Innovation: Why Size Doesn't Matter

The American spirit is an entrepreneurial spirit. So it’s no surprise that the recent economic upheaval has spurred a rash of discussion about entrepreneurship and innovation. Today, for example, the New York Times reported that we are in the midst of a shift where innovation is moving to big companies, and away from small companies. But the article missed the heart of the entrepreneurial matter - it’s approach, not size, that forms fertile ground for innovation.

What is the approach of a successful, innovative, big company? Although the Times reported based on “new” thinking, I think the landmark old thinking is still best. In 1985, Gifford Pinchot published Intrapreneuring, which describes the elements of innovation success inside big companies (and thus coined the term intrapreneuring, which was added to the American Heritage Dictionary in 1987). He studied the issue because he found that big companies tend to be terrible at innovation: 

You might think that larger organizations would be stodgy in thinking up new ideas, but, because of a wealth of management talent, would be very good at executing them. It turns out, however, that just the reverse is true:  our large organizations are producing large numbers of good ideas but generally are unable to implement them." 

Which begs the question - what are the keys to innovation within big companies? To begin with, they must form small, autonomous, focused groups. These people, and groups, act like small companies, and Pinchot described the outlook of these groups with his "Intrapreneur's 10 Commandments": 

1. Come to work each day willing to be fired.
   
2. Circumvent any orders aimed at stopping your mission.
   
3. Do any job needed to make your project work, regardless of your job description.
   
4. Find people to help you.
   
5. Follow your intuition about the people you choose, and work only with the best.
   
6. Work underground as long as you can – publicity triggers the corporate immune mechanism.
   
7. Never bet on a race unless you are running in it.
   
8. Remember it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.
   
9. Be true to your goal, but be realistic about the ways to achieve them.
   
10. Honor your sponsors.   
    

These commandments will seem simple and obvious to intrapreneurs, and anathema to people that tend to thrive in typical big companies. Worse, most of the big company leaders I've worked with don't recognize these critical innovation success factors. Indeed, most companies actively discourage this behavior.

So if you are a big company that wants to innovate, what kind of people should you empower? If you want to be an Intrapreneur, do you have what it takes? Pinchot tackles that one, too - by summarizing the attributes of traditional managers versus Intrapreneurs:

	Traditional Manager	Intrapreneur
Primary Motives	Wants promotion and other traditional corporate rewards.  Power-motivated.	Wants freedom and access to corporate resources.  Goal-oriented and self-motivated, but also responds to corporate rewards and recognition.
Decisions	Agrees with those in power.  Delays decision until gets a feel of what bosses want.	Adept at getting others to agree to private vision.
Time Orientation	Responds to quotas and budgets, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual planning horizons, the next promotion or transfer	End goals of 3-15 years, depending on type of venture.  Urgency to meet self-imposed and corporate timetables.
Action	Delegates action.  Supervising and reporting take most of energy.	Has a bias for action. May know how to delegate, but when necessary does what needs to be done.
Courage and Destiny	Sees others in charge of his or her destiny.  Can be forceful and ambitious, but may be fearful of others’ ability to do him or her in.	Self-confident and courageous.  Many Intrapreneurs are cynical about the system, but optimistic about their ability to outwit it.
Attention	Primarily on events inside corporation	Both inside and outside.  Sells insiders on need of venture and marketplace, but also focuses on customers.
Risk	Careful.	Likes moderate risk.  Generally not afraid of being fired so sees little personal risk.
Market Research	Has market studies done to discover needs and guide product conceptualization.	Does own market research and intuitive market evaluation like the entrepreneur.

The Times article misses the point because the key to innovation lies not in the size of the company, but in the acceptance and support of the entrepreneurial condition. And since our economic future depends on getting innovation right, both in big companies and small, we're lucky that we already know how to innovate. We just need more companies and leaders that have the guts to get out there and do it.