EMC + BIF + BABSON = innovation insights

I’ve written several articles about the difference between entrepreneurial behavior and intrapreneurial behavior (innovating inside a large corporation).

Several months ago my team and I were intrigued to get an invitation for a series of interviews with the Business Innovation Factory. The interviews, which feature innovation insights from EMC employees and a number of other individuals and organizations, are being published in partnership with the Babson Entrepreneur Experience Lab. The lab is an “experimental platform to transform the face of entrepreneurship in the United States”.

The lab recognizes that entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, and has a special section dedicated to corporate entrepreneurship known as Entrepreneurs Inside. Christine Costello of the Business Innovation Factory explains:

Elements of the Entrepreneurs Inside Experience is the second volume of work in the Lab. On the site, visitors will find insights gleaned from those thinking and acting entrepreneurially inside an organization. Their insights are grouped into nine fundamental elements of the entrepreneur experience and a library of video stories.

Babson and BIF are particularly excited about this release. With it, we hope to dispel many of the myths about entrepreneurship that prevent the many, not the few, from practicing it. As entrepreneurs inside—those thinking and acting
entrepreneurially within organizations—these stories and experiences are pivotal
to inspiring a new narrative around what entrepreneurship is and can be.

The release of Elements of the Entrepreneurs Inside Experience is just
the beginning. We are now working to identify and establish real-world
environments where we develop and test new ideas, programs and services designed to support you and others like you within organizations.

All of the videos are insightful. Of particular interest to me were two videos: EMC Innovation Showcase organizer Calvin Smith talking about the resistance that is often encountered in corporate innovation, and EMC Innovation Conference organizer Mary Henderson joining Calvin to talk about getting corporate investments for internal programs.

In the wake of last week’s 6th annual Innovation Conference, it’s encouraging to see a new resource emerge within driving distance of EMC Corporate headquarters (Babson is located in Massachusetts, and the Business Innovation Factory in Rhode Island).

For other companies interested in joining the lab, it’s easy to receive updates. Simply email Eli Stefanski or Christine Costello.

image credit: businessinnovationfactory.com

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Steve Todd is an EMC Fellow, the Director of EMC’s Innovation Network, and a high-tech inventor and book author Innovate With Global Influence. An EMC Intrapreneur with over 200 patent applications and billions in product revenue, he writes about innovation on his personal blog, the Information Playground. Twitter: @SteveTodd