A 2010 IBM study of 1500 CEOs indicated that the most important contributor in succeeding in the marketplace today is creativity, which can mean different things in many contexts.  For our purposes, we are talking about creativity as a securpreneurial mindset.  Intellectual curiosity is the first step.  Be curious about understanding how senior executives think about the team’s contribution to the business, how each member of your team approaches solving challenges, and what motivates each individual.  Ask a lot of questions.  If you are parent, do you recall when your child at the age of 3 or 4 would ask “why” about everything?  Take that same approach to understanding your team, the perspectives of senior executives, and the company’s clients.  This will enable you to at a minimum build better relationships with key stakeholders and identify commercial opportunities.  

The next challenge is to pass it on to your team, and this is where my services as part of CSO Leadership Training can help.  Build an army of securpreneurs.  With innovation and creativity driving our new “knowledge-based” economy, human capital and retention of staff are critical. With that said, old management models don't truly encourage the kind of securpreneurial thinking needed for success. Here are some steps to take:  

1.	Create an incentive that rewards the employee and helps align his or her personal and professional goals with the company's. 
2.	Managing performance by outlining business objectives quarterly.
3.	Support the development of staff by encouraging stretch projects that help individuals on your team to build their capabilities and that help you demonstrate value to senior management.

An easy way to record progress to the quarterly goals is to have each team member outline:

•	What action was taken?
•	What was the result of the action?  How did it save money, increase efficiency and/or enhance effectiveness?
•	What was the impact of the action?  How does the action and result mitigate risk, increase protection or enhance value to the company?
