2013: The year of the intrapreneur

2013: The year of the intrapreneur

Note: This post originally appeared on Aron’s website. It has been reposted here with his permission.

For the record, 2012 was the Year of Overuse of the Term “Entrepreneur.”

And in silly ways. We used it to describe everything and everybody. Anyone who figured out that spreading butter on the outside of a sandwich and grilling it would make it taste good and, well, buttery, was a sandwich entrepreneur (arguably a step up from the uberlame “sandwich artist”). 2012 was the year of adult grilled cheese boutiques, social-everything, and us waking up and actually reading the terms of service once in a while.

Bank this: 2013 will be the year of creation from within. It’s going to be the year of making that which has already been made that much better. It’s going to be the year when the mice hack a better mousetrap while their tails are still firmly trapped, the sting of the whack overridden by the holy crap of invention.

2013 will be the best year ever to be a maker of things. We need more useful and beautiful things. We need people building things with elan and the genuine humility that comes with being a rockstar or ninja and never, ever, ever even thinking of using those odious terms.

We need people who aren’t afraid of taking their tools within. 2013 isn’t the year to build a new shoe, it’s the year to get within the shoe and craft something that perfects the shoe, makes it whole. Stop thinking about creating something the world hasn’t seen before and get a lot better and a lot faster at problem identification. Be really lean, not so lean, very unlean – it really doesn’t matter. 2013 will also be the year where we begin to transcend startup dogma. Go and create ridiculous business models and try to implode them while you’re standing right in the middle. Some won’t fall so easily and those that do will give you big pieces to carry with you. Bring a strong bag.

Be beyond awesome.

Surround yourself with people who make you feel just plain dumb. I do that every day. Then hunt for the answers. If you can’t find them, they probably can’t either. Work together and build something that takes your breath away.

From within your chest.

Go.