Peer Advisory Group-your answers questioned

6 Success Questions YOU Must Ask

Progress and innovation - and ultimately success - are significantly influenced by questions which have been asked. Either asked out of necessity or out of general curiosity.

Unfortunately many of us have forgotten how to ask questions. Others have become too lazy to ask them. And again others might not have many opportunities to raise questions or are afraid of doing so. Why?

Let´s face it: Our education systems, way of life, and even the business world is not geared toward questions. Moreover, we often tend to address topics in a superficial manner by asking questions which rather test and reward knowledge (mostly using closed questions) than stimulating inquisitiveness (applying e.g. open questions).

To flip that I suggest to apply the following set of powerful questions both in personal and professional settings:

The WHY? Question
This should be the very first question to be asked. It encourages you to step back. It makes you think about the deeper purpose, the vision, and the need for change. Restless and successful companies, often also start-ups, are true Why Question Masters. Examples:
"Why am I doing that?“
"Why have they chosen this color?“
"Why are we doing it this way?“
"Why are we in this business?“

The WHY NOT? Question
It´s more than just the opposite of the „Why?“ question. It is about overcoming resistance. Your own inner one and/ or objections from others who challenge your thinking and ideas. Examples:
"Why am I not stopping it right now?“
"Why are we not selling dog food instead of cars?“
"Why might our customers not like this offer?“

The What If? and What If Not? Questions
These questions take us further in the decision making process. They make our ideas more real and bring them closer to a possible implementation. They also help us to find out which answer and solution is the most adequate one. And which ones might not be suitable at all. Examples:
"What if we were to do it like x or y?“
"What if money were no issue?“
"What if I did not run this project?“
"What if our company were not to compete in this market segment“

The What Else? Question
This is a crucial question which frequently and easily is forgotten. Still, it´s key as it motivates us to change our perspective even more drastically. It assists to continue to ponder on different options and on possible alternatives. It stimulates us to think in bolder terms and to further peel the onion. Examples:
"What else can we do?“
"What else would Warren Buffet do?“
"What else can product X deliver?“
"What else do our customers expect?“

The How? Question
This is the second last question. Usually also the most difficult one as it bridges the creative and strategic thinking and questioning process with more operational aspects, questions, and tasks. Examples:
"How I can I improve my life by doing this?“
"How can we best launch the product“
"How would Peter or Sarah do it? How would company X do it? How would they do it in another industry?“

The Who? and When?/ By When? Questions
Finally, and to ensure implementation of our answers, ideas, and concepts we need to raise these two sets of closed questions (note: do not ask any closed question any earlier than at this stage of the evaluation process). Examples:
"Who will take care of such customer complaints?“
"When can we deliver it?“
"By when will Fred have changed the material?“

Regrettably, asking the right questions is typically not taught in schools or MBA programs. Using questioning in your daily life, i.e. using the right questions to overcome fear of failure, bringing more alteration to your life, and helping you uncover what you really want to do with your life is very powerful and assists in triggering improvements and innovations.

Today´s speedy business world often considers asking questions as a waste of time and a distraction from executing. I´m a general supporter of the "just do it and bias for action“ mentality. At the same time, I believe in thinking, analyzing, reviewing and drafting a thorough strategy.

And to do that in a solid and comprehensive manner, we firstly need to ask the right questions. Or, in other words:

He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. (Chinese Proverb)

Andreas von der Heydt is the Head and Director of Kindle Content at Amazon in Germany. Before that he hold various senior management positions at Amazon and L'Oréal. He's a leadership expert and management coach. He also founded Consumer Goods Club. Andreas worked and lived in Europe, Australia, the U.S. and Asia. Andreas enjoys blogging as a private person here on LinkedIn about various exciting topics. All statements made, opinions expressed, etc. in his articles only reflect his personal opinion.

The Four Questions Great Leaders Ask

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”

—Voltaire

Ever notice how great leaders ask the best questions?

A masterful leader will sit Yoda-like in a meeting, listening intently to the dialogue and then, with Zen Master timing, ask a question that will change the tenor, the focus and the performance of the entire team impressive.

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Seeing a seasoned leader ask questions is like watching a great musician or athlete who just seems to know what note to play or what play to call. In my opinion, this rare ability is the performance art of business.

I aspire to be this kind of leader and hope that with age and experience, I will eventually have the wisdom and timing to use less oxygen and get greater results.

(As my mother used to explain—often, I am afraid—God isn’t finished with me yet.)

From my experience, many of the best questions revolve around the following themes. My hope is that by asking these questions of yourself and your team, you get the outcome you want and your people get the leadership they need.

Question 1: Is this urgent or essential?
Urgent matters have a way of getting in the way of the essential. For example, you and your team checking emails first thing in the morning may feel essential but in reality, it may not even be that important. There is a growing school of thought—one that I endorse—that if you start each day by knocking off one or two of the most essential things on your list (before the urgent matters get in the way), you’ll be successful. As a leader, setting the context around what’s super important versus what feels important at the time is a great thing to question.

Question 2: What should you stop doing?
In order to have time to focus on the essential, you must eliminate the less important and distracting activities that occupy your time. Does your team have a “stop doing” list? Helping people become aware of what they might stop doing first will allow them more time and energy to focus on the essential “to-do” list.

Question 3: What makes you feel strongest?
Here’s a well-kept secret: Great leaders know what they suck at. More important, they know how to find working partners with superhero powers that disguise this suckiness through masterful delegation, thus giving them time and energy to focus on their strengths. Just because you can manage a project, drive the P&L, come up with the new marketing hook, and recruit good people doesn’t mean you are passionate and, for that reason, have the potential to be great at all of the above. If your friends or teammates think they are good at everything, lack of awareness and/or humility will conspire to keep them from being outstanding. Asking questions that help focus them on their passions and strengths is a gift that keeps giving.

Question 4: What might we be missing? 
Great leaders are open to the fact (and it is a fact) that they are missing something—be it in new service offerings, make up of the senior leadership team, or “simply” in the assumptions they are making about the competitive environment. Pressing the team to consider what WE might be missing demonstrates humility, awareness and openness to possibility. Wherever you find an innovative culture, you find leaders asking this question.

Extra Credit
The way you ask questions is critically important. By starting questions with “How to” or “I wish” and finishing them with the challenge that you can’t figure out, e.g., “I wish I knew how to get this idea through our legal hurdles,” you are modeling great leadership. Why? Because great leaders humbly share their biggest challenges with their teams and ask them to help solve them.

 

Mike Maddock,