Do You Ask the Right Questions?

Years ago, I had a brief opportunity to work with multi-billionaire Wayne Huizenga, at a time when there were fewer multi-billionaires. It was always impressive when Huizenga joined a meeting, immediately grasping what we were discussing despite having no advance knowledge of the topic. He asked the right questions, which not only provoked thought but also moved the discussion forward. His intellect was impressive.

Meeting Florida Gov. Rick Scott (now a U.S. senator) for the first time at our business, Correct Craft, was similar. I am sure the governor had been briefed about our company, but as we were talking, his questions were pointed and provocative, in a good way. I remember being impressed with the way he grasped our issues and could get to the heart of any topic. He made me think.

Both leaders achieved significant business success, and Scott continues to thrive politically. I enjoyed being with both of them. Thinking back on these experiences, it seemed that a big reason for their accomplishments was knowing the right questions to ask.

Asking the right questions not only demonstrates quality thinking, but also directs focus to the appropriate issues, which drives both better decisions and results. Asking the right questions can also reveal biases, obvious or subtle, that will cloud thinking.

The scientific method — the most widely accepted process for idea analysis, critique and development — uses questions in each of its steps. The Socratic method — a form of logical dialogue developed by the Greek philsopher Socrates — is based on asking progressively deeper questions that help us clarify thinking, identify biases and contradictions, and develop thoughts. In short, much of our learning and idea-development is based on a foundation of asking questions.

Here are some examples of business leaders asking the right questions.

• Steve Jobs was known for asking, “Why does it have to be this way?” Maybe his most well-known technical question was, “Why do we need a keyboard?” His questions not only resulted in new and innovative Apple products — what our team calls market-driving products — his questions also redefined entire industries and created tremendous value.

• Peter Drucker, often called the father of modern management, was known for his use of the Socratic method. He asked lots of questions, helping others develop their own solutions when they were hoping to get the answer directly from him. He would often ask leaders, “What business are you really in?” Similarly, the person most credited for developing thinking around innovation, Clayton Christensen, was known for saying, “People don’t want a drill; they want a hole,” while asking leaders what their value proposition really was. Many respected organizations used Drucker’s and Christensen’s questions to help them develop strategy.

• Elon Musk, deep-rooted in the scientific method, is known for asking, “What are the first principles here?” His questions helped break the paradigm that rockets were expensive because of the cost of materials. Musk helped his Space X team see that it was the processes, not the materials, that made rockets expensive, leading the way to more economical rockets and private space exploration.

• Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who changed the retail landscape, is known for asking, “What won’t change?” His conclusion that people will always want low prices, a wide selection and fast delivery has been foundational to Amazon’s success. We have gone through a similar exercise at Correct Craft, asking Bezos’ question related to what we do.

• For a political example, Nelson Mandela was known for asking, “How do we turn our enemies into partners?” As leaders, we should ask how to turn our biggest skeptics into raving fans. People who have the biggest complaints about your organization or products often can be transformed into supporters if they are handled well. It is a huge opportunity.

Several years ago, while attending a behavioral economics course at Harvard University, the power of reframing questions was made clear to me. Asking a question in a slightly different way can get much better and more useful answers. Here are some examples:

• Instead of asking how to deal with a problem, ask who should deal with it. Then ask, “How do we use this challenge to our advantage?”

• Instead of asking why we are losing market share, ask, “What are our competitors doing that is driving their sales?”

• Instead of asking why employee morale is low, ask, “What can we do to make our company a great place to work?”

• Instead of asking about our customer satisfaction score, ask, “What can we do to ensure all customers love us?”

• Instead of asking what’s wrong, ask, “What could we do better?”

And here are few more questions to consider:

• What evidence supports this?

• What would make this false?

• What assumptions are we making about our market, and what if consumer behavior changes?

• If we started our business today, what would we change?

• What are we doing that does not add value to our customer?

• If key people leave, what is our succession plan?

• What could disrupt our business?

While these questions aren’t revolutionary, most leaders will find them highly practical. You should use these questions to catalyze your thinking and develop the right questions for you to ask. The right questions don’t just require an answer; they inspire people to think. Read that last sentence again. If a leader uses the right questions to inspire thinking among their team, it can unleash tremendous intellectual resources that will make their organization much better. Who wouldn’t want that?

Finally, often the right question is related to who? At Correct Craft, we often say who, not how. We don’t think about how a situation should be handled but question who should be handling it. When you get the right people doing the right jobs, everything becomes easier. Always ask if you have the right who in any situation.

I’ll close with some questions for you. What can you learn from what you just read that will make you a better leader? What questions should you be asking to drive the best results from your organization? How can you use questions to not just get answers but inspire your team to think?

Bill Yeargin is CEO of Correct Craft and has written six books, including the bestseller Education of a CEO.