Create ‘change agents’ in your credit union

You might think “innovation” is a business buzzword, but change is happening whether you’re ready or not.

And it is better to be prepared than left behind, says Michelle Somes-Booher, MBA director for the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at UW-Madison.

A great way to embrace innovation inside your organization, Somes-Booher tells CUNA Management School students in Madison, Wis., is to encourage employees to think like entrepreneurs, or “intrapreneurs.”

Intrapreneurs take risks and solve problems inside a company in the same way an entrepreneur would in the marketplace.

Somes-Booher details eight intrapreneurial skills to develop within employees, including the ability to:

1. Identify and assess opportunity.
2. Pivot and make changes in your business model.
3. Explore research opportunities.
4. Use creative problem-solving to spur constant improvement.
5. Leverage resources.
6. Manage risk.
7. Persevere.
8. Lead with confidence, influence people, and build a team.

“Every person in your organization can be a change agent,” says Somes-Booher.