Being innovative or entrepreneurial; what is better?

Did you realize how the adjectives “innovative” and “entrepreneurial” are increasingly common in profiles when people are searching for outplacement?

This is no chance occurrence. The applicants highlight these qualities as they realize that vacancies ask for these characteristics as differentials.

Firstly, it is worth noting the change that has occurred in the Brazilian employment market. Until 2005, it was increasing in demand but from 2006, this changed and there are now more offers than there is demand. The competition for vacancies grew and the qualification requirement became greater.

Surely, experience, academic background and languages are essential when it comes to choosing an applicant but getting someone who can also bring entrepreneurial spirit aimed at innovation is a very rare profile. Companies look for these professional, as they are usually inquisitive, they seek to improve processes and they look for efficient alternatives to problems. The shorter path is not always the fastest, and the fastest is not always the best.

This search is not new. Twenty years ago, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff had already engaged the entrepreneurial spirit in a war ship belonging to one of the most conservative institutions in America; the United States (USA) Navy. The ship USS Benfold was the stage for these initiatives, as Abrashoff recounts in his book “It’s Your Ship” [Editora Cultrix, 2006]. As recruits were enlisted, he needed to foster and develop an entrepreneurial competence among his sailors.

How can one be an entrepreneur and not innovate? Until the beginning of the decade, innovation was a topic restricted to a specific group within companies (coordination, management or the board of directors). Today, in many companies, everyone is encouraged to engage in this process – participating, collaborating, suggesting, enterprising and innovating. Companies are creating an environment and an atmosphere that highlights the innovative professional.

And when we have talent within the company that is adaptive and producing results, how can we retain it? A good employee moving to another company is always a great loss. Don’t you agree?

Lolly Daskal, a renowned speaker on leadership, published an article on the website Inc.com laying out the main reasons why professionals leave their company. Stagnation, work overload, lack of acknowledgment and transparency are some of the reasons mentioned. Empowered, motivated people who are attracted by a good work environment hardly ever return to the employment market. Should there be opportunities in the market, they will only leave their company for an offer they cannot in good conscience refuse because it exceeds, by far, the current benefits achieved.

An empowered professional, benefitting from good modern leadership is a major asset for their company and must be retained. The fruits of this investment will certainly be evident in a qualified team, capable of making a difference in the market. A winning solution is made of technology + people. Companies are experiencing a transformation and so it their leadership. The entrepreneur walks along with the innovator. Combine the two and be first.