You're in a Business Innovation interview. How can you prepare for situational questions?

Des études montrent qu'en B2B, la décision est de moins en moins prise par un individu mais de plus en plus prise par une somme d'individus. Par conséquent au lieu de chercher quelle sera la meilleure offre pour le décideur, il faut innover pour trouver l'offre la plus consensuelle et attractive par rapport à la somme d'individus

Before diving into your response, take a moment to ask clarifying questions. What problem are we trying to solve, and who are we solving it for? What resources and constraints do we have? Are there any underlying assumptions or potential risks to consider? By asking these questions, you demonstrate not only your understanding of the situation but also your analytical thinking, curiosity, and attention to detail – all valuable assets in an innovation role.

Anticipate potential situational questions based on the job description and industry trends. Practice responding to scenarios involving market disruption, product development, team collaboration, etc.

It seems that the biggest problem that I am trying to solve is to create connections between businessmen and business owners in the world, taking into account the culture of working between nations.

I have hired candidate for a business innovation expert role and below are some the questions I asked to understand better about the candidate 1. Can you describe a time when you identified and capitalized on an emerging trend? How did you discover the trend, and what steps did you take to ensure your organization was ahead of the curve? 2. Tell me about a project where you had to lead co-creation with stakeholders. How did you manage differing opinions and ensure the process was equitable and inclusive? 3. How do you measure the success of an innovation initiative, and can you share an example where you had to pivot based on performance data?

One framework that I found helpful is the STAR method. Situation: Provide context and the situation Task: Describe what you were supposed to do. Action: Explain what you did. Result: Share the result of your actions. It takes practice to be comfortable using the framework in a high-stress situation. So practice using it before your actual interview. You can also pen down your thoughts in this format as part of your interview preparation.

Frameworks are problem-solving tools like the Design Thinking (DT) process (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test). Choose a relevant one, like DT for customer-centric problems. Briefly explain your chosen framework and how you'll apply it. For instance, "Using DT, I'd first empathize with the customer's pain point by interviewing them. Then, I'd define the core issue and ideate solutions before prototyping and testing them for effectiveness."

Using a framework in a business innovation interview can help in structuring and organizing one's thoughts, showcasing a systematic approach to problem-solving. A popular framework like the Design Thinking process can be applied to demonstrate how to empathize with user needs, define the problem, ideate creative solutions, prototype, and test them. By applying a framework, you can provide you ability to think critically, analyze complex situations, and propose innovative solutions that align with the company's goals and values.

Situational questions are your chance to shine! To prepare, reflect on past experiences using the STAR framework: Situation: Briefly describe the context and challenges. Task: Explain your responsibility and role. Action: Detail the specific actions you took to innovate. Result: Highlight the positive outcomes, like increased efficiency or happy customers. Practice answering common innovation questions like: -How did you overcome resistance to a new idea? -Tell me about a creative solution you developed. Anticipate potential challenges by researching the company and industry. Tailor your responses and showcase your understanding of their needs. Be specific and enthusiastic! Use concrete examples and show your passion for innovation.

By expositing an individual innovation process, you demonstrate your mastery in innovative area. It shows that you really know the vastness of driving innovation considering it happens within the context of the business. If you talk about the process of innovation you can highlight your ability to perceive different opportunities for results, launch projects of your own, analyse possible solutions and apply them to solve problems in business. Also it′s meanful to provide concrete examples as a study case of a certain innovation process served as an illustration of your abilities to derive the processes and the results you obtained out of this task.

1. Understand the Industry: Ground your ideas in current trends and challenges. 2. Generate and Refine Ideas: Use tools like SCAMPER for innovative thinking, then apply critical evaluation for practicality. 3. Showcase Methodologies: Highlight your use of structured approaches like TRIZ or design thinking. 4. Validate Ideas: Emphasize rapid prototyping and feedback to test feasibility. 5. Communicate Effectively: Clearly articulate your thought process from ideation to validation. 6. Demonstrate Adaptability: Tailor your responses to the situational context, showing problem-solving agility. This concise approach will illustrate your capacity to innovate within practical constraints, aligning with business innovation objectives.

Instead of: "You can do this by brainstorming multiple ideas, using divergent and convergent thinking, applying techniques such as SCAMPER or TRIZ, or using analogies or metaphors." Use: "Showcase your creativity by brainstorming diverse solutions like redesigning a service (SCAMPER) or adapting an existing product from a different industry (analogy). Apply frameworks like TRIZ to systematically explore possibilities."

Prior research is the mother of creativity, as far as I'm concerned. Make sure you have properly researched not only the company you are interviewing with, but also their competitors, value chain partners and startups in the field. Stretch your exploration to similar companies in other geographies, and play with the various possibilities. I always find it useful to imagine working in that particular role before an interview. Let your mind roam free and see how you could / would transform the business, or, if of a more combative bend, which threats are coming for it in the future and how you can fight them. This will make on-the-spot improv much easier and less fluffy.

Demonstrate your ability to think outside the box by proposing innovative solutions to the given scenario. Ensure your ideas are not only creative but also feasible and aligned with the company's goals and resources.

Being creative and practical in a business innovation interview involves a balance between imaginative thinking and practical execution. You have to demonstrate the ability to generate innovative ideas and showcase a track record of leveraging creative problem-solving techniques, such as brainstorming, prototyping, and experimentation, to generate novel solutions. Furthermore, you need to highlight past experiences where creative ideas were successfully implemented and delivered tangible results and show them your ability to translate innovation into practical outcomes that drive business growth and solve real-world challenges.

Showcase your problem-solving skills, adaptability, and leadership potential through your responses. Let your personality shine through by communicating confidently, demonstrating enthusiasm for innovation, and sharing relevant examples from your past experiences.

To showcase your skills and personality in a business innovation interview, it is important to highlight your unique combination of traits that make you a valuable candidate. Emphasize your ability to think critically and analytically, showcasing your problem-solving skills through examples of past projects or challenges you have successfully tackled. Additionally, demonstrate your creativity and innovation by sharing instances where you have generated original ideas and implemented them effectively. Your communication skills should also shine through, as you articulate your thoughts clearly and concisely, actively listen to others, and collaborate effectively in team environments.

The main thing in any job interview, is to be yourself. The interviewer needs to grasp who you are, what you have done and how you think. In the end the ”what” can be taught, the ”how” is harder but the ”who” cannot be changed by outside motivation. You need to feel the company is the right choice for you and vice versa. This is how to best guarantee a good and lasting result.

Destaque-se demonstrando interesse e perspicácia com estas cinco perguntas: 1. Inova??o e estratégia: Como a inova??o é incorporada na estratégia da empresa? Existem exemplos recentes de como a inova??o gerou crescimento e transforma??o? 2. Desafios e aprendizados: Que desafios importantes a empresa enfrentou ao tentar inovar recentemente? O que se aprendeu com eles? 3. Cultura de inova??o: O que a empresa faz para estimular a cultura de inova??o e criatividade entre os funcionários? Há programas ou iniciativas específicos para isso? 4. Medida de sucesso: Como a empresa mede o sucesso de suas iniciativas de inova??o? 5. Tendências: Quais tendências de médio e longo prazo devem impactar o negócio nos próximos anos? Como se preparar?

Situational awareness questions are intended to understand a person’s thought process rather than the final outcome Hence it is important to focus on the ‘how’ A framework like STAR is a good way to structure the thoughts

Show your true colors ?? Be intuitional & take into consideration what kind of person the interviewer is. I always like to mix personal & professional, hard & soft skills, logic & emotion as much as possible. As I am a diversified personality with a lot of colors & I no longer wear a mask when it comes to business. Take me as I am or choose someone else.

Preparar-se para quest?es situacionais em uma entrevista de Inova??o em Negócios envolve uma combina??o de pesquisa profunda, reflex?o sobre experiências passadas, e prática de habilidades de pensamento crítico e comunica??o. Ao demonstrar sua capacidade de aplicar conhecimentos de inova??o a situa??es reais de negócios, você pode destacar-se como um candidato estratégico e inovador.

"If you're not breaking some rules, you're not trying hard enough." - Phil Knight (Nike) For situational business innovation interview questions, remember Phil Knight's advice - be prepared to break the mold. Think about past experiences where you challenged the status quo, came up with unconventional ideas, and championed them for successful implementation.