Innovation, Timing, and Leadership for Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs | Louis Gump, Ep 38

On what happens to innovation after acquisitions

“If innovation stops, it's flatout negligence on the part of the acquirer. That's just losing an opportunity. And you got to ask yourself why the acquisition happened in the first place.”

“An entrepreneur who stays with the company after a deal—they need to understand that they're shifting from being an entrepreneur to an intrapreneur. And if they miss that memo, then they're going to make it about three seconds and the company is going to say we don't like this too much, or the founder is going to say this is driving me crazy, or both.”

On CNN CEO Jim Walton approving the custom iPad app

“He said, 'This isn't something that I'm as used to this format, but do you believe in it?' and he went around the room and each of us including me, we said, 'Yes, I believe in it. I think this is important. It's best for CNN.' He said, 'Well, I might not do it this way, but you're the experts, so go get it done.' And that was a real lesson in leadership for me. Disagree and commit even if you're the boss.”

“The skills and the approaches that are needed to be an entrepreneur are a lot different than the ones needed to be a successful intrapreneur.”

On the round table concept for team building

“It's perilous for anyone to assume that they're the most important contributor on a team even though that happens all the time. The product person says, 'We're the most important because we create the products that the customers use.' And the technology person says, 'I'm the most important because they can create all the products they want, but it only works when I do a good job.' And the salesperson says, 'Well, actually, I'm most important because I'm the person who makes it rain.'”