Season 2, Episode 6 - Entrepreneurs Within the Enterprise

On The Heels of Innovation with Ted Zoller

With Christian Carlson, Director of State, Local and Provincial Government at Esri; MBA Alumnus, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Most entrepreneurs who launch startups acknowledge that to be successful, you must be okay with taking risks. But how do you apply that same entrepreneurial mindset within an existing company or corporate structure? Christian Carlson always had a goal to be involved in business, but with that goal came real conflict. He never identified with wanting to work at a specific company or within a pre-defined role. He just knew he had a passion for science and technology, wanted to lead people and was driven by the idea of charting new ways to help people solve problems. In this podcast, Carlson describes how he put his entrepreneurial inclinations to use at the Esri corporation and shares practical ways you can do the same within your company. Hear his helpful advice for how to take an experimental approach to your work, identify valuable moments for failing forward, and finding ways to reinvent what your organization offers to help your customers and carve your own career path.