5 ways to create a culture of entrepreneurs

I have a passion for startups and their entrepreneurial spirit. I’ve spent my career inside global technology companies and always loved growing businesses within the business.

As we continue to embrace the digital economy, organizations of all sizes and across all industries need to find ways to build the kind of entrepreneurial, people-first, ideas-can-come-from-anywhere culture that often propels startups. The future is promised to no one and every company faces disruption today, irrespective of its size or legacy.

Case in point: A recent study by Innosight found that the average tenure for companies to remain on the S&P 500 has dropped from 33 years in 1964 to 24 years in 2016 and is forecast to shrink to 12 years by 2027.

Since joining Otis, I’ve talked with thousands of my colleagues around the world. I’m always clear about our mission: we must be the ones who disrupt our industry, disrupt ourselves, and not wait for disruption to arrive externally. We need to be anticipating it, always challenging the status quo, and be the ones leading the evolution of the industry.

We’ll do it by competing with the energy and passion of a startup, while leveraging the depth and reach of a company that has led its industry for 165 years.

An entrepreneurial culture is marked by pace, collaboration and empowered people. When bought into, people from across the organization feel a sense of ownership and understand that what they do as individuals and teams contribute to the company’s mission and success.

So how do you nurture a startup culture at an established global enterprise like Otis?

It comes down to basic principles that sound simple but are powerful when put into practice.

1. We celebrate imagination – and encourage the kind of smart risk-taking that generates ground-breaking innovations.

At large companies in particular, great ideas can get lost in the shuffle.

The Harvard Business Review recently published a study of a company facing what I would call an innovation deficit. Though many employees had worthy ideas, they often hesitated to bring them forward for any number of reasons, including a stifling bureaucracy and fear of making mistakes. Or they didn’t feel their ideas were ready for “prime time.”

At Otis we’re breaking down such barriers.

We have some of the world’s top scientists and engineers doing exciting work in everything from materials science and aerodynamics to data analytics and intelligent machines.

We also believe that anyone can be an innovator.  With that in mind, we created an Open Innovation campaign. We’re encouraging employees to submit their ideas for new products and services, however abstract or nascent.

The results so far have been promising.

2. We believe in each other – and empower and inspire each other through support, autonomy and trust.

Ideas only spur action and change if people listen and believe.

In devising a change management strategy for our digital service transformation, we recognized that empowering our mechanics to support each other through this transition was our surest path to success. So, we created a Champions Network of service professionals who are teaching and leading other service professionals to ensure a successful deployment and adoption of the new mobile service applications.

We’re also employing online social communities for learning and collaboration. Each one of our colleagues around the world will be able to connect with each other through these powerful tools.

3. We are many voices – and recognize that the best ideas come from people of different points of view and backgrounds.

I’ve written before about the business case for diversity and inclusion.

We are a community of 68,000 colleagues serving customers in more than 200 countries and territories. By geography, race, gender or any other dimension you would look at, our workforce is truly diverse and represents the diversity of our customer base and the markets in which we operate. That’s a compelling reason to subscribe to the notion that the “best idea wins,” regardless of its point of origin. The combined engagement and ideation of our diverse community are a very powerful force.  At Otis, our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) play a valuable role in helping us attract, retain and develop this diverse community. We have nearly 50 ERGs or affiliated chapters around the world. They provide mentoring, mutual support and more, based on the unique interests and needs of their membership. They are important communities within our larger organization.

4. We are better together – and collaborate to best serve our customers.

In a big organization, it can be difficult to break out of silos and work across teams. However, the fruits of cross-collaboration often lead to the biggest breakthroughs and the most intuitive solutions.

To bring our new Otis ONE™ cloud-based service platform to market, we used a cyclical approach that begins with user-centric design. In other words, to better understand the need, we started by talking with those who will be using it: our employees, customers and passengers. By designing for real needs, we are able to create value and streamline development.

A purpose-driven, agile approach also enables us to experiment and learn. Of course, at Otis, we’re in the life-safety business, and we never compromise safety for the sake of speed. Nevertheless, so much of what we do in digital technology doesn’t require fully-tested, redundant or fool-proof ideas. Instead, it’s about creating a product that capitalizes on an opportunity, and then moves quickly to test, learn and iterate to enhance the customer experience.

5. We strive to be the best. Above all, we set big goals – and win as a team.

We’ve set an ambitious goal for ourselves: reinventing Otis as a digital industrial company.

As with any big undertaking, the path to success is paved with small victories along the way. It’s important to take the time to celebrate these milestones. People will feel the momentum and work to maintain it.

It’s magical, and part of a startup mindset.

One example: We’re rolling out our new mobile service applications to our global service technicians in waves. Less than two years ago we started with the Hong Kong branch and have since accelerated globally to equip 20,000 technicians with this new technology. Each wave is another milestone reached and another cause for celebration.

Putting it into practice

As leaders, we must always keep in mind that we’re not just leading a company. We’re leading people.

People make a decision every day about the work they do and the enthusiastic manner they commit to do it. It’s critical to build a culture that people can relate to, support and be proud of, because that translates into passion, energy and good business.

It’s the essence of an entrepreneurial culture.