Fall 2008 issue of Horizons

knowledge. commitment. value. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS AND BUSINESS CONSULTANTS

Kenneth A. Harrington

4) Identify entrepreneurial idea champions and then mentor and coach them. However, do not take responsibility for their results. Guard against the charismatic lone wolf who wants to work by himself/herself (this attitude may sometimes be OK for an inventor but is not good for go-to-market implementation). 5) Identify policies, incentives and other factors that restrict collaboration, openness and entrepreneurial action. Discuss these issues with the CEO. 6) Consider creating separate, innovation director- controlled policies and incentives, including new wealth-sharing concepts. 7) Treat people as if they are entrepreneurs. a. Expect champions to work nights and weekends to pursue their idea. Ensure the incentives make this worthwhile. b. Invest in people, not businesses; make employees better business people and innovators. Build entrepreneurial knowledge capacity. To summarize, leaders who wish to become an “entrepreneurial catalyst” need not disrupt current decision-making approaches and control systems. They should not make large changes to current structures, financial objectives or resource allocations. They can invite participation from people by using innovation directors to support innovation activities that do not require senior management review. Innovation director activities will create innovation momentum that currently is hidden in an organization’s people, leading to gradual but lasting cultural changes that become part of a leader’s organization and its people. People will gradually learn to collaborate and eventually help change the structure of control systems and policies that are the basis of current leadership methods. The ideas and people that blossom will deliver high returns, provided leadership fairly rewards and recognizes collaborative contributions.

Managing Director, The Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship

Ken Harrington is managing director of the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in Saint Louis and a senior lecturer in entrepreneurship. He serves on numerous not-for-profit and early stage company advisory boards. He directs a fully encompassing,

cross-campus entrepreneurship effort impacting all schools and academic disciplines. Under Harrington's leadership, Washington University's entrepreneurship programs have received broad recognition, one of the most notable being selection as one of the first Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation's Campuses Initiative schools. Harrington holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Vermont. Prior to joining Washington University, he spent nearly 30 years in the technology industry, working for Booz, Allen and Hamilton in New York, focusing on technology strategy consulting for such clients as AT&T, United Technologies, Stanford University and numerous other technology hardware and software companies. Harrington and Robert Skandalaris collaborated on their recently published book, “Rebuilding the American Dream, Restoring American Jobs and Competitiveness through Innovation and Entrepreneurship.”

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