Comments on: Intrapreneurship in an Asian context. Possibility or Myth?

By: Design Translator

Design Translator — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 23:58:36 +0000

Hi Oliver,

Thanks for your great feedback and comments. I totally agree with what you say.

Perhaps I need to clarify, when I said to be patient and taking things slow, I dont mean be passive or less proactive. I mean exactly that patient and take things slow.

What I have found is often being pro-active is very important, but pro-active and being over enthusium is the problem. I’ve read a lot about P&G, and perhaps the subtlties of the corporate culture is very different, but as I mentioned in my article such over-enthusium pro-active or other wise often rub Asians the wrong way.

Thus my advice of being patient is so that a promising intraprenaur does not get fustrated or burnt out.

However what you say about being accountable, making good proposals, strong arguments are very valid points and I can attest to that.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:48:54 +0000

Hi, Oliver here. I do marketing research at P&G. Great article. I especially agree on the point of enroling ‘lateral advocates’ to intrapreneurship efforts. I disgaree, however, on the point on trust – that the best way to build is to “be patient and take things slow.” I think this is passive, less proactive mindset. Nor does it simply involve working 15 hours a day or not missing deadlines. In my experience(where I have to deal with a matrix organization, with various functional reporting lines in Southeast Asia, China, and the US), the best way to buid trust is to advocate data-driven, actionable, judgment-grounded recommendations that will build the most business for your company, and making yourself accountable to these recommendations with specific metrics. Accountability is the key word here. For instance, recommending a new product launch supported by compelling rationale and a sales/volume forecast in X months and measuring whether or not you did meet that forecast later on is a sure way to build credibility. To create trust, you must create an environment of accountability. In driving accountability, you create a culture in Asian companies where trust is based on objective performance data – whether your business delivers results – and not on things such as tenure , or meeting a deadline. Cheers.

By: teacher

teacher — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 08:07:55 +0000

Hi all,

Its very important to focus, if you really want to be successful. I am very new to the net only roughly into my first year, but from what I am able to make out so far. The crowd pullers are ppl who target one very specific area.

Take the case of Mr Brown, he positions himself as a comedian. Yawning Bread is an activist and then we have fringe groups like the brotherhood, who write short stories.

All have a following but they all have one thing in common, they focus on one area and they are usually very consistent. I dont think the MSM is right, content is not king, its strategy. :)

By: Harro!

Harro! — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 07:43:44 +0000

If its worth reading. It worth clicking to the site :) Normally I just filter out the ads in the feed. :)

By: Gwen

Gwen — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 16:43:42 +0000

Prashant,

We hear you. Thanks for your feedback, working on it.

Regards,
Gwen

By: Prashant Sarkar

Prashant Sarkar — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 22:02:11 +0000

Hi,
I read SG Entrepreneurs using an RSS Reader (Google Reader). I find it frustrating that SG Entrepreneurs only publish partial text RSS feeds. I am able to read all my other feeds within my RSS reader itself, whereas I am forced to go to a different page to read SG Entrepreneurs articles.
Most popular blogs today publish full text feeds and they do so for a good reason –
labnol.blogspot.com/2006/12/do-you-publish-full-text-feeds-or.html
Besides, if ad revenue is your concern, there are many services today that allow you to post ads within RSS feeds itself.
I love reading your blog and I really hope you publish full text feeds soon. That will be a boon to me and the many others out there who subsribe to your RSS feeds.
Regards,
Prashant.

By: Design Translator

Design Translator — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:36:51 +0000

Hehheh,

Quite true actually. At the end of the day you will need to access if such a role is important to you or to your organisation.

But dont forget eh, a lowely tea aunty can come up with an idea and it becomes a changing idea within a company! Such as at colgate, a tea aunty suggested increaing the opening of a tooth paste tube by 10% so as to increase sales by 10%.

By: Harro!

Harro! — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 06:18:34 +0000

Wah! Very powderful. But too specific to the company that you are thinking of, and the job role in mind.

I believe that economics, culture, social training and the environment nurtures the collective behaviour.

1) Not everyone wants to be a mavericks.
2) Too many mavericks will kill a company.
3) Some companies NEED mavericks.
4) Some companies dont want any at all.