Career Strategies

Intrapreneurship has existed long before the term was even coined in the 1970’s. Still, this career path isn’t popular among African American and Latino employees. Yet Brenda L. Gill, Esq. is an advocate for intrapreneurship. Gill, a corporate attorney who grew up in a working class home in Brooklyn, N.Y., has always “had a belief that my talents and my hard work could take me far.” She used that belief to expand her role at Thomson Reuters, which defines itself as the world’s leading source of information for financial services businesses and leading decision makers in the financial markets, powered by an international news organization.

Gill’s humble beginnings taught her how to “step out on faith.” She theorizes that while those in the majority are experientially aligned to the corporate culture, people of color aren’t always trained to vocalize innovative ideas or pioneer endeavors. Instead they opt to leave their company and start a small business. But she warns, that the road to successful entrepreneurship is challenging and may not be the best option.

B“The more that the market tightens, the more that corporations continue to merge and get bigger...the harder it’s going to be to [become] an entrepreneur and do anything that competes with the large entrenched entities,” warns Gill.

An intrapreneur is an employee who uses creativity and risk taking to turn an idea into a profitable venture while operating within a large corporation. Often an intrapreneur is rewarded with corporate funding and an elevated position, which allows them to implement the development of their idea. According to Gill, an intrapreneur enjoys the “hallmarks of the fun side of entrepreneurial activities” without risks or exposure. In addition, an expanded role in the company leads to expanded responsibilities and generally, a commensurate salary.

Her “ah ha” moment took place when she recognized that structural changes in the global market like globalization and technology shifts were causing Thomson Reuters’ clients to swiftly and dramatically become less stable. Thomson Reuters wanted to designate immediate responses. She devised a solution that sought to address the root cause of the problem by creating an applied strategist team that focused on responding to external factors quickly. She also aimed to make the global accounts team faster and smarter about their deals in order to flexibly respond to dynamic market changes. As a result, Thomson Reuters established the Global Accounts Strategy team and made her head strategist for this purpose.

The team is part of the Global Accounts Sales Channel. They are responsible for the corporation’s top tier accounts such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Normura Group, some of the largest global financial institutions. “Our team is responsible for bringing strategic insight and innovation to this team,” says Gill. “We analyze the deals, processes and market trends to gather and share best practices. These shared best practices reduce cycle time and improve the effectiveness of this worldwide team.”

Now Gill advocates that more employees become intrapreneurs. Here’s how:

Build Your Rep
Before becoming an intrapreneur, you must establish credibility as a competent player and illustrate that you can deliver on your word. You must also gain “sponsors” who can advocate on your behalf.

While working as a corporate attorney at Thomson Reuters for two years, Gill built a reputation for getting results and when she presented her idea, she was greeted as an effective employee.

Align With The Company
Your idea must be aligned with the company’s mission, goals and priorities. Unlike entrepreneurship, in intrapreneurship “you are still part of a larger organization with politics, with guidelines, with structure, and with expectations.” You can be creative and innovative, says Gill, just remain connected to the company’s objectives.

The Idea
Envision ways to make something work better, easier or quicker—whether it’s a new product or just a smarter technique. “You don’t have to think of a multi-million dollar opportunity,” nor a cure for cancer, says Gill. Your idea just “has to be a logical extension of something that seems like it would have value for the company.”

Make sure the idea is unique to your individual strengths and skills. If not, the corporation can just adopt the idea and give it to someone else to implement.

Develop Your Vision
Study your market, the corporation’s market and the company culture. Design a business plan outlining your execution of the idea, the effect it will have on the business, the value proposition of the business, its tie to the mission, how it helps the company and how long the implementation cycle will take. Lastly, delineate a marketing plan to sell your idea to the company.

A Second Opinion
Share your idea with trusted mentors, sponsors and friends both outside and inside the office to get honest feedback about your proposal. If the idea isn’t well thought out, you’ll ruin your credibility among colleagues.

Action!
Finally, Gill says, “You will be responsible for the implementation of your idea. As there is no blueprint for this new adventure, you will likely encounter many interesting twists and turns; but it’s yours to own. Embrace it, enjoy it, continue to learn and grow, and the experience itself will be its own reward.” nv

*Selena Hill is a New York-based journalist, a contributor to NV and the content driver for nvmagazine.com.