What is your social capital net worth? by Roz Usheroff

I recently came across a discussion on Twitter in which there was a debate as to what the differences in terms of risk were for an intrapreneur as opposed to an entrepreneur.

While an entrepreneur is obviously someone who runs their own business, what is an intrepreneur?

Practically speaking, an intrapreneur is an employee who thinks and behaves differently.

Rather than simply fulfilling the requirements of their position, an employee with an intrapreneurial mindset will instead begin to think outside of the box.

This means that they will:

• See opportunities where none previously existed.

• Potentially change their goals and objectives as they embrace a new personal independence that will better align them with their organization’s goals.

• Embrace their true unique ability because, similar to entrepreneurs, they will now be pursuing results from a position of passion rather than just duty or job description.

• See the significance of advertising their unique ability because they know that it will help them to receive the recognition they deserve.

By adopting the intrapreneur mindset, any concerns they might have in terms of being seen as political will be eliminated.  This is because, like any good business person, they will become strategic and intentional in everything they say and do.

Within the above context, how can one equate the financial risk of owning and running your own business with any purported risk that exists within the framework of a paid position?

My belief is that the only difference in terms of risk for intrapreneurs as opposed to entrepreneurs is currency type.

While an entrepreneur will risk financial capital, by becoming an intrapreneur, an individual finances their efforts using social capital.

This is not to suggest that entrepreneurs do not need to possess a certain level of social game.  Far from it.  However, an intrapreneur’s primary risk capital is based on their reputation.  Or to put it another way, by thinking outside of the box, intrapreneurs are trading on their good name or personal brand otherwise known as their social capital.

So what is your social capital net worth?  Of equal importance, how do you increase your social capital net worth to the point that you can effectively operate as an intrepreneur within your present organization?

The key words are creditability and contribution, and you cannot have one without the other.  This means that to build your social capital net worth, you have to be visible and involved.

In this context, the following exercises should help.

Exercise 1: Building Your “Fan Base” (Creditability)

• Make a list of those individuals who you can call upon to support your ideas, initiatives, and suggestions in future meetings.

• Make another list of those individuals who have relationships with decision makers with whom you do not have direct access but would be willing to speak on your behalf to introduce or reiterate your suggestions.

Now, identify two tactics that would help you to demonstrate your appreciation for their support, and reciprocate appropriately.

1. Tactic:
2. Tactic:

Remember, your brand is the sum of every experience others have of you.

To stand out, you have to creatively highlight what makes you different, better, wiser, smarter, interesting, and more desirable than others who profess to offer what you offer. Then you have to be visible and promote the best of what you do. The best way to do that is to offer something no one else is offering.

Exercise 2: Mobilizing Your “Fan Base” (Contribution)

Make a list of those people who have the power to:

• Impact your career because of their position and influence

• Provide you with opportunities to be involved in high-profile projects

• Serve as a coach, mentor, or sponsor

Now, identify two opportunities that would help you to showcase your value and bring you greater visibility in your company.

1. Opportunity:
2. Opportunity:

In the end, when you seek the assistance of others to help you create opportunities to deliver value to your organization, you will be well on your way towards building a healthy social capital balance sheet.

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Intrapreneurship is not an option by Roz Usheroff

I found Dan Schwabel’s recent Forbes article “Why Companies Want You To Become An Intrapreneur” very interesting.

Besides the fact that I talk about the importance of possessing an intrapreneurial mindset at some length in my book The Future of You! Creating Your Enduring Brand, the response from his readers reminded me that a “protect your turf, job security” mindset is still well ingrained into our collective employment psyches.

What do I mean?  Check out the following comment;

How ironic that I worked at 3M when the Post-It craze hit – and that a friend of mine, long retired, spend his working life in Lockheed (not Lockheed Martin) skunk works. Neither he nor I are of the view that real innovators are welcome in most organizations  –  there are too many apple carts that get knocked over with any significant change in the status quo. The PostIt guys at 3M only got anywhere because they got the chairman’s secretary to start using them, whence they got the chairman’s attention. Does it seriously take the chairman to get a sticky memo pad offered as a product? Lockheed was long known for the poor quality of work life – infamous, in fact – and the tortured politics of getting the manpower commitments for new planes.

This article overlooks the fact that people in organizations, even the best ones, will oppose change bitterly if it means some perceived loss to them. When there seems to be an allocation of internal resources to a new area, political sparks will fly, including outsiders looking for a piece of it and competitors and jealous bystanders wanting to kill it.

Many managements talk about innovators, skunk works and creative efforts but few will go beyond talk, which may well be doubletalk.

The above speaks volumes in that it erroneously reflects a long standing belief that we have some sort of tenure with the companies with whom we presently work, and as a result should govern our actions based on internal politics and positioning.  While I do not discount the fact that we must all be to varying degrees politically savvy in the proper context, the fact is that in today’s world of transactional engagement, we are ultimately going be measured on the value we bring to our employer client.

Even though one may encounter resistance to a new idea   ̶   read the story about the computer sales representative in the introduction of my book to see what I mean when I say resistance   ̶    we must, like any entrepreneur, earn our employer client’s business (re paycheck) every single day.

The individual who submitted the above comment and those that echoed his sentiments will, if they haven’t already, soon discover that you have to manage your career as if it “were a start-up business: a living, breathing, growing start-up of you.”*

This means that any concerns you might have in terms of being seen as political will be eliminated because, like any good business person, you will become strategic and intentional in everything you say and do.  This is in essence at the heart of the intrapreneural mindset.

Given the above, can you provide an example of instances in which you have adopted an intrapreneurial mindset?  What was the end result?

Click here to put a voice to your ideas . . .

*In their book “The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career,” LinkedIn co-founder and chairman Reid Hoffman and author Ben Casnocha talk about the importance of managing your career as if it “were a start-up business: a living, breathing, growing start-up of you.”

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