The first of three career path is the Internal Services path. This path includes but is not limited to clerical workers and administrative personnel. It is also the path for programmers, testers, recruiters and other positions which provide support to what we call internal clients, i.e. other members or departments of the company.
There is usually a buffer between what one does and what the client sees. Deadlines are set in advance and the days tend to have a predictable number of hours.
The second path is the Client Services path. This is the path most commonly associated to consulting, as it is a path that deals with the client directly and is often dependent on the client’s schedule and objectives. This means the work is as demanding as the client, and this can mean a level of demand internal services usually does not require. On the other hand, experience in this path is more valuable for professional development and can lead to better opportunities.
The last path is the Intrapreneur path. This is the path we are proudest to offer at BeeckerCo. Our company was founded on the principles of entrepreneurship, and we wish to foster this spirit while acknowledging –as we have mentioned in a previous chapter– that not everyone has the capital to invest on a start-up and the chance to abandon their job in order to do so, as they may need to sustain a family and maintain job security. An intrapreneur has an idea for a product or service the company can offer and is given the opportunity to develop the idea within the company, with BeeckerCo’s resources at their disposal if the idea is deemed viable by the committee that is in charge of evaluating new ventures.
It is not enough for a person wishing to follow this path to confabulate about how great it would be to implement such and such: the person should be capable of formulating a business plan, contact clients to sell the idea, engage in negotiations, follow the many steps necessary to become a provider for a new client (or a new area or department of an existing client), manage teams to implement the projects and sales that may result from the idea and last but not least maintain the client and continue to generate revenue, being able calculate and to report on those revenues.
The transition will be easier from such a position, because most of the skills necessary will have been learned. Nevertheless, every person in the company can be given this opportunity. This is the true intrapreneurial spirit.
