What Questions AREN’T You Asking?

I’m amazing at how many people settle for “just enough.” I would even go as far as to say that we’ve come to an epidemic, of sorts, of people who simply are willing to do what it takes to just get by. We like lines because they tell us just how far we’ve got to reach before we can stop trying.

“Is it possible to __________?” is a question that I think we don’t need to ask as much as we used to. For me, nowadays, with advances in technology, it seems that there is very little that is not possible.

A better question may be “How long will it take?” or “How much will it cost?” Those aren’t the kind of questions you need to be asking in a time of thinking/dreaming where you want ideas to flow freely. In the end, though, if you’re willing to invest enough time/energy/resources, just about anything can happen.

Last summer when I sat in on a planning session for Catalyst these type of questions were actively banned. If you put any kind of restrictive boundaries on the ideas being shared by others you were literally sent upstairs in time out. The result? We had more and better ideas shared than we would have otherwise. Were some of the unrealistic? Sure. But that wasn’t the point. The point was to push the boundaries because the boundaries aren’t as limited as you and I naturally think they are.

What questions are you asking? What questions AREN’T you asking?

“No” is contagious. Say it enough and people will no longer think beyond their box.

Posted 03.15.2009

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