Questions and answers
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Questions are powerful tools that can help people find information, gain understanding and take action. However, people often don't ask enough questions due to fear of what they may learn or not wanting to take action as a result. For leaders, success relies on asking the right questions at the right time, and continuing to ask follow up questions until a clear understanding and answers are achieved. Leaders must not accept superficial answers and instead push for deeper insights that reveal motivations, barriers and opportunities to move forward.
Questions and answers
- 5. They help you nd.
- 6. They help you see.
- 7. They help you know.
- 8. They help you act.
- 9. And yet...
- 10. We don't ask them enough.
- 11. (No, really.)
- 12. (We don't.)
- 13. Sometimes we're scared of what we'll nd out.
- 15. That we'll give the elephant in the room a name.
- 17. (Something other than Jumbo, that is.)
- 18. We’re scared that we'll have to actually do something as a result.
- 19. And we don't want to.
- 20. (Harumph.)
- 21. Sometimes, it just doesn't occur to us that the easy question
- 22. (and the easy answer)
- 23. Was too easy. And didn't actually help.
- 24. Was too easy. And didn't actually help.
- 25. It didn’t move things forward.
- 26. Or close things down.
- 27. (Which is, ostensibly, why you asked the question at all, right?)
- 28. But if you’re a leader?
- 29. A manager?
- 30. An entrepreneur?
- 31. A human?
- 32. Your success depends on questions.
- 33. How you ask.
- 34. What you ask.
- 35. When you ask.
- 36. And on the answers you accept.
- 37. Or rather, the answers you don't.
- 38. Your success depends on asking what needs to be asked.
- 39. On asking the questions others won't.
- 40. Or don't.
- 41. Or don't even see.
- 42. Your success depends on not accepting the rst answer as nal.
- 43. Or even the second.
- 44. It depends on never accepting "I don't know."
- 45. It depends on never accepting "I don't know."
- 46. It depends on never accepting "I don't know."
- 47. It depends on never accepting "I don't know."
- 48. (Because you need to know.)
- 49. (And so do they.)
- 50. No, you need to go one step further.
- 51. You need to ask:
- 52. "Well, if you did know, what would the answer be?"
- 53. (Trust me on that one. It works.)
- 54. You need to ask the next question.
- 56. The one that makes them think.
- 57. The one that makes you think.
- 58. And then?
- 59. You need to ask the question after that.
- 60. And get answers.
- 61. Real ones.
- 62. Answers that reveal motivation.
- 63. Answers that reveal intent.
- 64. Answers that reveal barriers.
- 65. Answers that reveal opportunities.
- 66. Answers that reveal knowledge.
- 67. Answers that reveal knowledge. (or lack thereof )
- 68. Answers that reveal vision.
- 69. Answers that reveal vision. (or lack thereof )
- 70. You need answers that open new lines of questions.
- 71. Or close old ones.
- 72. You need to keep asking until there aren’t any more questions.
- 73. You need to keep asking until there aren’t any more questions.
- 74. You need to keep asking until there aren’t any more questions.
- 75. You need to keep asking until there aren’t any more questions.
- 76. You need to keep asking until you get the answers you need.
- 78. Until you know enough to act.
- 79. So, what’s next?
- 80. (You know the answer.)
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