Innovation feeder

Recently my father-in-law and I had some ongoing discussions about what makes an entrepreneurial organisation (or even a social entrepreneurial organisation) different to a mainstream corporate one. We were discussing it because he himself founded and still runs a fantastic social entrepreneurial organisation called Hands on Learning and the question has emerged, how is the nature of their organisation different to a corporate? How is the leader of one organisation different to the leader of another type of organisation? I’m particularly interested also because our organisation  differs greatly both in management style and strategic development / approach to a traditional corporate. In fact, many people start their own businesses because they don’t fit the corporate mould or don’t wish to work in that kind of environment. When we’re young and unsophisticated we think having our own business is all about not having to work for the man, not having to be in the office by 9am or having to answer to anyone. As we reach a riper professional age, we realise that working in our businesses makes us more productive and more creative because we can work in a way that suits us. We can really understand what things affect us and remove all of the unimportant obstacles so that we can lead fulfilling and productive professional lives. One of the greatest challenges we face in our business, is how to continue to share that entrepreneurial spirit through the business as it gets larger (and more structured). How do you grow without losing the magic? (more…)