Page - 240 - in Digital Entrepreneurship - Impact on Business and Society

Table 1 Ten criteria for approving an intrapreneur’s proposal for digital innovation Criteria Characteristics Collaboration Digital innovations usually spanmany functions and business units. Thus, collaborationwith other business functions, even if they initially occupy hostile silos, is a core intrapreneurial requirement Does the intrapreneur collaborate effectively? Deep involvement with the steps leading implementation Real intrapreneurs are capable of envisioning the pathway to success aswell as the final outcome of the innovation Is the intrapreneur thinking clearly and in detail about how to implement their idea? Honesty Honesty is a core character trait of successful intrapreneurs. Intrapreneursmay bend the rules or even break them toget somethingdone, but theywill alwaysbe open and honest with their potential sponsor.Moreover, theywill not lie to others, even though at times theymay hold their cards close to their chest. If they are not honest andopenwith their sponsors, they are probablynot honest with themselves, whichmeans that theywill ignore data that does not support their desired expectations. The result of such an approachwill almost certainly be a failure Are they honest with you? Long- and short-term goal setting Intrapreneurs set goals and assess their progress against them. If they aremissing their targets, theywant to know why. This helps them stay focussed, experimental, and realistic Are they interested in assessing their own performance? Moderate risk-taking Successful intrapreneurs takeonchallenging initiativesbut do everything in their power (e.g. early tests of rapid prototypes) to reduce theaccompanying risks.Theyarenot gamblers; however, security is not their primemotivator either. The intrapreneurs’ sense of security comes believing that theyand their teamhave theability tohandle whatever problems that might arise Are they good at managing risks? Motivation Real intrapreneurs are intrinsicallymotivated—motivated from the inside by their values, vision, and purpose. Even though, like anyone else, they like to be paidwell,money is not the reason for their new ideas. They innovate because they think their innovationmatters above and beyondmoney.Money is away of keeping score on how well theyaredoing inpursuing theirvision,but it isnot the reason for pursuing the innovation in the first place. This does notmean that they donot need to be paidwell. They (particularly the talented intrapreneurs born after 1980) will leave if they find themselves paid substantially less than their peerswho are just climbing up the conventional managerial ladder at a leisurely pace Is their motivation deeper thanmoney or promotions? (continued) Digital Intrapreneurship: The Corporate Solution… 247