The Inside Innovator

By: Louis K. Gump

Narrated by: Eric Burgher

Are you a changemaker who wants to achieve, grow, and build more within your organization?

If you’re like many people, when you think of innovation, you think of entrepreneurs.

And gifted entrepreneurs have written countless books for go-getters starting their own businesses. But what if you’re a visionary who wants to innovate effectively within the framework of your larger organization? Far too often, you’ve been left to reinvent the wheel, over and over again.

Until now.

In this inspiring, yet practical primer, award-winning intrapreneur and author Louis K. Gump shines a light on the efforts that occur behind the walls of almost every organization—from global business titans to local market leaders; from charitable nonprofits to government entities; from educational institutions to informal community groups and beyond; these are the places of the in-house innovators, the explorers, the intrapreneurs. And what is an intrapreneur?

An intrapreneur is someone who:

• Leads change within a larger organization.

• Creates value through innovation and growth.

• Develops new products, services, and businesses that shape industries.

The Inside Innovator is the playbook Gump wishes he’d had years ago while he and his teammates experimented, problem-solved, and ultimately learned how to be successful intrapreneurs. Full of insights from interviews with industry leaders and essential tools that Gump has learned through decades of experience—this primer will help you achieve more, build stronger relationships, and increase personal fulfillment through intrapreneurship.

©2024 Louis K. Gump (P)2024 Greenleaf Book Group

Practical advice, effective storytelling

Louis Gump's "The Inside Innovator" is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about or becoming more actively engaged in corporate entrepreneurship. He expertly outlines the practices and pitfalls of intrapreneurship, weaving in stories from industry leaders and his own experiences as a successful corporate innovator.

From his discussion on the characteristics of the intrapreneur to the challenges of building teams or dealing with organizational politics, Mr. Gump offers helpful guidance on what it takes to be successful innovating within larger organizations. For those leading organizations and looking to create value within their firm and propel their own career, this book offers practical insights to make a difference through innovation.

Gold Mine of Best Practices

I’ve listened to this book twice now while doing my morning walks!

For anyone who is in the corporate world, or considering a career in entrepreneurship, this is an amazingly practical guide to success.

The Inside Innovator covers everything you could think of in terms of an intrapreneurial approach to establishing and growing new businesses at scale. From philosophy to team make-up to tactical best practices, this book outlines a formula for success that will help anyone trying to be in the business of growing businesses.

I love the writing style, and the experience that Gump brings to the book, you can tell that his advice is born out of decades of experience and a humble approach to working with teams and figuring out the best ways to grow a business. He completely nails the nuances associated with doing so inside a larger business, a skill that is hard to teach, but that is so key to a successful career.

And for those of us who are “more experienced,” this book served as a reminder of all of the steps that can help you succeed in establishing new businesses – and it was definitely mixed with a combination of advice I had forgotten, and more importantly, with specific steps and advice that I had never thought about. I immediately started applying some of the tools and tricks from this book in my current job.

Quite simply I found this to be a must-listen / must-read for anyone in business today!

Basic info

It could have been a page of bullets but was extended beyond my comfort and patience. Good info, maybe, for anyone not having experienced direct big-company development but nothing new or overly insightful. It would have been more interesting to qualify specific hurdles from the author's experience, whereas much of the book was more generic annadotal.