"Intrapreneurship should, above all, help encourage people to try new things by both, motivating people and providing a platform for them to do so."
Today we welcome Dr. Ina Nordsiek, Director Intrapreneurship at the German domestic appliance manufacturer Miele. When she joined the company in 2020, Ina's mission was to develop an intrapreneurship program from the scratch. The result: the Miele Pioneers Camp that empowers people to transform their ideas into new business.
Ina shares with us her experience in setting up such a program in a traditional family business like Miele. She provides insights into dealing with challenges such as resistance to change, identifying the most promising ideas, or selecting the right projects to further pursue. Tune in and make sure to not miss the three recommendations Ina has for building a successful intrapreneurship program!
The episode at a glance:
- Getting to know Ina
- Who is Ina? (00:00:46)
- Ina, please complete the 3 sentence starters… (00:02:10)
- Why Intrapreneurship @ Miele?
- What is the intrapreneurship program at Miele, and what are its goals? (00:03:18)
- What was the reason to launch the intrapreneurship program, and how does it fit to the Miele overall strategy? (00:04:48)
- How and with which partners, if any, have the program been built up? (00:07:09)
- The “Either-Or” game (00:12:24)
- Miele - Pioneers Camp
- How to find the right people for the intrapreneurship program? (00:14:21)
- How to deal with the classic resistance to change (e.g. fear of the new)? (00:17:23)
- Why do employees participate, what is in it for them? (00:21:09)
- How do you market your intrapreneurship program? (00:22:47)
- What’s the process for employees who want to participate in the program? (00:24:49)
- How do you ensure that you don't eliminate good ideas too early because they don't fit into the Miele strategy? (00:28:17)
- What are the rating criteria new ideas shout meet, and how do you position yourselves on the topic of disruption? (00:30:26)
- Let’s talk about money: In terms of cost invest, how do you decide whether a project in the intrapreneurship program will be continued (00:32:39)
- Closing
- Ina’s 3 key recommendations on how to build up an intrapreneurship program (00:34:41)
- Thinking ahead: How will the Pioneers Camp develop further? (00:35:47)
- Ina’s Innovation Rockstar moment (00:37:01)
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And to those, who want to learn more about the Miele Pioneers Camp, click HERE.
