Large companies: is there still room for entrepreneurship?

Or is a system based on processes and bonuses making companies predictable, less innovative and fragile?

Years of constantly growing demand combined with a logic that has rewarded the ability to generate growing profits may have weakened companies at the root. Large groups appear to be reluctant to take risks and experiment, running the risk of becoming less reactive and less flexible to exogenous changes. For too long we have focused on processes and efficiency rather than on the creation of long-term value, therefore favoring a short-term approach, with the cry of "There is no certainty about tomorrow"joined with the other dogma "We have always done it this way."It almost seems that the reference managerial groups of the industrial world have become masters in the art of internal politics, in the protection of their own position and that of their loyalists.

And then they didn't see the demand crisis coming: first the case of bicycles, then that of motorbikes and finally the world of cars. Not to mention fashion. In many cases, a business model has been adopted - and is still in force - which involves excess production, to obtain economies of scale and save on costs, but which causes volumes and inventory to explode. The alignment between supply and demand is always a great unknown for all sectors; however, companies, in addition to adopting a business model like the one described above, have often set the demand forecast on the basis of past trends, or overestimated the expected value of the market without evaluating the real technological and infrastructural context.

The question therefore arises: is it possible that the managerial lines did not see the anticipatory signs? In fact, the models of previous years were reiterated rather than exploring the possibility of adopting business models capable of responding to the emerging needs of different customer groups. Even if the critical reading of the context had been carried out, a concrete change did not occur. So, what is the impetus for change? But above all, in what areas do you want to change, what are you looking for?The world of human resources is "naked" in the face of the transformations that appear indispensable in organizational models, such as the creation of structures oriented towards teamwork, with a transversality that streamlines pyramid systems and with mechanisms that reward innovativeness and risk even in the event of failure. In other words, the development of a generalized and widespread attitude of entrepreneurship among functions regardless of the level of classification of resources. Excessive attachment to processes crystallizes innovation and becomes an alibi for not taking the risk of changing.

The companies that have the greatest chance of being able to face a context dominated by uncertainty and constantly changing are those that are able to become spokespersons for this concept of widespread entrepreneurship, where each member collaborates in the functioning of the system. The concept of collaboration must be understood in a way that implies thinking about the success of the company as well as one's own career, with a tendency to guide the competitive development of the company at a micro level. The professional challenge is open!