Ask Better Questions

  Curiosity unlocks leverage

"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." - Voltaire

Last week I shifted from defending to asking.

The conversation changed.

Questions reveal assumptions.

This week, try leading with inquiry.

What are we missing?
 What’s the real constraint?

Better questions create better deals.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't adopt anxiety

Image
Anxiety does not produce good work. Unfortunately, anxiety spreads like wildfire from one person to the next. The goal of an anxious person is to spread their anxiety to you. They feel validated and thus better by you also feeling anxious. Avoid this downward spiral. It's a trap. When someone else is spewing anxiety, remember to: Remain calm: freaking out makes things worse, not better. "Let's figure out how to take care of this.” Be empathetic: acknowledge the person's anxiety without adopting it. Repeat the concern back to the person, then say, "I can understand why this is a concern.” Be clear: do not overpromise or overreact. "We are going to look into this.” Things not to do in response to others’ anxiety:  -promise to do more work -promise you'll work all night to solve it  -promise to do anything other than look into it The most important thing is that the anxiety stops with you. Do not turn around and spread the anxiety to your team, family, etc....
Read more

An under-rated skill: Help seeking behavior

Image
We fear rejection. And have been taught it's a bad thing to be vulnerable by asking for help. The result is self-created silos where we are cut off from feedback, ideas, and support. And one skill cuts through all the noise: "I don't understand, can you please explain that." Choose to be vulnerable. Choose to level up. End the false macho culture of pretending to know everything.
Read more

A lie defined

Image
  A lie is a l imited i dea e ntertained. Our beliefs are the single biggest factors in what drives our behavior. We behave towards ourselves and others based on the beliefs we hold. Some beliefs we are aware of, other beliefs we are not aware of. Either way, these beliefs dictate our behavior. A lie is a limited idea, an incomplete idea that does not represent the whole truth. When we individually and collectively believe lies, social structures are built, maintained and reinforced. Whether you believe you can, or you believe you can’t, you’re right. Stop limiting yourself. Stop giving energy to anything less than the whole truth.
Read more