Questionstorming can be more valuable than brainstorming

The primary discovery skill is not to search for ideas or solutions … it is to start asking great provocative, interesting questions .. not necessarily complex ones … often the obvious simple ones .. others are sometimes too scared to ask.

I love great questions 🙂

Your outcomes are as a result of the quality of questions you ask.

My experience as a consultant has been that often people are so keen to find the solution or go to task that they miss the opportunity to explore whether they have the right question and if it is phrased in the right way – as the driving question.

I like to ask ‘what question is that solution the answer to?’ so we can go back and explore the issue with curiosity driven questions.

When you are lost it is better to seek the question than the answer first.

Good questions need to be valued as much as good answers.

People often confuse question types with questioning skills.

Developing question forming and asking skills is about broadening the range of relevant questions you ask from a wide variety of sources.

There is skill in knowing when and how to re-frame questions to gain the insights you want. This skill requires thinking time to deliver quality results and plenty of practice.

Creative minds ask great questions.

Questions are to help you get clarity, gain understanding, gather information, find new perspectives and make better decisions.

Try question storming rather than brain storming!

Learning the skill begins with a shift in mindset – a discovery, inquisitive and curious approach to everything. Being in awe of what is around you and challenging your own assumptions.

Think of the child who is driven to learn by just keeping asking ‘why?’.

Practice looking for and identifying great questions.

Learn from those who have a natural aptitude for it and begin to develop your questioning skills.

If you do not challenge the status quo, you will never be able to innovate –

What If – is my starting point here.

I go to bed and ask myself each night before I go to sleep what question do I want to sleep on? The answers come over time – it is just about feeding my brain with the right food.

And I journal each day on the important question I need to resolve.

If you want better answers – go seek out and master the art of asking better questions.

It is such a fun pursuit!