Why You Need To Be An IntraPreneur--Managing Your Career Like A Business

Featured Article and Career Coach: Elizabeth McAloon

When a client asks me if I think he or she is a good candidate for starting a new business, I ask several questions (see our free assessment, "Are You an Entrepreneur?"). But the truth of the matter is that these questions are similar to ones that I'd ask someone who wants to move up in an organization or find a new position elsewhere. When people call an executive coach after deciding to make a change or being laid off, those who have treated their career like their own business will have a much easier time.

Having an entrepreneur mindset is a necessary asset for being recognized and rewarded in your organization. The employees who are primarily reactive will not reach the top. Sure, they'll be rewarded to a point for their faithful and accurate adherence to the established goals of the organization—but these are not going to be the people calling the shots for the big games. An entrepreneur mindset means thinking of the gestalt, or whole, of the organization and recognizing where you fit into the scheme of things; recognizing the impact of your actions on the system and how you can craft and increase that impact. It means having great relationship abilities and an uncanny knowledge and intuition of your "clients"—your colleagues, senior management teams, and your staff, as well as external customers.

Entrepreneurs are always taking temperatures—of costs, profit margins, marketing effectiveness, visibility, shifting needs of the market, new trends, and so on. The difference between entrepreneurship and career management—intrapreneurship—is that your thinking about these topics is focused internally. Your visibility is not limited to your organization's ultimate service or product: it's about you as a product. [read more...]

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