Page 56 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Understanding Corporate Entrepreneurship 43

be better at employing those resources themselves. Don’t prove
them right.

Changes in Strategic Priorities
It is impossible to eliminate the risk that your company will
make significant changes in its strategic priorities that will
affect the importance of new business creation. Conditions
change. New leadership takes new paths. Everyone within a
company is susceptible, but new business ventures are at par-
ticular risk. They typically have not gained critical mass to pro-
tect against reprioritizations. They are particularly vulnerable
to economic downturns, when cost cutting takes priority over
investment in the future.
Start by ensuring that everything that your corporate entre-
preneurship team does supports your company’s stated strate-
gic vision in some meaningful way. Ideally, create explicit
strategic progress metrics and track them diligently. Metrics
make it easier for you to defend your activities while maintain-
ing focus on the things that should matter most to your com-
pany. Maintain consistent engagement with senior management
to educate them on the corporate entrepreneurship process,
manage expectations, and track your company’s pulse. An
astute new business creation team builds a portfolio of oppor-
tunities that enables it to shift its focus as corporate priorities
shift. The team members also work hard to ensure that leaders
around the company have vested interests in the team’s projects.
A few fortunate corporate entrepreneurial leaders build a posi-
tive reputation and a web of influence that enable them to affect
the company’s strategic direction, but don’t rely on your ability
to do so until you’ve built credibility through tangible success.
Top management change presents both challenges and
opportunities. Be prepared to tell your story in a compelling,