Career Focus: The Social Intrapreneur

The term 'social entrepreneur' seems to have caught fire lately, reflecting entrepreneurs with a social or environmental cause at the core of their venture. From Blake Mycoskie's one-for-one model with TOMS Shoes (which donates a pair for every pair purchased) to Tom Skazy's Terracycle (which sells fertilizer and other products made from over 60 waste streams), few would argue that social entrepreneurs are making a real difference, often filling a gap where larger organizations have failed to act (or created the problem in the first place!).

But what about the legions of socially minded people who work within large, established organizations (and thus by definition are not social entrepreneurs) and seek to be a force for positive social change? Enter the 'social intrapreneur', defined as:

1) Someone who works inside major corporations or organizations to develop and promote practical solutions to social or environmental challenges where progress is currently stalled by market failures;
2) Someone who applies the principles of social entrepreneurship inside a major organization; 
3) One characterized by an ‘insider-outsider’mindset and approach.

A field guide available for free from SustainAbility discusses the concept of the social intrapreneur in-depth and provides examples from across the corporate world. Simply put, intrapreneurship involves "the exercise of entrepreneurial skills and approaches within a company or other large organization". More specifically, social intrapreneurs seek to better align societal needs and business value. Initiatives like Accentures Development Partnerships (develops innovative, cross-sectoral solutions to global challenges) or Microsofts Unlimited Potential (delivers relevant, accessible, and affordable technology to 'the next 5 billion people' around the world) are being led by social intrapreneurs working within these large organizations that operate according to a bottomline.

Though many successful examples were cited, the article is careful to note the serious constraints faced by those seeking to shift company resources towards a greater social good, such as accessing capital, gaining the support of senior leadership, and getting recognition for success.

As the field guide is for 'corporate changemakers', all the examples examined were from large, well-resourced, multinational corporations (e.g. Nike, Vodaphone, Citi, BP, etc.). This immediately caused me to question whether the same potential exists for social intrapreneurs seeking to drive change within:
- smaller companies with less resources; or
- that other world of large organizations that don't operate according to a bottomline, the public sector.

It would be interesting to see a comparison of experiences of social intrapreneurs amongst a more varied selection of organizations, as no doubt the two types mentioned above would pose a different, and arguably more salient, set of constraints.

Nonetheless there is great potential for social intrapreneurs, especially as businesses increasingly realize the limitations of a business model built purely on profit maximization.

If you work within a large organization and spend at least part of your time trying to address a larger social issue, or know someone who does, than this guide is worth a read.

Disclaimer: I am not a social intrapreneur and I still believe the greatest prospect to drive change is by starting something of your own. As Reed Paget, co-founder of Belu Water puts it in the article:

“As an entrepreneur, I have the freedom to pursue an individual and/or environmental mission — unconstrained by the needs of an existing organization.”

Sources:

'The Social Intrapreneur: A Field Guide for Corporate Change Makers' available at: http://www.sustainability.com/library/the-social-intrapreneur?path=library/the-social-intrapreneurs#.UCwIwqBmM_8

'Forbes' List of the Top 30 Social Entrepreneurs' available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/helencoster/2011/11/30/forbes-list-of-the-top-30-social-entrepreneurs/