? It involves trust in your colleagues and employees. Are you able to let go of the reins a little bit and let your vision grow in the hands and minds of those you hired?

Don’t be an entrepreneurial poser. Yes, poser. (Thank you to my very cool son Josh for the edgy word.) Not really the words you might expect from a grown man but boy does it fit. When you go out as a teenager and buy a whole lot of skate board clothes but can’t stand on a board, they call you a poser. When you dress like a surfer, but don’t actually surf or even boogie board on your family vacation, you are a poser. Don’t be something you’re not. Be true to yourself. And by George, skate or surf a little bit, or try at least! This is coming from the Outside-In® Guy who had surfing on his bucket list. When I went surfing, the guide said, “Dude if the 400 pound Samoans could surf than, well, I guess you can too.”  Ouch! I’ll show him! All morning in the ocean, and a total of three seconds in an upright position and enough board rash and bruised ego to skip the next lesson!

So what exactly is an entrepreneurial poser? Lately, I meet many people who want to be entrepreneurs. I read about how hard it is today to start a business. That conditions are not ideal. That if money were easier to secure, or space was available, or “If I didn’t have all this college debt, I would definitely be starting my own business”. 

Starting a business is always hard. Starting a business is never easy. It is not supposed to be easy! You have to have a passion for what you’re trying to accomplish and you better believe in your big vision and in yourself. Because some days and weeks running a company hurts. But starting one? Bootstrapping was the hardest single thing I ever tried.

Today, there are so many resources to start a company. There are books, counselors, college courses, start-up weekends, angel networks, chambers, beehives, incubators, even junior high and high school programs with wonderful institutions like Junior Achievement. Some days I think this is the problem. You have too much information. Too many “so called” experts. Too many road maps that describe others’ path to “success”.

So, to all you entrepreneurial posers: Start a business because you have passion and believe in an idea. Because you see a gap in a market. Because you think you can do something better. But don’t you dare do it for the fame or the money. Without passion there are rarely profits in the long term!

Furthermore, please don’t tell me why you can’t start your business. It just gets old. A downturn is the best time to start a business by the way, less competition and labor is available. These are pretty good times too. There have always been barriers. There have always been funding issues. You’re not unique to think that living on savings and not drawing a salary for a year or two is too much to bare. Yes, I know, working 20 hours a day with no days off is hard, and you won’t get any days off (including weekends) in the early days. This is simply the price of admission. If you lack the money than you have sweat equity to give.

A business exists as long as the owner says it does. There is always a way. Trust me. I know. Floods, theft, fire, and collapsed roofs make competition seem like nothing! For all you posers, you have a choice, work for an entrepreneurial company, or get up on the entrepreneurial board and go for it!

I am a fourth generation entrepreneur.  My family has worked for themselves for so long that it is all I can even remember.  My father always taught that it is best to control ones own destiny, to have your problems and opportunities be your own.  It sure makes sense to me.  The last thing I want is to have someone else make decisions that determine my fate.  By “being my own boss” I at least get to determine my own path.

When I started my company over ten years ago, I wanted my employees to get a taste of being an entrepreneur and set out to make entrepreneurial traits and qualities a part of the culture. In fact, we set out to select our values by trying to figure out what our customers needed us to be in order to serve them best.  This is the very nature of what Outside-In® is all about.  Do what is best for the customer all of the time.  Even when choosing values.  After all, values are the true personality of the company.  And this represents what I hoped would be the ongoing actions and behaviors of my people!

One of our values became Intrapreneurship.  I certainly didn’t invent the term; however,  the word seems to represent what I wanted from employees.  Be an entrepreneur.  Act like an entrepreneur.  Experience what it is like to be one.  Sell, Lead, Serve. Exist as an entrepreneur.  I felt then (and still believe) that if all employees embrace this then they can have a better day-to-day job.

You see, being an intrapreneur is about working day-to-day like you own the place.  To care like your name is on the door, and to have the kind of work experience and day-to-day role where anything is possible.  If you see a problem, prioritize and fix it.  If you want to more responsibility, go get more knowledge.  Perhaps you want and need more financial reward, well, find away to create equal or greater value for the organization.  Intrapreneurs look to create value.  They look for new market opportunities.  They figure out how and when to innovate new products and services that make our customer’s world a better place.

Without intrapreneurs we would not be in the contingent staffing business, which represents so much of our growth in customers, revenues, and of course opportunities for future intrapreneurs. Without intrapreneurs we would not be in the search business.  We would still be politely saying no to prospect and customer alike. Without intrapreneurs we could not help our relationships with services that support their job search with resume work, career coaching, and outplacement.

All of these seem big to me.  And they are.  Intrapreneurs help us change and evolve during turbulent and changing times.  But I promise you that the best thing about being intrapreneur is the growth and learning that one receives in exchange for their ideas, innovation and hard work. At CBI Group, our real challenge is that we are a flat, matrixed organization.  We don’t think much about titles, unless they make it more clear for our customers to deal with us.  We will always be adding talent to the business.  Everyone here is equal; we just play different roles!

Where else can someone do so much without taking on the financial risk themselves?  Sure, some alumni have left to do their own thing.  But, if you ask me, there is no greater compliment!

How will you apply your own intrapreneurialism to your company?

Many of us start companies because we are unhappy working for someone else. You don’t like the way customers are handled. You might think chasing profits is shallow as a sole pursuit. Or perhaps you think the products are crap. Or my favorite — it’s hard to identify with leadership, and get a sense of where and how the company is managing what can only be described as challenging but opportunity-rich times.

Yet, I meet just as many unhappy small business risk-takers. Newly minted entrepreneurs who are very, very unhappy. Why is that? Oftentimes, this new business owner leaves a job they were good at, to accept one they are a novice at.  Starting and running a new business is harder than you can even imagine. There are few blueprints and road-maps. Yes, there are lots of resources. Yes, there are chambers, coaches, counselors, incubators, universities, that all want you to succeed. YOU is the key part of this. This is all on you (or you and your partner) – but it is still on you.

There is little time to delegate. Even less to procrastinate.  You must make it all happen in the beginning. And YOU will not be good at all of the things that are necessary to survive to get to profits… But you must do them. Make the sales call. Design the website. Take out the trash. These tasks, duties and functions fall on you. Until you get to the point in your plan, that critical milestone where someone else can be hired to take that thing you started and make it better.

The Path to Happiness? Well, it took me forever to learn it.  Longer to teach it.  During the recession I had to learn to do it all again.  It was on ME to do everything. During that time I learned to enjoy it a little more. When I rebuilt my company, the hand off was much, much sweeter. And of course, the Happiness comes from doing what you are good at all of the time.  That is the holy grail for entrepreneurs.

Ever thought about how entrepreneurial-minded your company was? Being entrepreneurial has nothing to do with the size of the organization or the industry you work in.  There are easy ways to know if your company is supportive of an entrepreneurial way of operating.  Does having an entrepreneurial mindset even matter? Oh, it does. We all like to work differently and have a comfort zone. Think about it. What is your entrepreneurial comfort zone? The following ten descriptions identify the components of an entrepreneurial-minded organization, do any of them sound familiar to you?

10.  You do not have a job description for your role.  Your job allows you the freedom to explore and and help others with business challenges.  Many entrepreneurial companies like Google allow one day a week to work on big or new ideas!  At my company, employees have the freedom to think and join projects of interest – no matter what their job “title” is.

9.  Your company allows you to give back in the community through volunteerism of your choice.  Entrepreneurial companies live, work, play, even worship in the markets they serve and they find a way to give back! Whether its participating in 5Ks, attending charity benefits, or holding donation drives, entrepreneurial-minded companies make sure that they play a part in community service.

8.  Your company has a supportive organizational structure and tries to cut the “red tape”.  Heavy structure and elaborate policies are designed to create order, however, they can really stifle entrepreneurial activity!

7. You have access to resources.  Sounds like an odd one for an entrepreneurial culture where boot-strapping reigns supreme, right?  But the right companies know that the proper access to the right tools, resources, and materials can inspire the spark of The Next Big Thing.  Or many, many little wins that make the company stronger!

6.  You are encouraged to take risks.  You feel like you won’t lose your job or be screamed at if you fail.  I like to say, Make all of the $9 dollar mistakes you can, limit the $999 ones.  But maybe I am wrong in the end.  Great entrepreneurial companies have leadership that tolerates failure and learns to thrive on change.

5.  Your ideas matter. Your company knows that you might be a little closer to the customer.  And that the issues and challenges you face might be hassles in your job, but, if solved might be the key to retaining customers or growing new ones! When it comes to new ideas, your opinion matters.

4.  Your company avoids the creation of individual department silos.  When business people work together across department, at all levels, and skills sets great things can happen.  “No Silos” means one general company goal.  Think Steve Jobs and Apple.  One measure, one report, one P and L for the whole business!

3.  Your company balances risk-taking and innovation with established routines,  specialization, and structure and systems that create perceived stability.  This is not easy.  Too much routine and structure stifles the entrepreneur.  Too much entrepreneurial influence ?  Well, in my opinion never a bad thing.  But, at some point all products and services start to peak in their relevance.  New ideas and companies that listen to their customers generate new revenue streams. (Shameless plug, frankly, as they need to be Outside-In®.)

2.  You are asked for your opinion.  An entrepreneurial company stays this way if it monitors itself.  The best way to monitor oneself is to ask employees how they are doing on creating an environment that encourages risk-taking and team work on to improve the business.

1.  Senior management is committed to innovation and change.  New ideas are encouraged.  Risk-taking is often rewarded, even if it bombs.  Most importantly, delegation and appropriate authority to pursue entrepreneurial ideas that better the business are handed out liberally!

Sound like your company? If so, leave a comment about your experiences. Is there anything – as an intrapreneur – that you would like to see happen at your company? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts!

Every person wants to be one.  Every school, business group, and investor wants to find and develop them. Big business wants to find them to buy their products.  Entrepreneurs are today’s royalty.  But that is not why we do what we do.  I thought you might like to see my Top 10 Misnomers of The Entrepreneur:

1.  ”Entrepreneurs love big risk.” Actually, entrepreneurs hate risk – I swear it is true! The world thinks we live for “the big gamble”, and that we like to take chances.  But we do not.  In fact, most of us will mitigate a risk the second we get the opportunity.

2.  “Entrepreneurs are all visionaries.” We are not all visionaries. In fact, we simply work harder at gathering information about a market or customer segment.  We have better information!

3.  ”Entrepreneurs hate authority.” This is a common misconception about entrepreneurs.  Trust me, we don’t hate authority or direct supervision or even the concept of outside input. The reality is that we do want teams and opinions. We thrive on the input and insights that a team can provide.

4.  “Entrepreneurs can’t secure a job!” We can get a job – really, we can! I have heard it said that most entrepreneurs are not-for-hire and are incorrigible. I am not sure this is entirely true. Entrepreneurs see and work differently, because the work of an entrepreneur is different than most jobs. Entrepreneurs try to do it all, because they have too. As business evolves so does the entrepreneurial job. What we all want is to feel important, to be heard, to be apart of the process of improvement. To feel valued.

5.  “Entrepreneurs dislike structure and routine.” No, we like structure. We do. Sure, we may evolve away from the rigors of corporate America.  We feel “free” from the weight for a little while.  Yet, as our business ideas grow and achieve some size and scale we again become comfortable with the ideas of structure and routine.  We may say we hate it; but really we just need to evolve through the steps of organically achieving each step and level of business success.

6.  “Entrepreneurs love to work 100 hour weeks.” We do not like to work 100 hour weeks. Really we don’t.  Okay, some of us do.  However, more of us prefer to see our business operate without our involvement each and every step of the way.

7.  “The advantages and disadvantages of competitors don’t apply to entrepreneurs.”  Believe me when I say, we do have the same advantages and disadvantages of our competitors – big and small. Smaller businesses have speed and limited rules while big companies have money infrastructure, resources, and big budgets. All are advantages, all are barriers.  It is up the leadership to maximize the possibilities with whatever your resources might be.

8.  “Entrepreneurial businesses have too many limitations.”  Popular opinion suggests that small business has limits.  Not true! Small business has advantages. We are smaller, faster, have less limitations, less history, and baggage to get in the way.  New and big ideas come when there are not the barriers of what previously existed!

9.  “Entrepreneurs value vision over execution.” Some of us have learned that vision is not the same as an idea well executed.  Not all of us are dreamers.  We evolve through our experiences too.  Execution is where it is at!  Yes, you need vision, the troops want to know where we are headed.  But getting things done well make all of the real differences.

10.  “Entrepreneurs are always content.”  Don’t worry, entrepreneurs can be unhappy too. Life is not perfect for anyone. Our lives seem easy, our cars new, our houses nice to visit.  But, we have sacrificed to get where we are.  And those sacrifices will not be evident at first glance.  But we are unhappy when we compare our goals to something perfect!  Perfection comes when we learn to celebrate what we do achieve!

So those are the common misconceptions I typically encounter as an entrepreneur. Do you agree? Disagree?  Send me yours and we can post them all!

Guest blog by Chris Barton MBA SPHR, President at Barton Career Advisors

Over the last three years I have learned a lot about being an entrepreneur.  I would say that 50% of what I have learned has come from actually “doing” my job as a leader of a business that is innovating in the outplacement industry.  The other half of my learning has come from a combination of sources: reading (I’ll share my list shortly), networking with other leaders of high-growth organizations, business development wins/failures, insight and collaboration of partners, and a confidential entrepreneurial mentoring relationship.  If I was put on the spot, it would not be easy for me to assign a percentage to each of these channels of information.  I’ll say this though, with 100% certainty, you are going to need all of it.

Being an entrepreneur can be lonely – particularly if you have experienced rejection from others who do not share your passion for changing the world.  So, finding and defining trusted channels of information is critical.  There is a statistic that is widely quoted from a study done by Inc.com and the National Business Incubation Association.  Simply stated, 80% of new entrepreneurial businesses fail within the first five years of operations.  That’s a mind-blowing number for most people and more than enough to convince many not to take the chance.

If you are considering launching a new venture or interested in joining one as a leader, you should take some time to reflect on your resolve.  It goes without saying that your “risk tolerance” should be high.  But that is not enough. If you are going to make your “roll” on the big craps table of entrepreneurship, I’d like to share just a few diamonds of information distilled from my learning over the past three years since launching our outplacement business.

Define Your Values Early On

When you get started with any new venture, it always seems as if the mere momentum and passion for your new idea are going to be enough.  Trust me, it will not be.  Becoming an entrepreneur is a whole lot like getting married.  If you want the relationship between you and your company to last the test of time, then you better get clear on values right from the beginning.  I am not talking about personal values.  I am referring to the values you want your organization to live, breath, and display every day.

Defining and knowing business values early on can give you some solace when the monthly revenue numbers are not going your way.  We have a set of ten values that we live in the outplacement business.  One of the most prominent is “Investing in People. Investing in the Future.”  I ask myself each and every day, ”Are we true to our values? Did we make a difference for this client?” I know if we get the values right that the P&L will take care of itself (for the most part).  Further, one can go back to their values regularly (particularly when you are feeling stale) to regain energy and passion for the long fight ahead.

Measure Your Performance

Many start-up ventures, including mine, do not hit their initial, overly optimistic financial projections.  This does not however excuse the fact that a line in the sand has to be established somewhere.  You have got to figure out the key performance indicators for your business and attend to them like a hawk!  If the numbers don’t say what you like against the plan, resist the temptation to lower your goals.  It might make you feel good today, but you will pay for it down the road when it is time to ask for funding and other outside assistance.

There is yet another reason to measure performance.  Celebrations!  There is nothing more important than planning a reasonable reward for yourself and your team when the business exceeds its projections.  Celebrations and rewards are an affirmation of your hard work, diligence, and intelligence when it comes to “making it happen” on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis.  You are going to need this because there will be many times when you have to say, “No celebration this quarter. We missed our numbers by 9%.”

Know Yourself

I am still amazed at how some professionals will strike out on an endeavor without having some knowledge of their individual attributes as a person.  Specifically, if you want to be an entrepreneur, you better know yourself.  Let me say it again.  You better know yourself.  Why is this so important?  Well, there are some things that you are just not going to be good at in business and you will need to find others to help.  Further, it is important you understand your skills, personality attributes, desired work, risk tolerance, and working methods.

An example from my own personal background might be worth the effort here.  My Myers Briggs personality type is ENTP.  In the assessment we use in our outplacement business, I am described at a high level as a “Classic Entrepreneur and Inventor”. Sounds great doesn’t it? My personality seems almost perfect for someone in my line of work!  My “dark side” comes out when I recognize the opportunities for growth in my personality.  Specifically, I like to design things and then move on to the next thing.  This is not always a good thing.  I have learned to surround myself with great project managers and structured people who can bring necessary order and rhythm to the business.  Where would I get this insight from had I not invested the time to get to know myself?

Pick Great Partners

I am fortunate to have had picked some great partners as I began my quest to change the outplacement world.  Specifically, I get to work every day surrounded by a great bunch of entrepreneurial minds at CBI Group and Placers.  These are people that understand what it is like to structure a business, build a business plan, develop a culture, and be the driving force behind a dream. More importantly we share a set of common values that allows the combined group of entities to share resources and key market insights.  Even more powerful is our ability to scale and capture business opportunities only available due to our combined competitive advantage.

As do most start-ups, Barton Career Advisors needed to establish both formal and informal partnerships to grow the business. While CBI Group and Placers represent our formal partnerships we also have developed informal linkages to complimentary referral sources, executive search firms, business leaders, consultants, clients, and friends who share our vision for the future.  These informal partners have become an invaluable part of our support network and a community of believers that perpetuate the story of a new paradigm in outplacement and career transition.  Great partners, both formal and informal make the odds of success in entrepreneurship just a little less daunting.  If you want to win as an entrepreneur you need to create a fellowship of believers and supporters. Pick your partners wisely!

My Entrepreneurial Reading List- As Promised!

Here are a few titles that are on my reading list.  All great reads for those of us with entrepreneurial ravings!

• Mastering the Rockefeller Habits – Verne Harnish
• Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh
• Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
• Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson
• When the Little Things Count…And They Always Count - Barbara Pachter
• The One Minute Manager - Ken Blanchard, Ph.D. & Spencer Johnson, M.D.
• Born to Win – Lewis Timberlake with Marietta Reed
• Business Relationships That Last – Ed Wallace

So, I am sitting with my family watching the opening ceremonies Friday evening (I think I am the only one I know that liked it…must be that strange, British wit!) and I kept thinking about all of the human interest stories about the athletes.  I thought about their struggles…family sacrifices…the long hours training…the obstacles overcome…and the incredible courage it takes to truly be the best in the world.  I find that is truly the best part of the Olympic experience.

All of us can identify with the moms sitting on the edge of their seats wringing their hands in agony as they watch their sons and daughters compete! Or the sense of pride that wells up inside us when our country earns a medal.  There is an emotional connection to the athlete.  All of us seem to identify at some level to the people…badminton or air rifles? Not so much.

This got me thinking about business and the world that entrepreneurs enter every day.  There aren’t any “Entrepreneurial Olympics”, but, there should be.  Yes, there are growth awards, there are special lists for your company in your industry, and you can even become Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2010, I was the Entrepreneur of the Year, and the hardest part of the whole thing was to bring the story of my success to life. My journey up to that moment  had been embroiled in so much risk.  My first office was a coat closet. My first desk, a card table. No customers. Little kids at home. A wife counting on me. Long, arduous days. Shifts in the marketplace. The emotional toll of the terrorism on 9/11. Not to mention the unexpected challenges of IT failure, theft, and flooding on the new furniture – and this was just during my first month!

I can just imagine what would happen if Bob Costas were to interview me or another entrepreneur.  Bob would ask, “How did you continue to train 14 to 16 hours a day while knowing you had put a second mortgage on your home?  What was it like to grow a business from an idea and attract that first, second or third employee to your vision?”, or maybe, “What is it like on Sunday nights when you need to meet payroll?  Does that feeling ever go away and how do you manage that anxiety when you lead and direct?” 

Would the interviews be as riveting?  Would you well up with emotion the way we do for Olympians? If you think, “Eh, maybe not”, I have some zingers for you. Like when our office caught fire and flooded on Super Bowl Sunday a few years back. How I almost lost everything, AGAIN! Video footage would help but, frankly, I am not sure if folks would get it or like it! Pop culture does not quite understand the life of an entrepreneur (unless your family has or is one!) but we all should try.

There are so many parallels, so many comparisons, so much in common between athletes and entrepreneurs.  The odds are steep. The time commitment is exhaustive.  The accolades and medals?  For professional athletes, there is a wide range of possibilities even outside of Olympic medals. For entrepreneurs? Well, they are earned only by a few.

The Olympic metaphors are so much an entrepreneur’s life story:

• Like athletes, most entrepreneurs do not make the “games”.  So few make it to one year, five, or ten!

• Athletes and entrepreneurs must train to win,  the athletes that don’t medal seem to lose their focus and routine.  Same for entrepreneurs.  Focus, priorities, and routine are critical to maximizing energy and using limited resources to get the result you want!

• Playing the sport is all that matters. The lessons learned about yourself, about competition, self esteem and confidence, being a part of a team all apply to small business.  Without them no one earns a spot on the medals stand.

Now imagine your own interview with Bob. Or better yet, put yourself on the podium with flowers in hand, a gold medal around your neck and your company’s logo flying high above you as its raised above your head in flag-form. What would that be like as an entrepreneur?

“I would like to thank my mom…“

My companies are values based. We have twenty values, or ‘tenets’, that provide us with guidelines that enable us to operate without strings. They are part of our Outside-In® culture. Everyone knows it is up to us to live them and reinforce them at work. This is the “village rules” mentality!

From a practical standpoint, we focus on one tenet every week. This is our way of bringing each one to life as we live it, reward it, recognize it and hold all to be accountable to it. Our tenet for this week is Intrapreneurial. We are often teased because it seems like a made-up word, but that’s okay – Shakespeare made up words for his plays all the time! Over 1,700 in fact. Do the words advertising, champion, or fashionable sound familiar? Yep, Shakespeare invented them.

So, made-up word or not…what does intrapreneurial mean anyway? Well, we recently decided to put the skepticism to rest once and for all, and look up the word in the dictionary. The definition we found for intrapreneur was, “A person within a corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation.”

So, there you have it. Intrapreneurs are entrepreneurs within a company. Is your head spinning, yet? If it is, stay with me. Being intrapreneurial is when employees take an entrepreneur’s mindset, an ownership mindset. Entrepreneurs take risks, make decisions, explore new ideas or create unique products or solve challenging business problems. Why can’t employees do that too? They can and…they do.

We have an environment that mimics entrepreneurship, where everyone has an ownership mindset, without the financial risk of course. We want our team to know how to think and make decisions as entrepreneurs. To gather information and analyze it. To know what it takes to be one.

Our tenets have value to more than just our employees. Being intrapreneurial means our customers  interact with employees that are empowered to make things happen, to make informed and thoughtful decisions. Have you ever heard an entrepreneur say “Sorry, I have to ask my supervisor.”? No. And I never want my staff to sound, or worse yet, feel that way in business.

We just want our team members to take direct responsibility. As a team of intrapreneurs, we add value to our teammates, our environment, and our customers. We desire innovation and we encourage risk-taking – the same kind that Shakespeare showed when he decided to add 1,700 new words to the English language. Imagine what the editors and colleagues in his theater company thought when he unveiled these new words.…Who is this guy? What type of person has the guts to do that?

My answer? An intrapreneur.

Guest blog spot by John Grandizio, CBI Group team member

How many times have you heard the following toast: “May you live in interesting times!“? It has been a toast offered to good friends for hundreds of years. However, never have times been more interesting than right now. Change is around us and upon us every day.

Interesting? Yes. Comfortable? Perhaps not for many! Today the word “interesting” is often equivalent to the word “change.” And some are not comfortable with change.

However, change is all around us; it occurs without warning. We can wake up to find our savings or investments wiped out. Our employer could go belly-up overnight, or almost without notice, a merger could take place and we’re “downsized”.  Of course, not all change is bad. It can be wonderfully pleasant as well. A short-term stock investment could skyrocket in value due to a buy-out announcement. Modern medicine could save the life of a loved one. We “could” win the lottery (somebody always does – and it certainly changes their lives)!

Interesting times? Yes. Comfortable times? Only you can decide. That may depend on how adept we are at adapting to change.

How can we cope…even survive…in these interesting times?

I’ve found that the most adaptive people to change are often entrepreneurs. No matter if they are independent business people or corporate executives, they react quickly to change and they maintain a “What’s next?” mentality. They seem to have certain attitudes and behaviors that allow them to roll with the punches and take advantage of changing situations. When change occurs – whether good or bad – they nearly always land on their feet. For them, change truly is interesting.

What are these characteristics that allow entrepreneurs to adapt so well to change?

1. A keen awareness of what’s happening around them. For example, when entrepreneurs sit next to a stranger in an airplane or a waiting room, they usually engage that person in conversation. They are frequent net workers and attend gatherings of all kinds, intermingling friends and business acquaintances. Their curiosity and probing with others can uncover endless opportunities.

2. Ability to think out of the box, while creating and implementing new ways of doing things. Often more interested in the future than in the present or past, particularly if it promises better methods and more positive results.

3. New challenges are always of interest and are investigated deeply. They plan for this and quickly take advantage of changing situations. When a perceived roadblock surfaces they find ways around them always working to be a part of the solution. The process may involve people they know and/or methods they’ve discovered. But always, they enjoy the challenge. And, one thing’s for sure – they rarely give-up.

4. Entrepreneurs also have a tolerance for risk, since adapting to change may involve failure. When things are “stuck” in place, they often will take action – any action – just to get things moving again. If a wrong choice is made, the result can be a disaster much worse that being “stuck.” But that’s the risk they take to hopefully gain reward.

In short, they have an awareness of when change may occur and what its consequences may be.

So, let’s all keep in mind that change is irreversible. We can hate it and try to ignore it. Or, we can do what entrepreneurs do, and stay aware of what’s going on in the world around us, anticipate and plan for change, meet it head-on and figure out how to make it work for us. In short, we can either be victims or we can prosper. The choice is ours. You have the choice to embrace it or fight it, but rest assured change will never stop occurring around us.