“Yes, I believe that true innovation and entrepreneurship do not happen in big corporations. My experience shows me that the educational authorities have set a specific framework for acceptance of managerial work that is primarily linked to indicators. More often than not, those indicators are cascaded down the organizational structure as they are — and not adjusted to the respective function.
Examples:
These do not mean a thing outside of the Finance department. They don’t motivate the others and need to be translated into lines like: Sony: Let’s make the best TV in the world! Coca-Cola: Let’s bring a Coke within a hand’s reach!
Inspirational mission is something that focuses the energy of an organization into one or a few goals that everyone in the organization understands and can support. The lack of an inspirational moment in the company’s mission kills engagement…”
“A true innovator or entrepreneur feels suffocated in such an environment, disengaged and unmotivated. Such a person will find one way or another to change the situation — and more often than not, that means leaving the company. Big companies are too hard to steer in a different direction from the bottom up.
I have seen positive examples too, but they’re limited to the C-level executives — and only when they have the support of a forward-looking CEO. I’d categorize those cases as pure luck, rather than the norm."
“I’ve seen many examples. And lived through some.
When a person in a big corporation has a great idea, the path to bringing it to life depends on the enterprise’s internal rules and culture. If there’s real support for innovation — innovation boards, idea competitions, dedicated roles like Innovation Manager — then yes, there’s a shot. But even then, without the C-level’s visibility and sponsorship, it doesn’t go anywhere.
The more pessimistic scenario is when no such process exists. Then an idea has to go through direct managers — and here’s where it gets riskier. A top-skilled manager will support it. A mediocre one may feel threatened and kill it.
What happens next? The employee will try once, twice — and then they’ll stop. That’s when they start looking for a new job, and the company loses a potential source of growth.”
“Data-driven decision-making is great — for operations and optimizations.
But true innovation comes from uncertainty. If companies want to be innovative, they need to budget for making mistakes.
Did Steve Jobs have data to support the iPhone creation? No. Blackberry was the golden standard back then. Jobs went the complete opposite way. No keyboard. Total touchscreen.
Data is useful for evolution. But for revolution, you need passion, boldness, and — honestly — a bit of crazy.”
“There aren’t any. That’s the scary part. It’s a silent killer. You don’t even know what hit you.
The best example is Kodak. The idea of digital photography came from within Kodak itself. But it was dismissed — poor quality, not on-strategy.
If you want to track whether you’re killing innovation, you need to define what “bad” looks like, build a system to detect it, and then monitor it. Otherwise, you won’t even see it happening until it’s too late.
Imagine a process that scouts and compares internal innovation with business demands. Sometimes, an idea can make an entire product line obsolete — and that’s a good thing. Faster horses didn’t win. The car did.”
About the author – My name is Ivan Krentchev, and if you know me, you probably know me as an IT leader and digital transformation expert with over 20 years of experience driving strategic innovation in global organizations.
But beyond managing large IT portfolios and leading high-performing global teams, I've always been inspired by one simple idea: nurturing entrepreneurial spirit and innovation inside big companies.
Because I truly believe entrepreneurship isn't limited to startups - it’s the heartbeat of progress in every great organization, driving exponential growth, exceptional customer experiences, and ultimately, sustained success.
Stay tuned, as Ivan will be taking a deep dive into:
How to spot raw talent?
What makes a true “champion”?
How to balance chaos with control when empowering internal entrepreneurs?
