Louis K. Gump’s Tips for Finding Your Inner Intrapreneur
Business Builder and Author Louis K. Gump
October 25, 2024
Gump says that the key to developing into an intrapreneur is to take a deep look inside yourself and your organization.
There is no debate about the importance of entrepreneurship. It’s the backbone of the free-market system, driving innovation, creating jobs, and boosting the economy. Entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality, solving problems, challenging the status quo, and inspiring others.
On episode 215 of the “PR 360” podcast, business builder and author Louis K. Gump spotlights one of the most important people entrepreneurs can have in their organization: the intrapreneur.
Gump is the president of Cambian Solutions and has presided over award-winning mobile businesses at The Weather Channel and CNN. He’s also the author of “The Inside Innovator: A Practical Guide to Intrapreneurship.”
Gump told “PR 360” that there is a difference between being an intrapreneur and intrapreneurship. “An intrapreneur is a person who leads innovation and creates value and growth in a larger organization,” he told the podcast. “So, intrapreneurship is the practice of creating value and growth through innovation within a larger organization.”
The author shared three reasons why Intrapreneurs are so important.
1. Marketplace adaptation
“One of the reasons is that it helps companies adapt to the marketplace. In an environment where there's so much change, companies can take advantage of the opportunities out there, and they can work with their talented team members who are naturally predisposed to help drive this innovation. “
2. Develop future leaders
“I found over and over in my research that the people who were given ownership for individual initiatives or business units earlier on in their career tended to develop more rapidly and more broadly so that they could add even more to a company at a broader level over time.”
3. They help entrepreneurs succeed
“Intrapreneurship results in some really life-changing and organization-changing opportunities for entrepreneurs. Typically, when intrapreneurs are creating something new; they’re doing it in a new way, and they need help. They need support; they need to work with others,” Gump told the “Becoming Your Best” podcast.
Gump says the key to developing into an intrapreneur involves taking a deep look inside yourself and finding opportunities inside the organization.
“That’s why I started the book with the inner game: understanding yourself, what’s important to you, what motivates you, and what you’re good at, and then take it from there,” he told “Becoming Your Best.” “For people who are in a situation where they want to do this and are already in an organization, it’s about scanning for opportunities. It’s one thing to have a lot of ideas; it’s another to narrow them down to a few that could be transformative, if that’s what you’re looking for, and are aligned with the strategy of the organization.”
A new idea can create a spark in people and open new paths for growth. The concept of the intrapreneur provides people who may not be in the C-suite with a framework for looking at the company to find avenues for improvement. “Not all intrapreneurship needs to be transformative,” Gump said. “Some of it is iterative; you can find ways to improve an organization over time.”
This interview has been edited for time and clarity.
