Entrepreneurs are those who innovate, meaning those who develop new inventions and better ways to deliver goods and services. We usually think of entrepreneurs as working outside large organizations, but there are also intrapreneurs. Intrapreneurs play a role similar to entrepreneurs, but work within large, existing organizations.
Given current trends facing our health care system, more leaders at different levels within organizations are being called upon to take on the role of innovators or intrapreneurs. Why the rising need for innovators or intrapreneurs? Cost, access, quality of care and reimbursement designed to improve performance have all become issues of growing concern in our health care system.
Peter Drucker was a noted expert on entrepreneurship. In 1985, he wrote a book on indicators of innovative opportunities. He said an analysis of these indicators can lead to very purposeful innovation. One of these indicators was unexpected success, failure, or changes within an organization. By looking at what determined these, an organization could come up with purposeful innovation.
Another factor was incongruity between what is in an organization and what should actually be happening within an organization.
Another indicator of innovation was process needs. Any type of process needs within an organization could lead to changes or innovation to improve these processes.
Another indicator of innovation was demographic changes. Demographic changes could then drive innovation within an organization.
Another one was changes in perception, mood, and meaning. These could also lead to purposeful innovation within an organization.
And the last was new knowledge, which could be either scientific or non-scientific, and this new knowledge could create opportunities to innovate.
In a 2016 publication, Cianelli, Clipper, and other authors came up with what they called key characteristics of innovators. The most basic characteristics of innovators were divergent thinking, the ability to take risks, agility and flexibility within their organizations, and having autonomy and freedom.
Other components of innovation included seeking feedback, having role models, engagement with others within the organization, the need for education within the organization, ways to protect their time in order to give them the time to be innovators. When they needed technological support it was provided. There was also talk of IDEO methodology, which is a design thinking methodology.
They also talked about the need for budgeteers to keep track of the costs of innovation. They also talked about the need for collaborators within the organization to facilitate innovation. They also talked about the critical need for leadership when doing innovation.
And lastly, they talked about team collaboration. Innovation is almost always done within teams, and they said that innovation within teams could be facilitated if there was a development of unlikely and diverse team members, productive interaction between members of the team, play or enjoyment in the innovation process, pause and breaks to refresh those who are on the team for innovation, and also the development of skill sets which could also facilitate innovation within the team.
In this slide, we will talk about knowledge and skills that are common for entrepreneurs. The first is the need to scan the environment. Successful entrepreneurs are always scanning their environment for new information, new perception, and changes in their environment, and they do this on a regular basis.
The second is incorporate what you know. Entrepreneurs are always in a position to identify unmet needs and work with consumers to meet those needs.
The third is determine what you do not know. Entrepreneurs need to identify those areas where they lack knowledge and find ways to acquire this knowledge, either on their own or through others.
The next is develop analytical thinking. This involves being able to organize and analyze the appropriate data for whatever innovation you are doing.
The next is embrace ambiguity. Since innovation involves a future, uncertainty is always present and clarity is always—is not always possible. This is the situation that entrepreneurs always find themselves in and must be comfortable with this.
The next is know when to take a risk. All innovation entails risk because success is not assured. Because of this, strategies must be developed to somehow manage this risk.
The next is manage change. Innovation is both a reaction to change and implies change. Entrepreneurs need the skills to facilitate change in their organizations.
The next is learn from failure. Failure is impossible to avoid when innovating. You need to use failure to inform further attempts at change and innovation.
The last is overcome barriers. Almost all new ideas, innovations meet barriers. Before innovating, you need to evaluate any possible barriers and have to be ready to have strategies to overcome these barriers in your environment.
When making the case for innovation, many times a business plan will be required. Many organizations require a business plan to justify proposed changes in staffing, equipment, programs, and service lines. There are various elements of the business plan.
The first is a description of the present situation and summary of existing conditions. This is a description of the current status and why change is needed. This can also be described as a gap analysis, where the gap is the difference between the present state of an issue and the proposed future state.
The second element is the description of the new program or proposed solution. Here is contain an explanation of the solution to an existing problem or gap. The description should explain how the solution is in line with the organization's goals, objectives, missions, values, and vision.
The third element is presentation of options. This is the section where the proposed solution and other options are given. First, the status quo is given with the problems it poses. Next, the proposed solution is offered. The final option is a compromise solution or a backup plan. Pros and cons for the proposed solution and backup plan should be explained in this element.
The fourth element here is market analysis. Here, a SWOT analysis is appropriate for this section. A SWOT analysis is a review of a programs or services strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses generally refer to conditions within the organization, whereas opportunities and threats refer to forces outside the organization. This section will require data to back up the analysis.
The fifth element is the implementation plan, timeline, and schedule. An explanation of how the solution will be put into practice is the focus of this section. Project management tools can be useful, such as a GANT chart. A GANT chart breaks a project into activities with distinct start and finish times. A realistic timeline with tasks, milestones, and key deliverables is critical in this element. The implementation plan may require job descriptions, needed supplies, meeting information, and other relevant items.
The sixth element in the business plan is the evaluation plan. This plan will allow the effectiveness of the solution to be determined. Means to evaluate effectiveness could include surveys and data on costs, revenues, and patient outcomes.
The seventh and last element of the business plan is financials. The financial impact of the proposed solution is presented here. A budget and a pro forma statement of revenues, costs, and profits will be needed. A pro forma statement includes certain assumptions and conditions. Financials may also include a cost benefit analysis.