Page 49 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

36 grow from within

Top corporate entrepreneurs understand that both internal
and external network development should be one of their
team’s competencies. Some companies even change their incen-
tive systems to reward valuable external connections: e.g., the
Procter & Gamble (P&G) motto “proudly found elsewhere,” a
proviso adopted by innovation executives at companies such
as BP and SC Johnson. A good working relationship with expe-
rienced intellectual property attorneys can also be an asset.

Concept Myopia

Particularly when your objective is creating truly new busi-
nesses, you need to retain a broad enough view to cover all
aspects of what makes a new venture successful while main-
taining focus. Innovation teams often become enamored of lim-
ited aspects of their new venture, such as perfecting the
product or technology or devising the right marketing strat-
egy. Conversely, new business teams can let their creativity and
enthusiasm get the best of them, wandering off in various
appealing directions that fail to lead anywhere substantial. The
trick is to be both comprehensive and focused.
A company’s existing ways of operating pose the most pow-
erful barrier to a comprehensive vision of what is possible and
even of what might be required. Most managers take many
aspects of their company’s established ways of operating for
granted. You hear comments like, “Everyone knows that’s just
how people pay for things in our industry,” or, “We’ve always
gone to market like that. It’s just what works.” As a corporate
entrepreneur, one of your duties to your company is to con-
stantly question assumptions, not just of new ventures but even
regarding the fundamental design of your core businesses. If no
one inside your company is doing so, others in the marketplace
eventually will. Like top venture capitalists, great corporate