A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas

We do know that the ability to question, whether verbally or through other means, is one of the things that separates us from lower primates. Paul Harris, an education professor8 at Harvard University who has studied questioning in children, observes, “Unlike other primates, we humans are designed so that the young look to the old for cultural info

“One good question can give rise to several layers of answers, can inspire decades-long searches for solutions, can generate whole new fields of inquiry, and can prompt changes in entrenched thinking,” Firestein writes. “Answers, on the other hand, often end the process.”

It is also egalitarian: “You don’t have to hold a position14 of authority to ask a powerful question,” noted LaBarre.

When we’re overloaded with information, “context becomes critical,” Brown says. “What matters now is your ability to triangulate, to look at something from multiple sources, and construct your own warrants for what you choose to believe.” That can involve “asking all kinds of peripheral questions,” Brown notes, such as What is the agenda behind thi

With the constant change we face today, we may be forced to spend less time on autopilot, more time in questioning mode—attempting to adapt, looking to re-create careers, redefining old ideas about living, working, and retiring, reexamining priorities, seeking new ways to be creative, or to solve various problems in our own lives or the lives of ot

In my inquiry into the value of inquiry, I’ve become convinced that questioning is more important today than it was yesterday—and will be even more important tomorrow—in helping us figure out what matters, where opportunity lies, and how to get there. We’re all hungry for better answers. But first, we need to learn how to ask the right questions.

One of the many interesting and appealing things about questioning is that it often has an inverse relationship to expertise—such that, within their own subject areas, experts are apt to be poor questioners. Frank Lloyd Wright put it well when he remarked that an expert is someone who has “stopped thinking because he ‘knows.’”2 If you “know,” there

That’s only part of what’s required to ask powerful Why questions. To do so, we must: • Step back. • Notice what others miss. • Challenge assumptions (including our own). • Gain a deeper understanding of the situation or problem at hand, through contextual inquiry. • Question the questions we’re asking. • Take ownership of a particular question.

So then, one of the primary drivers of questioning is an awareness of what we don’t know—which is a form of higher awareness that separates not only man from monkey but also the smart and curious person from the dullard who doesn’t know or care.

The five whys28 can be used outside of business, as well. IDEO has used it to address a number of behavioral issues. The firm offers this example of how it can be applied to a lifestyle issue. Why do you exercise? Because it’s healthy. Why is it healthy? Because it raises my heart rate. Why is that important? So that I burn more calories. Why do yo