To begin the innovation process in your company, consider these common barriers to innovation:

1. Lock-in. “Lock-in” describes an organization’s dogged commitment to business models, products, behaviors, processes and perceived benefits. Lock-in is beneficial because its standard operating procedures create efficiency within a company and drives growth as long as the success formula is working. However, when the market changes, rigid adherence to lock-in will stifle innovation and sink a company.
2. Defend and extend management. This is a practice of defending core values, procedures, services, products and customers, and seeking incremental opportunities to grow by extending those cores.  Practitioners of defend and extend management view innovations as threats and are often late to adapt to market changes.

Successful innovation requires that your company promote and adapt to those things the marketplace rewards. Here’s a four-step strategy to drive innovation within your company and industry:

1. Stop defend and extend strategies. Instead of focusing on core products, core services, core markets, core business practices and core technologies, which seems the natural thing to do, focus on future scenarios. Scenario planning can identify innovations and their future value.
2. Attack competitors’ lock-in. Focusing on competitors’ lock-in shows how to put them at risk, and it also surfaces your own lock-in situation and how to manage it. You can find new innovations and the incentive to develop them by attacking your competitors’ lock-in.  Nothing helps to motivate your team like attacking an arch-nemesis with a new plan.
3. Create Disruptions. When launching an innovation, it’s critical to create internal disruptions which overturn old lock-ins. Disruptions are not problems caused by market changes. Disruptions are internally generated decisions to attack lock-in and reassess the status quo.
4. Create and maintain “white space.” Innovators must have their own place/space and mandate to develop new success formulas, aligned with new market requirements.  They must have permission to operate outside of and even violate corporate lock-ins.  And they need sufficient resources of manpower and money, even if this means taking some of the budget from the traditional business.

All companies can adapt to today’s changing markets.  Although in tough times the gut reaction may be to “protect the core,” it is innovation which leads to long-term sales growth and higher profits.  Those who move quickly to adopt innovation, becoming part of the market shift, will come out stronger and more successful.

Innovation is the key to growth in the new economy.  Thing is, our dollars are tight, so that means we have to really focused on where we invest for the future. So here’s a question for you.
How often do you invest in a feature, product packaging, advertisement or whatever -  so that you can keep up with a competitor?

Perhaps its because the sales force tells us we have to have that ‘thing’ to win, or because we marketing folks been taught that we have to match the competition tit for tat if we ever expect to be successful.Whatever the reason, here’s a simple truth.
Nothing you do that follows the competition will make you a market leader.

Nor will following the competition provide the innovation fuel you need for profitable growth. Yet – we’re all programmed to follow others – to watch what they do, pay attention to what they have and do the same, to need the same stuff.  That’s part of human gravity. Think about it. As kids, we ask for things because our friends have them.  I just had to have that new really cool whizzything like the one my friend got for her birthday. The one I NEVER played after the first day – having whined and wheedled until my grandpa bought it for me.

Want to bet how many customers feel the same way about that cool new whatchamafloppy?  How many won’t really care about that competitive thingie you think is the key to winning – when you deliver real value? ALL of them.

Yes, there are some competitive product or service enhancements that are essential to your business growth.  You should find the most effective way to incorporate them into your solutions.  But competitive me-too’s are not what differentiate your value or create innovative power. They surely won’t make you a leader.  Not when someone else already has that same power feature, only in a different flavor.

Market leadership and innovation comes from being unique in our positions and value.
Pointing to a competitive loss and proclaiming that you have to match some brand new competitive whatchamafloppy to win is not a strategy for success.
So how do we find those innovations that will power our growth?

Focus on serving your customers instead of keeping up with your competitors. That’s the path to leadership and innovation.

• Go to your prospects for the truth.  If your sales force or product managers see a cool competitive option or move – get out there and chat with your buyers and prospects about how they see  that competitor providing value to their business.  Find out what problems they need to solve, what new things they want to be able to accomplish in their business…then go create the solutions with better value and an independent approach -based on customers, not competition.
• Never settle for me too. Too often we define innovation as  the same feature only with a tiny bit of whizbang difference. Maybe we change the color or add something simple that’s cool That is incremental innovation and while it’s not a bad thing – it is not the fuel for power positioning your business.  Instead, commit that you will only invest in unique and powerful distinction for your buyers. Spend those precious dollars on your power, not me too.
• Step up and be the leader.  Many businesses are founded on innovation. That’s how they all begin. Back when you began your business, you started with a unique value and market focus.  So stick with it.  The new economy has everyone feeling like the deer in the headlights.  That makes it easy to slip into follower mode. It’s safer. But safe doesn’t drive profitable growth.  So take a step back and ask yourself – What was the unique value when this business was founded? What’s the best way to deliver that value in even more unique and compelling ways?  You can be an innovative leader – when you stop letting the gravity of the comfortable and safe power your thinking.

As for your competitors, they belong in your rearview mirror.  Yes, you need to keep a wary eye on them. That doesn’t mean competitors get to guide your business strategy.
Stop focusing so much time and energy on them as your source of inspiration and spend more time with your customers. They do buy your products after all – not those pesky competitors.

What question do you have for me right away? Look for preparation, substantial questions, focus, poise, and the ability to think on ones feet. This question allows you to show you’re wanting to have a dialogue.

What would really surprise me about you? What else? This question allows candidates to reveal a different side of themselves. Look for confidence, willingness and candor. The second question (“What else?”) gives the candidate another chance to reveal more if they gave a conservative first response.

What’s your real motivation to change jobs? No, the real reason? Look for motives other than money–money is rarely the real reason. See if the candidate places blame; is seeking asylum elsewhere; can’t handle the pressure, the boss or the pace. These are signs of immaturity, poor-decision making skills or lack of true selling ability. Ask the question to check to see if you’re hearing the whole story.

What’s your philosophy on goal setting? The more detailed answer you get, the more you’ll see if the candidate values setting and achieving goals. Ask for examples of goals they have set and how they measured them. A blend of intrinsic and extrinsic goals will show emotional balance and another sign of maturity in prioritizing ability.

What reading material would I find on your coffee table, nightstand or kitchen table? The answer to this question will show intellect, curiosity, variety of interests, breath of life experience, dedication to learning, or lack of these traits. The candidate’s response will give insights as to how well he or she follows your industry and field of work.

Tell me a story about when you were placed in an ethical dilemma and what happened? This question reveals morals, ethics, integrity and problem-solving skills. If the candidate places blame on others, it may indicate tendencies towards poor judgment, unrealistic attitudes, non-genuine or secretive personality.

How did you earn money while in college? This question offers a good indicator of the candidate’s entrepreneurial skills. If they ran a formal or informal business in college, they are most likely resourceful, driven, have strong social skills and street smarts. These candidates tend to be good at sales, marketing, customer service or other roles that require proactive behaviors.

How far away from home have you traveled? (Have a map on your desk.) Allows for storytelling with better visuals and allows person to share travels and gives you insights into drive, personal interests and how well they communicate outside of business issues. Can show more about risk-taking, social and cultural differences and ability to travel safely and effectively for work.

Draw me a pie chart showing how you spend an eight-hour day. Watch for organization, clear communications and accurate calculations. Their response shows you their presentation and communication skills. Are those skills in line with what you need?

Are you a curious person, and if so, show me an example? The example they give shows you how well they can communicate, persuade, sell, entertain or motivate others. Also, is their curiosity connected to their drive and need to win or to something else?

What’s your favorite success story and failure story? A person willing to share failures tends to be self-confident, mature and has a sense of true self and place in the world. In success stories, look for credit given to team effort and personal drive in relation to goal setting. Bragging of solo efforts may suggest arrogance, inflated sense of self, lack of self-confidence or lack of interest in being a team player.

What should I have asked you that I haven’t? This question allows the candidate to respond by closing and asking for the job or to address hidden concerns of their ability to do the job.

Do you want to be a millionaire? Why? What are you doing to prepare for it? Look for an overall balanced approach to wealth and lifestyle choice and for consistency relative to other questions around goal setting. Does the candidate have a valid, compelling motive for a yes or no to wealth accumulation?

Are you ready to resign from your job in five days? What will your firm do when you quit? What will they say about you after you have left the company? The answers here show the seriousness and commitment of the candidate. A person committed to changing jobs will not hesitate when asked if they’re ready to resign. If the candidate presents a counteroffer, tell him/her that you do not believe in the success of counteroffers and that you will not negotiate against a counteroffer.

Have you ever created a 30, 60, 90-day strategic plan? If the candidate has created strategic plans, how many months were they required to plan out into the future? Is this commensurate with the requirements of position you’re offering? Ask about a specific plan and watch for ability to articulate and define time frames and goals. Many people can speak about planning, so ask candidate to illustrate the plan using visual aids, graphs, charts, etc.

This article is the first in a series of two related articles.

Traditional interview questions oriented around performance, duties and responsibility are important, but the answers often obscure a person’s commitment or emotional intelligence required for the job. By asking new questions, you’ll be amazed at what you can find out. The findings can help you make better hiring decisions, lower turnover and significantly reduce hiring costs significantly.Here are behavioral-based, legal, gender-friendly questions designed to flush out the deeper and more complex behaviors and thinking patterns of a candidate for hire.

1. What question do you have for me right away?
2. What would really surprise me about you? What else?
3. What’s your real motivation to change jobs? No, the real reason (test, re-test).
4. What’s your philosophy on goal setting?
5. What reading material would I find on your coffee table?
6. Tell me a story about when you found yourself in an ethical dilemma and what happened?
7. How did you earn money while in college?
8. How far away from home have you traveled? (Have a map on your desk.)
9. Draw me a pie chart showing how you spend an eight-hour day.
10. Are you a curious person? If so, show me an example.
11. What’s your favorite success story? What’s your favorite failure story?
12. What should I have asked you that I haven’t?
13. Do you want to be a millionaire? Why? What are you doing to prepare for it?
14. Are you ready to resign from your job in 5 days? What will your employer do when you quit? What do you think they will say about you after you’ve left?
15. Have you ever created a 30, 60, 90-day strategic plan for your job or a future job? (Well, today’s their lucky day.)

Research shows that more than 75% of executives today lack any formal interviewing training. The consequences of weak interview skills are lasting and sometimes unrecognizable until it’s too late. The wrong people get hired, or great talent is overlooked. Utilize these 15 questions to your company’s advantage and hire candidates who are truly right for the job.

Here are six things CEOs and other business leaders can take away about human motivation and creating an effective path to high performance from his most recent book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.”

1. Create Environments for Needs to Flourish Humans have three innate psychological needs – competence, autonomy and relatedness. By targeting your motivational tactics to activities that yield more “inherent satisfaction with the activity itself” – intrinsic motivation, creativity, self-direction, and genuine motivation – your employees will not only be more satisfied, but will contribute more to your company.
2. Creativity The strongest driver of a person being excited and motivated to participate in a project is how creative a person feels when working on that project – “enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation.” The best example of this is the new dynamic of open-source projects. To capitalize on creativity, businesses should think about optimizing their model to allow for more creative work flow.
3. “Renaissance of Self-Direction” Traditional management is not working as well as it used to. People’s basic nature is to be autonomous, curious and self-directed – new management styles should focus on a “renaissance of self-direction.” By giving your people autonomy over their time and how they accomplish things, it encourages them to contribute rather than to just show up, and often gets better results than a “traditional” model.
4. Genuine Motivation The single greatest motivator is making progress in one’s work. By creating conditions for people to make progress – and by recognizing and celebrating progress – organizations will encourage their employees to be more creative, more driven, and to achieve a state of “flow” that results in better work product.
5. Rewards Can De-Motivate Counter-intuitively, rewards (and punishments) often give rise to negative behavior. Rewards narrow a person’s focus – which can be useful for solutions to which there is a clear path, but harmful for projects that require creativity and broad thinking – that “intrinsic motivation” that really drives behavior.
6. Infuse the Mundane with Deeper Purpose Words are important. Do your employees identify with the goals of the company? Do they know WHY they are doing what they are doing? By giving your employees a deeper sense of purpose, you make it more likely that they will work efficiently towards them. Identify those goals in terms of words like “honor” and “truth” rather than “efficiency” and “value.” By humanizing the work, you humanize what your employees do.

Mark Twain may have said it best: “that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” By recognizing how your employees think, you can structure your company so that your employees not only work towards its ultimate goal – but work smarter, more creatively and are motivated to achieve on a daily basis.

Research indicates that in order for most middle-market companies to succeed they need to capture less than two percent of the available universe of potential clients. The challenge, then, is not to become appealing to the 99 percent, but to be compelling and essential to the one percent.

• What steps have you taken to identify the best one percent for your company?
• How have you made sure your resources are allocated towards them?
• How have you packaged yourself to be indispensable to them?
• How have you justified value-added pricing?
• What defensive barriers to entry have you created to keep out the competition?
• Are your agendas aligned with your clients’ agendas long term? How?
• Do you attend planning meetings (not sales meetings) with your clients?
• Have you made a transition from transactional to consultative selling?
• Are you making greater commitments to your best clients and getting greater commitments from them? How?
• Are you bringing greater expertise to your clients (expertise being defined as “that which would be vacant in the marketplace if you ceased to exist overnight”)?
• Are you becoming a variable-cost solution to your clients’ fixed-cost problems? In other words, are you doing things for them that historically they have done for themselves…for the simple reason that you can do it better because you do it for more people?
• Do you describe your company in terms of your product, your process or your outcome?

1. Have a Point to Make. What is the purpose of your presentation? Is it just to give information? Data analysis? Look what I can do in a lab when left alone for four months? Let me suggest something a bit more basic, and absolutely necessary for you to succeed in the presentation of ideas: Give the audience the reason why this is important to the world. Say it in clear language; don’t assume that it’s obvious. Your job first and foremost is to answer the unasked question, “Why?” Why am I sitting here? What’s it all about? This tells the people where you’re going and provides a framework for them to look at the tech stuff, trying to fit into your overall purpose. Without this controlling objective, they’ll start hibernating on you as soon as the presentation hits a slow spot.

2. Talk to the Audience’s Needs. You know, it may be really impressive that tsetse flies can mate 10 times in a week (I’m making that up, so etymologists, hold your dukes), but what does that do for those who are seated before you at rapt attention? Today’s audiences have a few basic needs that you can tap into. How can what you’re saying save them money, time, or lead to a better quality of life? That last factor covers health, feelings, piece of mind and relationships, among other things. Everything in your presentation should lead you to addressing one or several of these human needs. If you don’t, if you stand there and blandly spew information like so much regurgitated spinach, your name will be forgotten before the crowd hits the exit doors.

3. Layer Your Ideas. There are several key reasons why technical speakers are ineffective. Is the speaker monotonous and dreary? Many times she is. Does the presenter cut an impressive appearance? Often the answer is no. The most significant flaw in technical presentations, even to technical audiences, is that people get lost in the details — the data. Information overload kills. Most of the time they’re too polite to say anything, but if you look out to the people and their eyes are glazed over like extras from “Night of the Living Dead,” then Houston, we have a problem. Even if you’re an engineer presenting to engineers, be aware that they didn’t do the same research, so you can even lose the geekiest of geeks. Look, you can teach a person brain surgery if you introduce ideas one step at a time, step by step. If you have technical slides, don’t clutter a single one with twenty different concepts. Use twenty slides, layering the ideas together as stand-alone entities that are woven into a tapestry of conceptual understanding. Talk about the concept, introduce the visual aid, allow it to sink in, and re-emphasize your point before moving on.

4. Stimulate Emotion. Hopefully your internal purpose is to persuade some form of action on the part of the audience. Professional salespeople, those who live the persuasion game everyday, know that people buy based on emotions and justify their actions with facts. As a technical persuader, you have no shortage of facts. Where do you stand on emotions? Make the information personal to the listener. You now know you have to focus on the human needs of the audience, so how do you best drive home the points? The easiest and most effective way is to use personal stories and analogies that talk about elements of life that are important to people — kids, parents, pets, and golf scores. Do everything in your power to draw comparisons between the technical material and the homey, down-to-earth stuff that creates emotional responses from people. Do you have to make them cry? Laugh? No, but if you do either or both, you’ve got ‘em right where you want ‘em.

5. Request Action. If you’ve got this far, you may have successfully fired up your audience and kept them conscious during your entire talk. Congratulations! Now here comes the part that 80 percent of tech presenters miss. Ask them to do something; request action from the listener. They may have missed the cues you left during your talk, so now that you have an emotional reaction supported by your wall of facts, tell them exactly what’s expected. Do you want them to vote a certain way? Contribute to an educational foundation? Ride a bike to work to save the atmosphere from fossil fuels? Whatever it is, culminate your talk with a request for action.

6. Q & A. If you’ve done well, you’ll have plenty of questions. Don’t interpret this as a sign that you didn’t properly explain things; take it as a victory. You have successfully engaged the audience, and now they’re actually thinking and want to know more. If you know your stuff, this is an opportunity to shine, deftly handling questions and points of concern. Q&A is important to any presentation, but for those with technical subject matter, it is essential to leave at least 10 minutes at the completion to take questions. If the time allotted runs out and there are still questions, let people ask you after the presentation during the lunch break or via telephone a few days later. Providing listeners with this opportunity enhances your credibility and helps to make you a sought-after speaker for future engagements.

And that, says Vistage speaker Jeff Krawitz , involves the art of persuasion. In fact, your effectiveness as a CEO or senior executive depends to a large degree upon your ability to get people to take the actions needed to move the organization forward — not through threats, bribery or scare tactics but through your ability to convince them it’s in their best interests to do so.

According to Krawitz, the ability to persuade others — in presentations and in meetings — begins with an understanding of three communication “domains”:

1. Persuasion versus information. Persuasion involves getting people to act on the information you communicate. Contrary to popular opinion, persuasion does not involve coercion or manipulation. By definition, persuasion is nothing more than “providing information such that a decision or action is taken.”
2. Theatrical versus one-to-one. Successful presentations require making a one-to-one connection with each individual, regardless of the size of the audience. Even with large crowds, you want each person to feel like they just had a private one-to-one with you. The more you can accomplish that goal (often using theatrical techniques), the more your meetings/presentations will lead to the action(s) you want to generate.
3. Formal versus casual. This domain refers to your dress, presentation style and delivery. The decision to go formal or casual depends on the audience and the unique circumstances of each presentation. In general, it’s harder to create a one-to-one feeling with a formal style, but a good rule of thumb is to dress at the same level as your audience. “When making a presentation outside your company, plan to go a half-step more formal than you think you need,” advises Krawitz. “You can always tone down your formality through your delivery, but it’s almost impossible to go up a half-step. For example, you can take off your jacket or even roll up your shirt sleeves. But if you show up dressed casually, you can’t suddenly put on a coat and tie and maintain credibility.”

Alternatives are the best source of power in most negotiations. It’s easy to walk away from a deal you don’t like if you have multiple ways to accomplish the same goal. Unfortunately, we don’t always have as many good options as we’d like. In these cases, we’ve got to figure out another way to give ourselves power.

We have found that the often-overlooked process of planning is a great source of power. By planning, I mean a disciplined approach to preparation that allows you to think through your strategies, strengths and weaknesses, goals and alternatives before you ever leave your office.

Sounds complicated and time-consuming, doesn’t it? It doesn’t have to be and the results will more than justify whatever effort you put into the process. Here’s how to plan for an important negotiation:

1. Put yourself in the other side’s shoes. What’s important to them? What issues are they likely to concede? This will give you important insights into the strategies they’re likely to use.

2. Figure out what you want from the deal and write it down. If there are points that you absolutely have to win, you’d better be very clear on them up front. At the same time, think about concessions that you can make that won’t
cost you very much.

3. Look for points of quick agreement. Look at your list and theirs and find some areas where you’re likely to come to a quick agreement. It’s usually best to start with the easy stuff. This gets the meeting off on a nice collaborative
note.

4. Isolate problem areas and brainstorm solutions. If you know, for example, that price and delivery dates are going to be a problem, then you’re way ahead if you come to the meeting with suggestions on how to bridge the gaps.

5. Know how the other party will be measured on the outcome of the deal. What will it take for them to look good? Don’t assume that price is the only factor. Often there are other, less obvious but equally important yardsticks, including, for example, quality and on-time delivery.

6. Figure out your pricing strategy in advance. What’s your starting point? What will your moves look like? Most importantly, what is your “walkaway” point? Determine the point at which you no longer want the deal and write it down. This will keep you from getting carried away and doing something that you’ll regret later.

7. Think about what to do if you don’t get the deal. This isn’t negative thinking. If you already know what you’re going to do if you can’t get an acceptable agreement, you’re much less likely to feel the pressure to get a deal
at any cost.

Planning is so critical to successful negotiations that my rule is: If you don’t plan, don’t go.

Tip #1: Improve your response to e-mails:

Reading and responding to emails can occupy hours of your day. While important, managing a flooded inbox doesn’t directly lead to generating income. Now imagine that you reallocate all that time to the core activity you do that creates income. Identify the core things you need to work on to drive your business and work on those things first before you check your e-mail. It’s extremely difficult for most of us to do this because we’re drawn to our email. Here’s one way to start: One morning try doing your important work, your core business work, for an hour before touching your email.
Other tips for minimizing your e-mail time include:

1. Cut back on the amount of emails you get by providing ways for people to get the info they need without having to email you – for example, post FAQs or guidelines online.

2. Look for the patterns in your inbox.Are you getting the same type of e-mail over and over? If so, figure out how you can eliminate people’s need to contact you about the recurring topic. Simple solutions include creating an online form where people can provide suggestions or request meetings.

3. Consider going minimal and limiting all of your new and reply emails to five sentences or less.

Tip #2: Maximize your time in meetings:

Meetings are the default way that companies operate but do you really want to operate by default? If you and your executives spend most of your days in meetings, then you might want to consider an effective alternative. Many meetings are held to convey information, but there are now more efficient ways to communicate this information. You can replace these types of meetings by sharing information via e-mail or with online collaborative tools such Google Docs. Eliminating meetings all together may not be a reality for you, but follow these suggestions to reduce the time that you and your staff will spend in a meeting:

1. Keep them extremely short, such as 5-10 minutes.
2. Set the expectation among your staff that meetings will be brief.
3. Communicate that staff should have their key recommendations or
reports prepared.

Tip #3: Look for ways to reduce time-drains and distractions from your core work.

Many business owners spend hours being busy on tangents (such as administrative work, managing difficult customers, or resolving internal conflicts) instead of spending time on the core of their business. If you own a small business, consider all of the non-income producing things that you do each day. They all take time away from your income-producing activity. For example, you might part ways with your difficult clients, say ‘no’ to certain requests, outsource time consuming/low-skill tasks, or discontinue a product or service that’s not reasonably profitable. Look at what requires the most admin work and see if you can get rid of it. Then focus that extra time on the core of your business.

Tip #4: Streamline your services, features and products:

Many business owners want to add value to their product or offering, but adding more and more can also create needless complexity that won’t always help customers or sales. Bloat is a major problem in businesses, says, Leo, and it affects makers of software and physical products, and even service providers. The solution is to simplify and remove everything that doesn’t create an amazing experience. You want to avoid overwhelming and confusing your customers. Users like things that are simple. They like it when you remove the confusion and allow them to enjoy or benefit from the key experience you offer them.