Leading the Entrepreneurial Organization

E  Entrepreneurial initiatives are driven by individuals but the practice of corporate entrepreneurship is the is a collective responsibility  It is imperative that managers effectively lead individuals  Top-level  Middle-level  Frontline….

E Attitude toward…Traditional General ManagementStrategic Entrepreneurial Leadership Organizational resources and capabilities Resources and capabilities should be protected Resources and capabilities should be valued but challenged The firm’s “business” and “purpose” Definitions of “business” and “purpose” are relatively enduring Definitions of “business” and “purpose” should be periodically reexamined Business strategyPlay the game better than competitors Play the game better than competitors or play your own game Organizational architecture Designed to optimize implementation of the strategy Designed to allow for strategic flexibility Meeting customer needs Stay “close to the customer” Stay “close to the customer”, but also invest in promising innovations that don’t currently meet expressed needs Entrepreneurial activity within the organization Entrepreneurial activity should follow from strategy Entrepreneurial activity should lead to as well as follow from strategy Organizational learningInstitutionalize knowledge to avoid having to relearn business lessons Institutionalize a questioning attitude such that learning and unlearning can coexist Traditional General Management vs. Entrepreneurial Leadership: A Comparison of Beliefs and Philosophies

E  Senior level managers are critically important for providing three core responsibilities Compelling vision Compelling vision Compelling vision Compelling vision Well-designed company architecture Well-designed company architecture “Right” personnel “Right” personnel “the entrepreneurial message must flow from the top” Hidgon (2000)

E  Middle-level managers serve as a conduit between those at the top and those at the operating level or front- line  Their central position in the organization allows them to gather and absorb innovative ideas from inside and outside the firm

E Endorse Endorse Refine Refine Shepherd Shepherd Identify Identify Acquire Acquire Deploy Deploy

E Distinction between top-level and middle- level managers  Top-level managers often determine strategic actions  Middle-level managers most often implement the strategic entrepreneurial activities designed by top-level management

E First-level managers have three roles within the corporate entrepreneurship realm  Experimenting roles  Adjusting roles  Conforming roles

E First-level managers and non- managerial personnel operate as both  Order takers  Autonomous actors Should be expected, not just tolerated Should be expected, not just tolerated

E These individuals are in unique positions to recognize entrepreneurial opportunities because they frequently Work at positions within the organization where much of the core transformational activity Work at positions within the organization where much of the core transformational activity Have boundary-spanning responsibilities or important linkages to key external stakeholders associated with their jobs Have boundary-spanning responsibilities or important linkages to key external stakeholders associated with their jobs

E 1. Obsession with finding new business opportunities 2. Construction of a “plan” that clearly defines the opportunity and specifies a strategy for its exploitation 3. Ability to identify and gain support of key stakeholders

E  Strategic renewal—involves the adoption of a new strategy  Sustained regeneration—involves the introduction of a new product into a preexisting product category or introduction of an existing product into a new (to the company) but preexisting market  Domain redefinition—involves the creation of new or reconfiguration of existing product categories or market space  Organizational rejuvenation—involves the enactment of a major internally focused innovation aimed at improving strategy implementation  Business model reconstruction—involves the design of a new or redesign of an existing business model.

E Top Management Roles:  Ratifying—that is, articulate strategic intent, monitor, endorse and support  Recognizing—that is, recognize strategic potential, set strategic direction, empower and enable  Directing—that is, plan, deploy resources, command

E Middle Management Roles:  Championing—that is, nurture and advocate, champion, present alternatives to top management  Synthesizing—categorize issues, sell issues to top management, blend strategic and hands-on information, synthesize  Facilitating—that is, nourish adaptability and shelter activity, share information, guide adaptation, facilitate learning  Implementing—that is, implement, revise and adjust, motivate and inspire, coach

E Operating Management Roles:  Experimenting—that is, learn and improve, link technical ability and need, initiate autonomous initiatives, experiment and take risks  Adjusting—that is, respond to the challenge  Conforming—that is, be a good soldier, follow the system

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E  It is written in the present, not future tense. They describe what we will feel, hear, think, say and do as if we had reached our vision now.  It is summarized with a powerful phrase. That phrase forms the first paragraph of the vision statement. The powerful phrase is repeated in whatever communication mediums you have to trigger memory of the longer statement. It is not a brand strap-line.  It describes an outcome, the best outcome we can achieve, but does not provide numeric measures of success.

E  It uses unequivocal language/it does not use business speak or words like maximize or minimize  It evokes emotion. It is obviously and unashamedly passionate. However, it separates the hard aspect of vision in what we see, hear and do from the soft aspect of vision in what we think and feel  It helps build a picture, the same picture, in people's minds; remember the importance of STORYTELLING

E  “Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.”  “SAS transforms the way the world works, giving people THE POWER TO KNOW ®.”

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