BE THE QUESTION, NOT THE ANSWER.

BE THE QUESTION, NOT THE ANSWER.

One meeting. No answers. Just real questions.


Outlier Operating System: Episode 09 is live.


  1. BE the Question.
  2. Calling all Micro Project Mavericks: This is a GIG post.
  3. What if your next great idea started as… pointless?
  4. Why a DROP is important!


BE THE QUESTION, NOT THE ANSWER.

The temptation to chip in with an answer. A smart comment. A statistic that you know.

An idea you think is brilliant.

And of course, your judgment, your opinion, and your decision.

What if we could resist it just a little bit… And start with a question.

Something provocative, or thought prodding? Nothing fancy or trying to be smart,

Just a question that is hanging but left unsaid, until now.

My friend once walked into a product sprint where everyone was debating feature sets.

She asked, “What problem are we actually solving, and for whom?”

Silence. Then clarity.

One question did more than 10 arguments.

Replace trying to be an expert, with being the most inquisitive one.

A person who clearly says it aloud, that

I DON’T KNOW, let’s find out.

"Why don’t you tell me what you think?"

"What would you do in this situation?"

"Can we look at this from a few other angles?"

Let’s share our directions without any fear of being judged.

Just for this meeting! A new approach. A congregation of questions, for most which we may have no answers.

Imagine.

Your team coming to this meet with a whole lot of open queries:

What if?

Why not?

How about?

Shall we?

Spark thinking instead of satisfying expectations, or pitching for positioning.

We’re wired to reward people who have the fastest answers. But real value often comes from the slowest, sharpest questions. That’s the Answer Bias in action, and outliers flip it.

Wouldn’t we love to be the question masters…?

What if you showed up to the next meeting with no answers: Just 3 questions?

Try it once. Watch what shifts.

One meeting. No answers. Just real questions. You in?

Outlier Operating System: Micro Habit: Being the one who questions, not just answers.

OOS TOOL: THE QUESTION SHIFT

Use this before your next team meet, brainstorm, or review session:

1. Replace every answer with a question.

  • Instead of “We should try X,” ask “What happens if we don’t try X?”

2. Come in with 3 high-quality questions.

  • Open-ended. Non-judgmental. Focused on expanding the frame.

3. Frame exploration over evaluation.

  • “Let’s map possible options” beats “Let’s decide now.”

4. Close with a clarity check.

  • Ask: “What’s the one question we’re still afraid to ask?”

If just one person does this, the room shifts.


If a team does this, innovation kicks in.

Are you showing up to be right, or to be an explorer?

Be the person who asks the question no one else dares to.

One meeting. One question. That’s the task.

***

Past work from the OUTLIER OPERATING SYSTEM Series.


TWO: MICRO PROJECT MAVERICK | A GIG CALL-FOR

Part-time. Full-time. Experimenting!

Article content

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Too sharp for your current gig. Too restless to wait for permission.
You love tinkering with ideas. Playing with formats. Making things real.

We’re looking for someone with Agency. That rare kind of person who takes a messy idea, asks the right questions, then shapes, builds, and ships it without waiting for perfect clarity.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

  • Take raw, one-line ideas and turn them into pilots: decks, docs, products, games, launches
  • Drive short-burst projects (3 to 9 weeks) from chaos to clarity
  • Co-create names, formats, outreach plans, and prototypes
  • Research, write, design, or simply make things happen—no waiting for approvals
  • Add your personality, humour, and style—we’re not looking for safe or standard

EXAMPLES OF LIVE AND PAST PROJECTS

  • Zengover: A music album created for calm and flow
  • Games like Majaaa, Avatars, Karuvi: Fun, weird, conversation-sparking decks
  • Kabee Kabee: Beeswax wraps from a side-hustle turned product
  • JustKyte: Quick Gut-checks.
  • Takkar Dabba: Hyperlocal food delivery with storytelling
  • Micro-Language Models: AI pilots in health and consumer insights
  • Books, Cards, Wraps, Talks: You name it, we’ve probably built it or will soon

YOU’LL FIT IF YOU:

* Prefer action over analysis | Get uncomfortable without a project to build or ship

* Think, write, sketch, or prototype to express yourself

* Can navigate ambiguity and shape your own direction and love to say:

“Yeah, I helped build that weird, wild thing”.

WHAT YOU GET

  • Access to crazy, experimental projects with tangible outcomes.
  • Direct mentorship and work sessions with Pravin Shekar.
  • Visibility, ownership, and creative credits.
  • Flexible working model.
  • Salary/Shared revenue/Stipend depending on the project, experience, outcomes.


THREE: POINTLESS CREATION

What if your next great idea started as… pointless?


Not strategic. Not monetizable. Not even meant for an audience.


Just created, for the sake of it.

This week’s Shameless Creativity drop is about resisting the pressure to create for something… and choosing to create from something.

Check out: POINTLESS CREATION
 quiet nudge to scribble, scratch, or sculpt, without a goal.

https://open.substack.com/pub/pravinshekar/p/without-audience-without-aim?r=1ojdkq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true


FOUR: WHY A DROP IS IMPORTANT?

Why?

Why not?

I love being a drop.

Who knows what will happen?

Perhaps a dew drop adding beauty.

Or a few more collecting to quench a thirst.

Many more leading to a stream of creativity.

A drop.

A speech.

An article.

A book.

A voice.

A disruptor.

An outlier.

Drop by drop.

Talk to me for Keynotes on setting up your referral growth system.

Or to work on your second level of leadership through marketing psychology.

#outlier #marketing #creativity #decisionmaking #trust #networking #shameless


Follow The Outlier Marketer at

Follow The Outlier Marketer :)

For Rapid B2B Scale through business referrals,

mail hello@pravinshekar.com


Article content


Dr. Sheetal Nair

Psychotherapist | Founder – DSSG & Better Mynd Waves | Bestselling Author | TEDx Speaker (3x) | Mental Well-being Evangelist | Strategic Advisor & Storyteller

2w

The right question can shift an entire room. Sometimes courage sounds less like certainty—and more like curiosity.

Dr. Saurabh Patil

Empowering Men to Lead with Emotional Mastery | International Speaker | SPR Framework Coach | Author of 'The Alchemy of Anger

2w

Simply superb. Love the idea of “Be the question, Not the answer”

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