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Social Intrapreneur
From CopperWiki
A social intrapreneur is a hybrid individual working in major corporations or organizations who looks beyond the purview of traditional business and carves out a new niche within the corporate habitat of our ecosystem. The term social intrapreneur was coined in 1978 by Gifford and Elizabeth Pinchot to describe innovators who create change from within corporations.
They not only understand business processes and priorities, but are equally aware of sustainability imperatives.
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[edit] Why should I be aware of this?
Social intrapreneurs are significant for a company’s survival in an environment of rising expectations of the role of business in society. Social and environmental innovations play a big role for companies, and will play a bigger role in the future.
Unlike social entrepreneurs, social intrapreneurs have the support and resources of their parent organization behind them which enable them to transfer everything around them, providing the leadership and momentum to make things happen.
They are entirely reasonable people, often working for large companies, who see ways to create better products or reach new markets, and have the resources to do so.
Companies which foster their social intrapreneurs will be leaders in their industries.
[edit] All about social intrapreneur
The emergence of social intrapreneurs can be attributed to society’s increased expectations from business and shifts in personal motivations. They care more for social change than personal wealth. A common characteristic among all social intrapreneurs is a passion for driving societal change through business in a way that generates long-term value for both their companies and communities.
[edit] Dreamers or doers
Normally in an organization these two functions are separate. People are either dreamers or doers. But according to Gifford Pinchot, imagination is the most concrete mental skill that people have. And an intrapreneur's imagination is different from an inventor's imagination.
The vision of a good inventor is usually incomplete unless they are also intrapreneurs. Because the intrapreneur moves back to the present and takes on the rather mundane and practical task of turning the prototype into a marketplace success. This too requires enormous imagination.
[edit] Social entrepreneur-vis-a-vis social intrapreneur
A social entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who has a social or environmental. All societal challenges they tackle are part of their mission. They attempt to harness the power of the market forces to serve the unmet needs of society. Many work outside the mainstream market and directly with the communities they are attempting to change.
One example of social entrepreneur is Bunker Roy of Barefoot College, who empowers India’s poorest citizens — many of whom are illiterate — by training them to become ‘barefoot’ solar and water engineers, teachers, doctors and architects.
The social intrapreneurs is a new breed emerging parallely. Though these people have many of the characteristics of the social entrepreneur, they operate in a very different habitat — within multinational corporations.
'No monetary considerations'
Social intrapreneurs unlike entrepreneurs have not mortgaged their houses or risked their savings in their savings. But the risks they on are also very real. Like losing out in the race for promotion and for salary rises. For some there is also a serious risk of losing their jobs. But they don’t overly worry about that.
Unconcerned about traditional notions of advancement, they are in pursuit of a wild ambition or idea — backed by a fundamental belief that business must, and can, change. They are inspired by a desire to drive real transformation, rather than monetary rewards.
[edit] CopperBytes
- Social and environmental intrapreneurs understand the role of their organization in the larger global economy and often sit outside of a traditional corporate social responsibility (CSR) or sustainability group, allowing them to drive grassroots-style innovation.
- Though changing corporate practices is usually a slow process, social intrapreneurs are not easily deterred.
- These internal entrepreneurs understand that even what seems like a small improvement can have a profound positive impact, particularly as these changes are accepted and integrated into the daily business practices of a large corporation
- Corporate change-makers adhere to business principles of profits and return on investments, allowing the social and environmental improvements that they create to become lasting changes.
[edit] References
[edit] Source
[edit] Additional Information
See SustainAbility’s second Skoll Program Report covering wide-ranging research and interviews within twenty leading global businesses. Includes profiles prominent social intrapreneurs from multinational corporations including Unilever, Nike, BP, Cemex, Coca-Cola, Dow, and Shell, among others.
