The Leadership Enigma

182: The Intrapreneur | Louis Gump

January 29, 2024 Adam Pacifico Episode 182
The Leadership Enigma
182: The Intrapreneur | Louis Gump
Show Notes

Louis Gump is a digital veteran. He was at the heart of the digital revolution in 2001 as part of the team at The Weather Channel and then moved to helping CNN develop their first ever mobile app based approach to expanding their audience across the world. 
Louis is now also the author of 'The Inside Innovator' which is an Amazon Bestseller. 
I ask Louis about the current issue of 'fake news' and the polarisation of society. He considers this to be one of the most important issues facing us today. He says that 'reliable and professionally produced news that is fact based is critical to our society.'

Intrapreneurship is described by Louis as 'creating value through innovation and growth through a larger organisation.' He explains that it remains the close cousin of the entrepreneur.

Some organisations fear that great intrapreneurs will want to become entrepreneurs and exit the business to start their own ventures. Those who embrace their intrapreneurs find that the benefits outweigh the perceived risks. 

Why would you want to encourage intrapreneurs? One primary reason is that they drive a large proportion of the future value of companies and it helps train the next generation of leaders within.   

Another critical aspect of intrapreneurship is the acceptance of a degree of risk and failure and self understanding that the success will come from failure. Failure to keep reinventing can lead to examples such as Kodak and Blockbuster. 
Many CEO's fear their organisations becoming irrelevant in an era of constant change. Disruption comes as a function of being a steward of a companies brand. 

Leaders listening to this episode need to:  
1. Create a budget for intrapreneurship
2. Ensure the budget goes to the right people and ideas
3. Consider what evaluation criteria you need to put in place that match the task. 
The key message is identify your most promising talent and give them assignments to innovate. It delivers results for the business and trains the leaders of tomorrow.  

The key traits in identifying the right talent include: 
1. Curiosity
2. Action oriented
3. Ability to build bridges 
4. Risk tolerance 
5. Grounded optimism

www.louisgump.com

Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videos
Listen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5P
www.leadersenigma.com