The Cable Center, an educational nonprofit serving the connectivity industry, today announced its strategic shift to "a more expanded, dynamic, and innovation-focused organization" via activation of its new five-year business plan, which includes an expansion of its Intrapreneurship Academy (IA) as the first step in bolstering the organization's role and brand in the evolving connectivity ecosystem.
Looking forward its 40th anniversary in 2025, the Cable Center’s five-year plan takes the organization from champions of the cable industry to "activators of the industry’s future agile and innovative leaders," it says. The first activities supporting The Cable Center’s pivot involve its expansion of its pre-existing Intrapreneurship Academy.
A Future-Focused Shift for The Cable Center
For the past year, working under the sponsorship of The Cable Center board of directors, the organization says its team, working alongside 34 industry leaders and experts in their fields, tackled all facets of business planning from brand to finance to program development.
Now, with a clear path forward, the Cable Center says it is focused on implementation, investing in expert-led program development and thought leadership that will create measurable value for our partner organizations. A natural connector, the Cable Center says it will continue to host compelling conferences, thought-provoking panel discussions, and engaging events, including the Cable Hall of Fame, and will maintain its strong link with academia.
“Through this detailed work, we know affinity for The Cable Center runs deep among cable veterans and there is continued desire to modernize and advance our industry innovation story,” says Jana Henthorn, president and chief executive officer of The Cable Center. “We take our responsibility to uphold and preserve our industry’s legacy seriously. By drawing on our depth of knowledge around the achievements of the original entrepreneurs, we enable and inspire a new generation of connectivity industry innovators.”
Michael Willner, president and chief executive officer of Penthera Partners and chairman of the Cable Center’s board of directors, adds, “On behalf of the board, I wholeheartedly endorse that our organization is on the right track. I’m enthusiastic about our future and the impact we’ll be able to create to mark a new day for The Cable Center. The entire board is rallied around what’s next.”
The Intrapreneurship Academy Investment and Relaunch
According to a 2020 McKinsey Survey of corporate executives, the COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity that few feel equipped to pursue: 85% are concerned that the crisis will have a lasting impact on their customers’ needs, and yet, only 21% have the expertise, resources, and commitment to pursue new growth successfully. This is where the Cable Center’s Intrapreneurship Academy comes in.
At the direction of the new five-year strategic plan, the Cable Center is deeply investing in its Intrapreneurship Academy, relaunching its brand, its website, and expanding its course offerings "to serve the need for industry organizations to build agile, innovative, value-driving leaders," the group says. The Cable Center says it will also provide a vibrant community for resource and idea sharing; publish primary thought leadership on intrapreneurship, agility, and CX; and continue to engage industry innovators as course speakers and mentors to inspire and empower the next generation of leaders.
“The connectivity industry is ever-expanding. As our industry evolves, so does The Cable Center,” says Chris Lammers, chief operating officer of CableLabs and member for the Cable Center board of directors executive committee. “They are making the right choices to keep pace with change and to develop our greatest source of innovation – our people.”
Through the Intrapreneurship Academy’s applied learning curricula, expertise, and insights, the Cable Center expects its partner companies can invest in their bold thinkers from any discipline or department to help them grow, thrive, and create value throughout their organization. Amy Blair, senior vice president and chief people officer at Liberty Global, and member of the Cable Center board of directors helped shape the organization’s five-year strategic plan. Liberty Global champions its high potential talent and has invested in their participation in Intrapreneurship Acadrmy since its inception in 2017.
“We have seen firsthand the extraordinary benefits of Intrapreneurship Academy for our participants and how the approach complements what we do at Liberty Global,” says Blair. “Our people have honed their skills to think more innovatively and to contribute in new ways. We are excited to continue our partnership.”
Formerly known as one stand-alone course, Intrapreneurship Academy now includes two intensive content-rich courses underneath its brand umbrella, and with more on the horizon. 164 leaders have graduated from the flagship course Driving Intrapreneurship (formerly known as Intrapreneurship Academy) which offers a deep dive into the principles of intrapreneurship to enable high performers to drive innovation and accelerate business from within an organization.
Launching in the spring of 2021, Leading With Agility is a high-engagement course designed for both seasoned and emerging leaders to develop the necessary skills to thrive in an environment characterized by unplanned change and unexpected opportunity. The organization's premier CX course is also scheduled to launch in late 2021.
Visit www.cablecenter.org for more information. For more information or to reserve spots at Intrapreneurship Academy, visit its new website: www.intrapreneurshipacademy.org.