Ask Good Questions
If you want confusion and heartache, ask vague questions; if you want uncommon clarity and results, ask uncommonly clear questions.
What did you learn today?
It’s such a lovely and deceptively simple question. Just the mere mention of this question reminds of the importance of learning continuously. It has an inherent bias towards action (go learn something new); good questions often do.
The power of good questions is often understated. They enable us to innovate, solve problems, and make progress. They allow us to gain perspective, come at things from different angles, and build clarity.
Asking uncommonly clear questions is a superpower that can help improve outcomes many folds if used correctly. For example, Newton’s innocent question - why did an apple fall straight down, led to the discovery of the Law of Gravitation.
Yet very few of us do it well - if we do it at all.
In most discussions and debates, we are more focussed on answering instead of listening. Forget asking good counter questions; most of the time, we don’t even pay attention to what others say because we are busy crafting our response.
One reason behind this, I believe, is because we are trained that way since childhood; as kids, we were never rewarded for asking good questions. In school, the kid with the right answer was always considered smart, and one with a question was considered dumb.
It couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Some of the most significant scientific discoveries that ended up changing the world started with a question, often a very simple one. Like Einstein’s question - why would God create a world where laws of physics would be different for different observers; it led to the theory of relativity, which changed our understanding astronomy, cosmology, big bang, astrophysics and led to the birth of quantum mechanics.
Some of the most successful startups got built around questions their founders asked themselves.
Wouldn’t it be smarter if I could rent a designer dress for a wedding instead of purchasing it? - RentTheRunway.
Why isn’t it easy to rent a car? - Uber.
And my personal favorite, why is it so expensive to send a rocket into space? - SpaceX.
In today’s world, where the answer to any question is just a google search away, it’s more important to know what questions to ask than to know the answers.
And knowing how to frame the question for maximum clarity and effectiveness is even more critical. (Some consider it more of an art than a skill)
For example, instead of asking - what’s your favorite book? (which can throw an avid reader, who might have read thousands of books, into deep introspection) a far more effective question could be - name one book you have gifted the most? (much smaller consideration set, hence easy to answer)
Likewise, instead of asking - do you think you have healthy habits? (the answer to which would largely depend on a person’s self-awareness) a much better question, which could yield a more objective response, could be - if your kids were to adopt your eating & drinking habits, would you be happy or sad?
People like Shane Parrish, Tim Ferris, and Warren Berger have dedicated their lives to the craft of asking better questions. It’s certainly a skill worth learning.
Often, all that stands between you and what you want is a better set of questions. So ask good questions, and ask them often.
Best,
Kaddy
PS - On the topic of asking good questions, I came across a great one recently - Which areas of your life are in maintenance mode? Which areas are in growth mode? Are you happy with the distribution?