When we think about innovative roles, we think about the differences between managers, who get things done, entrepreneurs who launch ideas, and innovators, who create ideas. And, we want to ask, how do these roles differ? How are they the same? So, we're starting with a look at a classic Harvard Business Review article called, The Heart of Entrepreneurship, published back in 1985. And what it looks at is some basic role differences between entrepreneurs and managers, and innovators. I've added the idea of the contrast between innovators, even though that article really looks at the difference between entrepreneurs and managers. So what do innovative and entrepreneurial roles mean within a managed company, in any managed company? It could be a new venture or it could be an existing company. It could be a growth company, and so we look at what the key roles are. The key roles for entrepreneurs are to exploit resources and to make an innovation valuable. And the key role for innovators are finding and translating opportunities to make an innovation possible. And then finally, managers. They're different than either of those two. They orchestrate and control resources, and control the process to achieve results. So let's look at how managers relate to opportunity. And then, we're going to look at how entrepreneurs relate to opportunity and how innovators relate to opportunity. Because that's really the way in which we can compare these three roles. So if you look at this framework here. At the top we can say, how do managers view their role as influenced by opportunity and growth? And on the left hand side we look at how they view their own sense of power and ability to act on opportunity. And so we look at ways in which different types of managers see themself in different roles. In the lower righthand corner where you have No and No, no perceived power and no role that seems to be influenced by opportunity of growth. This is a consummate bureaucratic functionary. And if we go up above that, then you have what we call a corporate style manager where there is power but there is in any sense of growth. They're just doing a job. And then, on the lower left hand part of the quadrant, we see a frustrated potential venture manager who was perhaps in a role but who has no sense of power, but has the vision to see possibilities for opportunities and growth. And then finally, the upper left-hand corner is where there is a venture-style manager. Somebody who is both a manager and an entrepreneur but, who sees that there is the opportunity for growth and who sees that here she has the power to make things happen. So now, let's look at how innovators play out in this kind of matrix and framework. In the lower right hand corner we see a limited employee contribution by a person who doesn't see that he or see has any role in growing the organization or have any power to act on any opportunity. They're just doing a job. Where an innovator has a potential sense of power and, see upper righthand corner, but yet doesn't have a role in carrying out that opportunity. That's an unsatisfied employee. In the lower left hand corner is a frustrated employee who has neither the self perceived power, but who also has the vision. And so, there's a certain amount of frustration. You know you have some ideas, but you're not able to carry them out. And then finally, you look on the upper left-hand corner, and you see the innovator as an intrepreneur or a product champion. This is a person who has both the sense of power and has the ability of power, and has a role that is influenced by opportunity and growth. So innovators show up where they have both of those. Now let's look at entrepreneurs, let's start on the upper left-hand corner. Classic entrepreneur has both the power and the roll and so, sometimes we're on the lower left hand corner. You have a frustrated potential entrepreneur, somebody who has the view and has the vision of opportunity and growth but, doesn't have the power. And then, on the lower right hand corner again, just the basic employees just there to do a job, to do a task, and to get a paycheck. And then, finally up in the upper right hand side you see somebody who needs a roll change. This is a person who really doesn't have a roll that influences opportunity and growth. Yet, has a sense of power and the ability to see an opportunity and so, that person is really looking for a roll change in the organization. So now, let’s look at where entrepreneurs and innovators actually differ from managers. We're going to group together entrepreneurs and innovators. And how they differ from managers in a half a dozen different ways. Strategic orientation, commitment to opportunity, commitment to resources. The control of those resources, the way in which they fit in a management structure, and their sense of what their reward philosophy is. There are differences in each one of these areas, and we're going to look at them. So let's start with the strategic orientation. Managers tend to be driven by resources they currently control, and that's their job. They see the glass as half-empty. They see opportunity, they say, here are the resources we have. This is what we can do and so, we're going to do it. Innovators, on the other hand, tend to be driven by creative insights. They're looking for a glass to fill. They're basically saying we're looking for possibilities. Compare that with entrepreneurs. They tend to be driven by opportunity exploitation. They want to take an opportunity and fill the glass. They see it as half full, and they want to fill it. A second area where we can compare these three different types is the commitment to opportunity. Managers tend to see opportunities as evolutionary and pretty much long duration and they tend to act very deliberately, a five-year plan or a one-year strategic plan. Whereas, innovators tend to see opportunities as pathways to innovation so they scan regularly they are looking for opportunities. Entrepreneurs in regarding opportunity, tend to see opportunities of revolutionary and of short duration. And they want to act quickly to take advantage of those opportunities, because if they don't act quickly, the opportunity is going to pass them by. Commitment through resources is another way to compare each of these three types of roles. Mangers tend to commit resources in single stages, or fixed commitments. Typically program spending, annual budgets, things like that. Innovators tend to employ resources for very specific projects. So, innovators tend to look at very specific ways in which they can exploit and develop an opportunity, and create an innovation in a basically project oriented. Entrepreneur's tend to commit multiple resources in multiple stages with minimal exposure. So they're very opportunistic they want to take advantage of things at different stages and move a lot of things along. So they commit resources in very opportunistic ways. Control of resources is another way to compare these three roles. Managers tend to own or be in control or employ the required resources. And they control the use of resources. They allocate budgets, and that's the role. That's how they fill their role. Innovators, on the other hand, tend to acquire resources where they can be found. They bootleg resources. They use slack resources. They find ways to use skunk work operations. They tend to find ways to use resources that really are outside the system. And then finally entrepreneurs, they tend to use the resources that are required as they need them, or sometimes they rent them, sometimes they borrow them. So they have a very agile approach to the use of resources. And so, that's a real contrast between these three ways in which these three players use resources. Now we'll look at Management Structures. Where do each of these players fit in, in a Management Structure? The managers tend to establish formal hierarchies with very defined authority. And so that's kind of a mechanistic structure, it's kind of a top-down structure and with very defined roles. And everybody plays the role that is defined for them. Innovators on the other hand tend to operate in temporary teams with defined expertise. And they tend to favor what we would call an organic structure, and sometimes it's a temporary structure, and sometimes a virtual structure. Entrepreneurs on the other hand, tend to operate in what we would call flat structures, with informal networks typically this is very true in startups. There is very little structure in an organization and it's very organic, and it's very flat. And so, you are very close to the people who are the founders and there is a lot of interaction between entrepreneurs and the people they're working with. The reward philosophy is also very different for each of these roles. Managers tend to be what we would call security-driven, resource-based, and promotion-oriented. So they want to get rewarded based on what they do, but they're also very predictable, very defined. Innovators, on the other hand, tend to be reward-driven. But they're also seeking flexible team-based roles and flexible rewards, and rewards for what they do. Similarly, the entrepreneurs tend to be value-driven in their performance. And valued in their results. And so, they are very opportunistic. If they can exploit a resource then they expect to achieve an exploited reward. So the takeaways for these different roles are that there are real differences between entrepreneurs, managers and innovators. And entrepreneurs within a company are like promoters with an attitude that says, I can make something happen. Managers and administrators are like trustee's with an attitude that says, let's try and keep the ship on a safe course. Innovators, are in the business of causing disruption so that entrepreneurs can exploit opportunity for value in a company.
