Seminar in Corporate Entrepreneurship

Lecture Notes

SES #	TOPICS	DESCRIPTIONS	GUESTS	NOTES
1	Introduction: Why aren’t established firms more entrepreneurial?	Every large, established firm was once a start-up. What happens over time that makes such firms less entrepreneurial? We begin the course by first defining corporate entrepreneurship and discussing what the obstacles to sustaining entrepreneurship are in large firms.	Lucia Kamm, formerly of Procter & Gamble. Jon Garrity, formerly of General Electric.	Introduction (PDF)
2	Initiating new businesses and ventures inside the corporation Part 1: The Entrepreneur Inside	Safely navigating a corporate architecture that is not friendly to entrepreneurial action—the tools and methods internal entrepreneurs employ. What are the differences between internal and external entrepreneurs? We will consider a number of ways in which internal entrepreneurs differ: Risk, politics, gaining support, and isolation.	Mitra Best, US Innovation Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mitra spent 12 years as an entrepreneur before joining PwC where she has been an intrapreneur for the past 15 years. She will share her observations on the differences between being an entrepreneur and intrapreneur, and in particular what it takes to innovate successfully within a large and conservative organization with strong roots in the traditions of accounting and auditing.	Uncertainty (PDF - 3.7MB)
3	Corporate Entrepreneurship Frameworks		Bill Aulet, Managing Director, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Bill started his career at IBM getting training and experience in technical, marketing, sales, financial, and international business operations and management. He was named an MIT Sloan Fellow which resulted in him attending MIT for a one year degree program. Upon graduation, he resigned from IBM and became a serial entrepreneur running two MIT spinouts as the president / chief executive officer (Cambridge Decision Dynamics and then SensAble Technologies). The latter became a two-time Inc. Magazine 500 Fastest-Growing Private Company. With a presence in over 20 countries, SensAble also won more than 24 awards and was featured in FortuneMagazine, BusinessWeek,TheWall Street Journal, and many other publications for its innovative products and strong business foundation.	No notes
4	Initiating new businesses and ventures inside the corporation Part 2: Managing the Entrepreneur Inside	The logic of thought and action employed by entrepreneurs inside large organizations requires significant changes in some of the mental models and behaviors by their supervising managers. This session will focus on what manager can and should do to be effective and helpful when he or she cannot actually know what will happen next.	Robert P. Messner, Ph.D. Senior Lab Manager, 3M Company. 3M’s structures and processes for innovation are legendary. Bob will be sharing how they work, how they have evolved and what challenges are still being encountered.	The Innovator (PDF)
5	Designing the Entrepreneurial Organization. Leadership and the Role of the Executive	There are ongoing debates about how executives can best make the existing large organization more entrepreneurial. Using The Clorox Company as a case study we will address the enterprise-level challenges and the practical changes necessary in leadership and design that enabled them to become more innovative. There will be an opportunity for the class to analyze and improve upon the thinking and actions of the firm and to explore how some of the tools and methods being researched in your term papers might have been applicable.	Wayne Delker, PhD former SVP, The Clorox Company, who as Chief Innovation Officer led the redesign of the firm’s systems and culture that resulted in the doubling of growth from innovation.	No notes
6	Accelerating new business growth: The external tools and methods that can be employed by a firm	In an effort to accelerate growth, many firms often turn to open innovation, acquisitions, or joint ventures. Furthermore, to increase the growth of a new business, the firm may spin it off rather than keep it inside the firm. However, if these strategies are not effectively implemented, they often slow rather than speed up the growth of new businesses. In this session, we consider how managers can ensure that acceleration, rather than deceleration, is the outcome.	Steve Taub, Senior Director, GE Ventures. Dyan Finkhousen: Director, Open Innovation & Advanced Manufacturing geniusLink—Customer Shared Services, GE, Global Operations.	Open Innovation (PDF - 1.2MB)
7	Managing an “entrepreneur friendly” organization—architecture and culture	Deliberately developing an entrepreneurial culture, it is feasible or folly? Two consulting companies’ processes and service offerings for fostering CE with their clients. Career implications for you: How do you decide about the role you want for CE in your career? Summary / Wrap-Up Term Paper delivery details.	Geoff Tuff, Principal and Leader of Doblin, Monitor Deloitte’s Innovation Practice. Ned Calder, Partner and Co-Head of Innosight’s Technology and Industrial Practice.	Wrap Up (PDF)