Page 54 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Understanding Corporate Entrepreneurship 41

teams communicate incessantly across the company, setting
even higher expectations and thereby risking even more if proj-
ects underperform.
In our view, UPOD (underpromise, overdeliver) is especially
important for corporate entrepreneurship or major innovation
initiatives. Early on, act aggressively behind the scenes, seek-
ing quick wins and communicating them strategically, being
circumspect at times until you’ve achieved some success. Com-
municate in depth and often with selected people who can
move your initiatives along or set them back. Communicate
widely only after you have successes to tout, rather than set-
ting expectations that you may or may not achieve.

Misaligned

The fact is that if corporate entrepreneurs are going in truly
new directions, they do need to be protected from core business
pressures. Separation can lead to isolation. Even new business
teams that maintain effective connections with the core can
encounter misalignment through no fault of their own as cor-
porate strategies and priorities change. Maintaining alignment
must be an ongoing process.

Insulation versus Isolation

Most experts and practitioners agree that teams that are pur-
suing radical innovation, and certainly new business creation,
typically require some form of separation from the company’s
established business units. Most companies’ control and
resource allocation processes tend to compromise opportuni-
ties that don’t fit neatly within the business-as-usual model,
and often for good reasons. In general, resources should go to
those activities that have the highest likelihood of success.