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Intrapreneurship with Sean Ahlum

Jun 11, 2018

Experienced intrapreneur, executive, and tech disruptor Sean Ahlum speaks about succeeding within the framework of a larger organization. We cover a wide range of interesting and helpful topics like intrapreneurship, innovation accounting, lean startup methodology, managing up, white spaces, unique selling propositions (USP), mindset, sharing ideas, and finding the right team.

 

While we focus on Step 2 of The Pronto Path, we cover topics that touch on many more steps. The Activation step does not only apply to tax business owners. It applies to anyone working at a company. Employees can act entrepreneurially, too, and reap the benefits. In fact, it is a large part of being a successful tax professional.

 

A lot of people who have a job think they should not be entrepreneurial, disruptive, or take any risks. Sean takes a different approach and discusses the reason his new mindset takes him further in business.

 

To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: http://taxpronation.com/12

 

Resources Mentioned:

 

 

Quotables:

  • [05:25] “You can’t break the rules unless you know what the rules are.” —Kevin Canty (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Canty_(author))
  • [13:27] “The object of work is to recover the seriousness of a child at play.” —Nietzsche
  • [20:54] “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.”  —Austin Kleon (https://austinkleon.com/)
  • [28:14] “I’m an intrapreneur because I just never could figure out what that one thing was that I was super passionate about.” —Sean Ahlum
  • [29:50] “Your customers are probably already telling you what your next product is.” —Sean Ahlum
  • [39:22] “Every single person that operates in the world is the CEO of company YOU.” —Sean Ahlum

 

In This Conversation We Cover:

 

  • [02:53] The Beastie Boys and Productive vs Destructive Disruption (http://blog.beastieboys.com/)
  • [04:28] Innovation inside a more rigid, corporate structure
  • [05:25] “You can’t break the rules unless you know what the rules are.” —Kevin Canty
  • [06:04] Steve Blank, Eric Ries and Lean Startup Methodology
  • [07:50] Disrupting a small business productively and intelligently
  • [08:44] What is tekMountain, Castlebranch, and what makes them special? (http://tekmountain.com/) (https://www.castlebranch.com/)
  • [13:27] “The object of work is to recover the seriousness of a child at play.” —Nietzsche
  • [14:18] Why proximity to success at all levels improves everyone’s success
  • [15:37] The mindset of creating a safe space to incubate innovative ideas
  • [17:37] Innovation Accounting and Return on Learning (ROL)
  • [18:25] Metrics on learning inside a growing company and Pareto’s Principle
  • [19:53] Successful USP’s with examples
  • [20:54] “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.”  —Austin Kleon (https://austinkleon.com/)
  • [23:45] Why you should innovate in competitive white spaces
  • [26:28] How do I test where my white space is? How do I find my USP?
  • [28:14] “I’m an intrapreneur because I just never could figure out what that one thing was that I was super passionate about.” —Sean Ahlum
  • [28:34] How intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship are a slight psychological step apart
  • [29:00] Persona Creation templates (https://www.google.com/search?q=persona+creation+templates)
  • [29:50] “Your customers are probably already telling you what your next product is.” —Sean Ahlum
  • [30:08] Why the Baby Boomer entrepreneurs are the most successful generation
  • [30:53] Next Gen (http://tekmountain.com/tm_member/nextgen/)
  • [31:21] Kevin Small with NewLine Loan, LLC (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-small-608ab74)
  • [31:58] How can I “manage up” in a company where new ideas are shot down?
  • [32:54] Tax Preparer is the job with the highest average age (http://time.com/4726657/retirement-age-jobs/)
  • [33:37] Small ball and the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies under Manager Charlie Manuel
  • [35:04] How to show value while building psychological trust
  • [37:18] How to take small micro actions to prove out and test ideas
  • [39:22] “Every single person that operates in the world is the CEO of company YOU.” —Sean Ahlum
  • [39:33] Who are the investors in the company of YOU?
  • [41:55] Is being an employee the opposite of being an entrepreneur? Myth busting
  • [44:34] The key questions Sean asks every day to assess whether he should be doing something else
  • [45:40] What does it mean to be your own boss?
  • [46:22] The shift in mindset when you take risk and how surfing is a great analogy
  • [48:07] The two-way relationship between boss and employee
  • [49:00] What Sean looks for in a candidate
  • [51:16] Why diversity breeds innovation
  • [52:05] How to share your ideas with your boss and company
  • [55:10] The difference between having a great idea and executing it

 

Tax Pro Nation is sponsored by Pronto Tax School, Inc. Sponsored links include:

 

The Pronto Path infographic

http://taxpronation.com/path

 

Basic Income Tax (Federal) course link:

http://taxpronation.com/basic

 

Business Tax Verified online course link

http://taxpronation.com/business

 

To sponsor an episode, please email hello@taxpronation.com


Tax Pro Nation is produced by Podcast Masters