Page 227 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

212 grow from within

their findings are relevant for the project manager operating
within a corporate entrepreneurship context. We’d recommend
in particular Gina O’Connor et al., Grabbing Lightning: Building
a Capability for Breakthrough Innovation (2008), which is focused
on nurturing breakthroughs, and Scott D. Anthony et al., The
Innovator’s Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work
(2008), which, as the title suggests, is focused on discovering
and managing projects that are disruptive to the current busi-
ness in the sense described by Clayton Christensen.
We’d add a primary objective, and a caution, for any aspir-
ing corporate entrepreneur. The moment you receive your first
corporate entrepreneurship opportunity, make sure you find
a senior-level sponsor. Your sponsor is someone to whom you
can go when you need help, someone who will provide access
to company leaders and advocacy on your behalf at senior
staff meetings, as well as standing up for the project when it
comes time to allocate resources. There are some things it is
impossible to accomplish without active contact with at least
someone at the top. If you have failed to find a committed sen-
ior sponsor after a few months of leading a new business cre-
ation project, do two things:

1. Start sending out CYA memos (seriously—you’ll need
them later).
2. Revise your résumé, because you’re probably going to
need it.

The fact is, corporate entrepreneurs need active support
from the top. Compelling the resources and people from
around the company to move in new directions takes persist-
ence, acumen, and authority. If your company is serious about
new business creation, then your internal entrepreneurs must
be represented and supported in some manner from the top.