1, #91 - What? So What? Now What?
I think “And what else?” is the best coaching question in the world. It does two things: It extends the period of curiosity, and it tames your advice monster.
The group needs to learn:
- What everyone else thinks about the challenge: What is happening? What’s the real challenge?
- What they themselves believe is possible — what futures can be created with this group?
- What does the group believe is possible?
- What are we willing to try? How much risk are we willing to endure?
- How committed is the group to the chall
Daniel Stillman • Team Work is Team Learning — Daniel Stillman
What happened? What do I want? What’s useful about this? What can I learn? What’s the other person thinking, feeling, and wanting? What are my choices? What’s best to do now? What’s possible?”
Marilee Adams • Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 12 Powerful Tools for Leadership, Coaching, and Life
This is the final, and critical, How stage of inquiry—when you’ve asked all the Whys, considered the What Ifs . . . and must now figure out, How do I actually get this done? It’s the action stage, yet it is still driven by questions, albeit more practical ones.
Warren Berger • A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas
I also do a “so what” exercise. I make a statement and ask myself “so what?” at the end of it.
Timothy Ferriss • Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World
We must ask ourselves the critical question: And then what?
Rhiannon Beaubien • The Great Mental Models Volume 1: General Thinking Concepts
#4. Solution-facing curiosity:
What have you tried?
What would you try if you were new here?
What do you know?
What’s the question?
If you did know, what would you do?
Who might know?
What advice would you give me if our roles were reversed?