The intrapraneurial factor

I was speaking with Professor Moren Levesque from the University of Waterloo yesterday, who specializes in issues around entrepreneurship. She identified a trend that is beginning to affect enterprises that is related to her area of study, one which CIOs would be wise to consider.
Increasingly, attitudes among younger employees within large organizations are of an entrepreneurial nature. Having been immersed in technology their entire lives, their minds move at a pace consistent with that of the digital age…in other words, lightning fast. As a result, they are apt to be a tad more restless than their parents were, eager to put thier ideas for new products and services into practice, and not afraid to bolt somewhere else if their current employer isn’t giving them the opportunity to do so.
In order to retain such staffers and not see their investment in them go to waste, executives, including CIOs, must be willing to give them perhaps more latitude and freedom that typically accorded younger employees. If not, management should not be surprised to see a few resignation slips on their desks.
This adjustment will perhaps not be easy, but it looks like offering this kind of latitude is one aspect of an IT employment landscape being turned on its head.