By Laura Nicole Brown
Most businesses waste time addressing problems that don’t matter because they are trying to find answers to the wrong questions. So, what should they do instead? Albert Einstein offers helpful guidance in this famous statement:
If I had an hour to save the world, I would spend 59 minutes to define the problem, and one minute finding solutions.”
In other words, you should spend time to properly understand the problem before jumping to a solution, because reaching the best solution lies in asking better questions.
Asking a good question will enable you to understand the core issues at stake so you can address the right problems. On the other hand, if you ask the wrong question you could spend a lot of time trying to find a solution to the wrong problem. According to Krista Brookman, vice president of the Inclusive Leadership Initiative at Catalyst, “Asking the same questions in the same way will get you the same answers.”
However, sometimes the best answers to questions lurk in unexpected places. Spaces that your standard set of questions would never take you.
A good question will reframe the issue and force you to look at it in a new way, says Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. It will enable you to identify better solutions which you couldn’t have found without that frame of reference.
Innovation expert Stephen Shapiro says you don’t need to think outside the box, rather you need to find a better box. If you change the question, you will find the same solution faster or different solutions you would not have considered.
So how can we ask better questions that will enable us to come up with great ideas and develop better products? Let’s explore different types of questions we can ask.
1. Ask inquisitive “why” questions
“Why” questions require an explanation. They make you question the way something is currently done and can open your mind to new areas of exploration. Good why questions can be a great source of innovation. Try asking: Why should people care about this? Why are we doing it this way?
You can also apply the “5 whys” technique. According to iSixSigma, “By continually asking the question ‘why,’ you can peel away the layers which can help you identify the root cause of a problem. Michael J. Marquardt, author of Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions by Knowing What to Ask, says that while you don’t necessarily need to ask ‘why’ five times, you should ask ‘why’ at least three times in order for your answers to dig deep enough.
Example: An artist lost a potential sale because he was unable to accept a credit card. His friend, Jack Dorsey, asked the question, “Why can’t everyone accept credit cards?” This motivated him to develop Square, which empowers small businesses to accept all forms of payment and to make a sale anytime, anywhere.
2. Ask bold “what if” questions
“Breakthroughs are often born with someone asking ‘what if?’”—Warren Berger
‘What if’ questions are brave, even crazy. But the bold questions that seem impossible to answer are often at the root of great innovations. That’s because to innovate we need to ask questions that challenge assumptions and traditional ways of doing things. So, try asking: What if we try this? What if we turn this process on its head?
Example: 8K, a Polish creative agency, asked the bold question: “What if people could ‘pay what they want’ for your products and services?” Only by asking such a bold question could have led to the formation of a company where customers pay based on what they think the agency’s services are worth.
3. Ask important basic questions
Basic questions are usually the best questions because they address the most important issues. Isaac Newton asked the simple question, “Why does an apple fall from a tree?” This led him on a path of inquiry to discover gravity.
Before asking detailed questions about technical issues, you must first focus on addressing the fundamental issues, and you can do that by asking basic questions. This is especially important in a rapidly changing marketplace fueled by technological innovations. Try asking, “What business am I in today?” and you’ll discover unexpected insights on the future of your industry.
Example: According to business lore, when Reed Hastings had been charged $40 in late fees for an overdue DVD from a rental store, he asked why he should have to pay ridiculous late fees. This was the impetus for him to eventually develop Netflix. Meanwhile, video rental companies such as Blockbuster would fail to keep pace with new technology innovations. Asking fundamental questions about the state of the industry could have saved their fate.
4. Ask broad open questions
You should avoid asking overly specific questions, advises Shapiro, since this limits the scope of possibilities. Of course, it’s okay to be specific if it happens you are focusing on the right area, but what if the real solution is not covered by your question? By opening yourself to a wider range of possible solutions, asking broader questions increases your chances of finding the best solution.
That said, specific questions do have their space. However, avoid asking them too early in the process so you can pinpoint the fundamental issue first.
Example: Edward Land was taking photos of his three-year-old daughter and she asked him why they had to wait to see the picture. Trying to address this ambitious question inspired Land to develop the instant Polaroid camera.
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5. Ask questions about problems
Consumers care about their problems, and they only care about the features of a product to the extent that it will solve a problem. This is why you should ask questions about problems first, then features. Consumer problems can be a great source of new innovations, so you also need to listen and pay attention to what people are saying.
Nevertheless, while consumers often know what problem they want solved, they are not always able to come up with the best solution. Henry Ford said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Reframing the question entirely enabled him to develop a better solution people could never have imagined. That said, many great inventions have been created from the entrepreneur’s own experience with a problem.
Example: The Miracle Mop was created out of a personal frustration with the current mops on the market; mops didn’t last long and required constant wringing. Joy Mangano set out to create a better mop that didn’t require constant wringing, and her self-wringing mop means we no longer have to touch a dirty mop.
6. Ask questions that deepen understanding
Your ideal customer could be actively looking for a product just like yours, or the problem has become such a part of their lives, they cannot fathom a solution is possible. This matters. You need to know your ideal customer’s current state of mind to present a relevant proposition to them.
To find this out, you need to ask good questions that dig deep into the customer’s current situation and their level of awareness of the problem. The insights you uncover will help you present your solution in a way that will help them to envision it in their everyday lives.
Example: Consumers knew they needed a vacuum cleaner, but they did not know why they needed a Dyson. Unlike other vacuum cleaners, the Dyson didn’t get easily clogged or lose suction over time. Dyson educated consumers on why clogging is a problem and how Dyson can solve this issue.
One final question
A beautiful question is an ambitious yet actionable question that can shift the way we think about something and may serve as a catalyst for change.” —Warren Berger
I like this quote; it sums up what makes an effective question. A question needs to be ambitious enough so it challenges the status quo and existing way of doing things. Yet, it still needs to be grounded enough so it can be put into practice at a later stage. A question that is so outlandish that it doesn’t address any real problem is not much use. Likewise, a question that is too grounded in the status quo will never provide the stimulus for real innovation.
The nature of a good question also depends upon the timing and sequence in which it is asked. We should start by asking ambitious questions that are very open in nature. Only once we have pinned the right focus area, we should start asking specific questions of how to put things into practice.
A good question is highly contextual. What could be an ideal question for one situation could be outlandish in a different circumstance or time. How can we avoid asking questions that are irrelevant questions, or asking good questions too early or too late?
We need to observe the world around us and realize how it is impacting our current situation. We need to continue to observe as the situation changes. And we need to spend time to reflect on this. This will help us pinpoint perfect questions for our situation in the right time and place.
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