Let's say you've got a buttoned up firm where avoiding risk is part of the DNA. Or you've got a subset of employees that has a great business idea, but the folks who have to approve it are worried about getting the splatter of failure on themselves or the company brand.
What do you do if you have a great idea but you can't get the company to take any type of risk?
How about starting a company within a company? I used to hear this called a "skunkworks". Here's a rundown of a recent "company inside the company" project at PR firm Porter Novelli, complete with separate branding, via the New York Times:
"Porter Novelli, a leading public relations agency, is popping up on the list with a short-term, pop-up agency inside its halls, staffed by younger employees who have spent the summer creating campaigns for clients with fledgling businesses to promote.
The entrepreneurial pop-up is named Jack & Bill, after Jack Porter and Bill Novelli, who joined forces in 1972 to found Porter Novelli, an agency now owned by the Omnicom Group with 100 offices in 60 countries.
Eight Porter Novelli account supervisors and account executives — average age, 26 — have been running Jack & Bill on behalf of five clients that are receiving free services. “We have an agency filled with millennials, with a need to feel empowered,” said Lisa Rosenberg, partner and managing director of the Porter Novelli New York office, referring to the demographic group, also known as Generation Y, born between 1982 and 1994.
“This was an idea they were tremendously excited about,” she added. “And as a senior manager here, it’s exciting to see the strength of our young people.” One goal of Jack & Bill is “showcasing our digital-media expertise,” Ms. Rosenberg said, services “that we may not always get to do for bigger clients.” So Jack & Bill has a microsite, or special Web site; a blog; and a channel on YouTube. The pop-up agency also has presences on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter."
The "company within a company" is a pretty cool approach to energize a segment of the troops, and I especially like it for some high-potential types as an investment in their careers. It's also a great way to say "it's OK to innovate here" when all the other indicators say otherwise.
Don't think your firm will support a skunkworks? That's OK, maybe you need to get entrepreneurial and do something on your own. I started the HR Capitalist and FOT as skunkworks of sorts, and I'm a much sharper, more engaged professional as a result. Do something on your own and maybe you'll end up doing exactly what you want to do with a portfolio career.
Famous skunkwork projects within companies - the first Apple Macintosh, the U-2 spy plane and the Motorola Razr phone, to name a few.
Go - get your skunkworks on.. 4 hours a week, get all the normal work done, ask for permission later...
"Leapfrong"..ing sounds painful.
Posted by: Michael Haberman, SPHR | September 24, 2008 at 07:56 AM