Editorial
Welcome to the second edition of brainstorm online. This time we have very much concentrated
on the topic ‘Intrapreneurship’ because of a variety of ever more important factors, which we
all are facing in our changing world of work.
It is kind of fascinating that the term ‘Intrapreneurship’ is quite old. Already in Fall
1978 Gifford and Elizabeth Pinchot wrote up their thoughts about the
intra-corporate entrepreneur
while attending The School for Entrepreneurs in Tarrytown, New York.
It took however until 1992 when the American Heritage Dictionary added Intrapreneur to its dictionary.
From the famous Kauffmann Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
http://www.emkf.org/entrepreneurship/vision.cfm I can cite their glossary and the meaning
of ‘Intrapreneurship’:
“INTRAPRENEUR - a term coined by Gifford Pinchot III to identify an "entrepreneur" working within the
confines of a corporation, while retaining some degree of independence. Usually works within corporate
venture group.
INTRAPRENEURSHIP - intrapreneurship is entrepreneurship within large organizations like corporations
and non-profit organizations. Small groups within the organizations take on the role of entrepreneur
for specific initiatives or projects.”
Why then is this topic today of increasing interest?
One shouldn’t look very far, the subject is very near to everybody of us because of the changes in
the work places we own around the world. When I look at my own company, the GTZ, there seems to be
a paradigm shift going on in what our employer is expecting from its present and future employees.
No wonder, once a company with the privilege of being the sole implementer of technical assistance
programmes for the Federal German Ministry of Cooperation, the GTZ increasingly has to compete under
market conditions. Budgets are not any more guaranteed. The situations seems to be very similar to
the one, many of our counterpart organisations are facing: Governments budgets are dwindling away,
survival is only possible in permanent market competition - with substantial efforts in organisational
changes and investments in human capital. Let me cite from the Guiding Principles of GTZ Corporate
Policy as of October 2001:
“In the context of international cooperation we seize the business opportunities offered
through national and international clients and financing organisations. Successful
corporate policy is the core for this...
Through our “public-benefit operations” GTZ both cooperates and competes with
various institutions...
Competition for scarce financial resources demands efforts by all employees in
expanding our market position...
International cooperation requires new alliances involving society, business and
culture. To secure our future, we proactively seek alliances. Successful alliances
need appropriately structured procedures and instruments just as they need a
corporate culture at the cutting edge of developments...
We build our employees’ capability to tackle future corporate challenges and to seize
opportunities...“
In other words: GTZ needs Intrapreneurs! What about your organisation? What about you?
CEFE International has once again taken the entrepreneurial path within GTZ and is regarded as a
role model for a company in the company – and is of course critically eyed by many colleagues.
Since June 2001 CEFE-II is under operation, trying to finance itself through various means, a
small part of it being the introduction of membership fees for the extended use of information
and support. This also includes the introduction of subscription fees for brainstorm online as
part of the new policy. The most important one however is that, although we are being charged by
GTZ for each individual service, rooms, telephones, salaries, accounting etc., we are not any more
depending on public money from our Ministry. In the light of these developments we are soon going
to start with our new franchising strategy, for which we hope to get many of you to follow us to
new enterprising undertakings, with new products, to new markets, and new horizons.
As FERNANDO VIGORENA was saying in his own words:
“The bad ones are already dead, the good ones are disappearing, the better ones are on their
way of extinction, there is only place for the excellent ones..”
Enjoy this issue of brainstorm online!
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