People coming into the Hub Amsterdam at certain moments in the last few months might be forgiven for wondering what the contented moans and mumbles were coming from the top balcony.  Mark Appleford was the culprit, a Tui Na massage therapist from Edinburgh who has been making a monthly trip to the Hub to see clients and learn from businesses using the space.

Mark’s been a mental health nurse for ten years and is now a Tui Na practitioner incorporating principles of Chinese medicine. It’s an interesting crossing of a conceptual divide and I’m interested to know how he’s found the transition between health systems and, after being in the Hub what it means  for him to innovate in health.

First up, there’s perspective. “I think the main thing with the NHS is that the organisation chokes people who work in it.” he says  “Amongst colleagues you’re more likely to refer to people as people drunks, depressives or cutters than by their actual names. This is just one symptom of a broader dehumanizing attitude.”

Mark’s journey from a mental health nurse to a Tui Na practitioner is similar to many entrepreneurs moving from industrial systems to more holistic ones. “We’re all just working in health. The people I meet here are all talking about health, health of the economy, health of the organisations. We’re all just using different models of understanding to make people’s lives better.”

Mark’s found a sympathy between the entrepreneurs he’s met at the Hub and his approach to holistic health.

Mark’s study of Tui Na uses a psycho-social  biological model of health, which means that a person’s health is not looked at as product of symptoms, but a combination of factors including lifestyle, exercise habits and even spiritual considerations. “In the West we may label a person as depressed, whereas in Chinese medicine they will say their spirit is crushed. This is much more likely due to external circumstances than to a mental health issue you would treat with drugs.” In such a case Mark would likely follow a treatment plan involving massage, exercise and a new consideration of workspace. The credit of the approach is born out by a woman suffering from depression who told him “I no longer feel ill, I just feel out of balance.”

Tui Na and Chinese medicine, on the other hand, has given him a basis to understand how health can a series of integrated factors from genetic inheritance to current living conditions, as well as providing a language that understands flow: as important in body parts as it is in organisational change.

Mark’s view of innovation is not so much a moving forward but a stripping back, to a simpler, more natural approach of health with good attention to diet and exercise, and a balance struck between mental, social, physical and spiritual health. Similarly he talks about service not in the way of packages or models but in a purer Buddhist sense of what is simply best for that person as you find them. It’s a refreshing reminder for us entrepreneurs that for all supposed models of advancement, we’re only working to get things back to how they should be.

You can lean more about Tui Na and Mrk himslef on his website http://harmonicflow.co.uk/

So what happens when you get 50 people together at The Hub Amsterdam to talk about the topic of Social Intrapreneurship? Lots of energy, new connections and inspiration to keep intrapreneuring…

Social Intrapreneurship was the central theme of the event. What is Social Intrapreneurship you may ask? It is someone who works inside major corporations or organizations to develop and promote practical solutions to social or environmental challenges where progress is currently stalled by market failures. In fact, it is a very close relative of the social entrepreneur.

So why the difference? We know that similar to social entrepreneurs, the work of the social intrapreneurs covers a wide array of environmental and social challenges and is in varying stages of development — ranging from incubation to market expansion. The characteristic common to all of these individuals is a passion for driving societal change through business in a way that generates long-term value for both their companies and communities. The difference is that the intrapreneurs are working from inside an existing system. A company. An organization. They are the insider-outsiders.

With this central theme, our conversation brought together a range of participants including employees in multinational companies, people who work in non-profit organisations and SMEs, as well as students, academics and social entrepreneurs.

We learned about research findings from Professor David Grayson from the occasional paper that was published last year. We heard a preview about the next phase of research that is currently underway, and together explored a range of poignant questions, such as:
- Why would anyone be a social intrapreneur?
- What is the motivation?
- Why would you have both a “day job” and “night job”?
- Are you born with it?
- Might it change during different life phases?
- What motivates the social intrapreneur to give their ideas to the company
they work for?
- How can you support and encourage social intrapreneurs in your
organisation?
- What are the conditions that organisations can put in place for
innovation to occur?
- And if the best possible conditions are in place in organisations, will intrapreneuring still happen?

This evening was hosted by the faculty of the Nyenrode CSR in Action! an executive education programme targeted at Social Intrapreneurs and CSR managers. Would you consider yourself to be a social intrapreneur? Why not connect and share your views.

Read also the blog by Alicia Lee “What I learned from David Grayson”.