They Don't Teach Corporate in College (23 page)

Know when to let go. Even if you're convinced your idea will make the company billions, if you can't sell it, move on to something else.

I'm not going to lie to you, starting an intrapreneurial project out of thin air is going to be more challenging than, say, joining an existing committee
whose job it is to generate fresh product ideas. You should wait until you've been around a while and have proven yourself as a smart, capable employee, and even then it takes guts, because there will always be some higher-up whose mission is to preserve the status quo and who thinks that you, as an intrapreneurial twenty-something, have some nerve. Your best bet is to put together a bulletproof case that clearly demonstrates how your concept will benefit the company, and to share it subtly and modestly, one person at a time, until you have enough supporters to counter the naysayers.

As a twenty-something who hasn't been out of school too long, there is a lot you probably don't know about the field you have chosen to pursue.

In order to acquire the right knowledge, you might pretend that you're preparing for an interview: If you were heading over to your company to meet people there for the first time, you would do your research in advance. You would want to know current details on the business's mission, vision, and goals, as well as its operations and challenges. As an outsider, you might check out the Website, the most recent annual report, financial and product press releases, and your favorite business news outlets. You would skim industry and trade publications online.

As an insider, you may have access to the firm's strategic plan, which you should try to get ahold of if you can. This document will usually list key goals as well as development, communications, and staffing plans, and you do not need to be a highly placed executive to map it to your daily responsibilities. And the more granular you can get, the better. If you work with the marketing department, for instance, ask for a copy of its individual annual plan and budget, competitive analysis, and any status reports it regularly delivers to the CEO.

If there is an area you know little about, such as accounting, human resources, or procurement, introduce yourself to someone who has worked in the group a long time and ask if she can tell you more about that aspect of the business and what she does on a daily basis. Ask how her group measures success and what skills hiring managers look for in her area.

Far too often, companies encourage a top-down flow of information, which means that your point of view is handed to you by the CEO, and then your boss. Step out of your box by joining internal task forces or committees
and attending executive briefings where you get to hear a different story. If your boss is going to a senior leadership meeting, ask if you can attend and take notes.

Possessing a solid understanding of your ideal customer has a direct relationship to your level of understanding about your own business. And of course, it will also help you better serve that client and snag future clients like him. Approach a client with whom you have a great relationship and have built up rapport and trust, and tell him that you want to do an informal survey so that you can improve your results. Take the client to lunch or dinner and ask about his company's present situation, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Get his take on the company's leadership, operations, human resources, and marketing strategy. Let the conversation flow freely, but do not demand confidential information or spend too much time on information you could have easily found online.

Finally, it can never hurt to enhance your business acumen in general. If you don't already have a business background, coursework in areas in which you lack experience may make sense.

I blog several times a week, and have been writing in the career advice and leadership development space for more than 10 years. How many ideas have I had to brainstorm to write about? You do the math. It's a lot. Some days I'm feeling especially creative and can generate insights from all sorts of places, but other days it's a struggle to put forth a single interesting thought. I've developed a few idea-generation strategies that you can hopefully use to add value in your role.

Convene with nature.
Looking at open water and feeling the sand under my feet takes me out of my head and allows me to experience the moment. As I rest calmly, I'll watch the other people in my vicinity and wonder what they do for a living and what's going on in their lives right then. More often than not, a nugget of inspiration will arise.

Do a mindmap.
Wikipedia has a great visual representation of a mindmap that crystallizes the concept better than my words can, but essentially a mindmap is a non-linear diagram that aids in brainstorming around a central thought or idea. During times when your brain is
all over the place, a mindmap is a helpful graphical tool for organizing and structuring information into a coherent form.

Piggyback on others' ideas.
My daily newsfeed includes posts from
Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today
, and
TLNT.com
, among others. I often find that another expert will discuss a subject or make an argument on which I can put forth a unique point of view.

Make an opinion list.
Jotting down the issues you feel strongly about will usually result in fodder for your work life.

Read business book summaries.
I get about three new business books in the mail every week, and I don't have time to read all of them. I recognize, however, that I may be missing a lot of great material, so I check out Soundview Executive Summaries (
summary.com
), which provides easy-to-digest, key takeaways from the top business books of the year, and helps me keep up to date on what's being discussed and why.

Once you have a great idea you have to sell it. This is actually the toughest part!

The first step is to build your reputation in advance, which (hopefully) you are using this book to do. In order to diminish the perceived risk of an unusual or out-of-the-box idea, the person proposing it has to be a proven entity. That means that you're established at the organization and have done well there. Your boss trusts you and you are on the short list of employees with whom everyone wants to work.

To get an idea to fly internally, it has to be more than just cool. It has to resolve a critical issue that is currently costing your company money, or it has to have the potential to make the company a lot more money. Therefore, you must think through your concept thoroughly before approaching your manager and other higher-ups. At every stage, ask yourself the question, “How will this benefit the organization?” Include as many sample metrics as you can (for example, estimated productivity or sales increases, or higher client satisfaction ratings).

A picture really is worth a thousand words. Talk with fellow employees and/or customers and create a video that showcases the support behind your idea. The video can include “man on the street” interviews, your idea in action,
or both. A well-executed piece also shows viewers that you know how to get things done and are willing to invest time and effort in the initiative.

Who are the other innovators in your firm? Track them down and ask about their activities. How did they go about selling their ideas internally? What worked and what didn't? Do they consider the organization supportive of intrapreneurship? Can they be of assistance when it comes to evaluating the idea and finding the right strategic and technical resources to get it off the ground?

Do you work with any consultants or agencies? If so, get their feedback on how to sell the idea. After all, consultants sell to people all the time, including those who don't possess a good understanding of their business. Chances are, they will have some great suggestions and tools for positioning the concept the right way and overcoming potential objections.

You should be prepared for many of your suggestions not to be implemented. This is because, in the business world, a lot of the important decisions are made at a high level. You should not consider your visibility efforts a failure if your ideas are nixed before they see the light of day. The goal is to show the higher-ups in your department that you consistently make worthwhile contributions.