Page 193 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

178 grow from within

strategically driven act. The Conference Board reports that
while CEOs believe that 40 to 50 percent of their time should
be dedicated to the firm’s strategy, most CEOs typically report
devoting closer to 10 to 15 percent of their time to that task. The
reality is that if senior management desires organic growth
through new business creation to be more than just an occa-
sional and against-all-odds occurrence, they must be personally
involved. Corporate entrepreneurship demands that people
change and take risks. Few people will do this aggressively
without the imprimatur and backing of leadership to overcome
the inevitable resistance of organizations and individuals who
will be asked to do things differently.
In any project, there will typically be organizational imped-
iments that corporate entrepreneurs cannot (and should not)
be expected to overcome alone. This is where senior manage-
ment can step in, assume a leadership role, and assist. Some
examples are

• Calling functional leaders when their people are not
responding to requests for information or assistance
• Running interference with business unit managers who
are unsure whether they want the new venture to succeed
• Helping to recruit the talent required to take on the
challenges of a new venture when sticking with
established operations would be easier

Fortunately, we’ve observed that senior executives do not
necessarily need to spend a lot of time on such activities. If they
have been clear, consistent, and forceful in early battles over
corporate entrepreneurship, they may develop a reputation for
intervention that, ironically, may make it less necessary for
them to intervene. Consider the case of former U.S. Secretary
of Defense William J. Perry, who shepherded the early devel-