Being an Entrepreneur in the Corporate World Entrepreneurship is not only about setting up an enterprise, but also about a corporate career
By Utpal Ghosh
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Business acumen is not the only facet of entrepreneurship. Although turning an idea into a viable enterprise is the primary goal of being an entrepreneur, there is much more that one can apply to a cut-throat business environment. Corporate leaders today are striving to create an entrepreneurial culture within their organisations as it empowers employees at every level.
Entrepreneurship is a skill and a mind-set defined by innovation, creativity, calculated risk-taking, and the will to adapt to diverse situations. It requires the art of communication and design thinking.
It is the modern-day corporate that has realized the importance of arming its employees with these skills. It sees its youngest recruits as no less than a young entrepreneur and looks for the same skill set in fresh out-of-college hires. In fact, these skills are regularly applicable in day-to-day functions as well.
More Than Just Talk
Communication now boils down to more than just talking or behaving in a certain manner. Campus recruiters classify entrepreneurship as a crucial skill that they look for. A few key areas they identify are: credible communication, skilled negotiator and accountable business owner.
The art of listening is extremely crucial, especially for institutions that provide the talent pool. As someone who heads a young and to an extent an entrepreneurial university, knowing industry trends, talent requirements, challenges, changing technological landscape is important for academics to remain relevant in the era of inter-discipline. As an example, UPES was asked by a major company to include finance in the engineering curriculum.
Design Thinker
Corporate environments are usually defined by streamlined processes, but that doesn't mean disruption should go out the window. Nobody wants to run an organization on feeling and inspiration alone, but an over-reliance on the rational and the analytical can be just as risky. There is a gradual percolation of the "design thinking' in official environments. It is an unconventional approach to solutions that relies on our ability to be intuitive, to recognize patterns, to construct ideas that are emotionally meaningful as well as functional.
Design thinking modules can work wonders for educational institutions in allowing their creativity to grow along with the discipline corporates require.
The journey of becoming a successful professional begins at universities where students are the most able to inculcate an entrepreneurial skill set and learn to come up with insightful thinking. The corporate world is dynamically changing and seeks employees who excel at unconventional. Young professionals need to be able to come up with research-based analytical insights, keeping in mind the disruptive and highly-competitive environment of modern businesses, and realise these skills apply to not only the corporate world but to daily life as well.
