Tag: change

Questions that start

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What type of questions do you ask more often?

There’s the question that stops.

To answer this question, the other person needs to stop what they are doing, collect some type of information, and copy-paste it for your perusal. It’s often annoying to be asked this kind of questions. First, because the information requested is usually publicly available, or at least obtainable by the one asking with a little effort. Second, because it does not really add anything to our common knowledge of the world, as the responder is essentially moving information around.

Think about questions such as When did we agree the deliverable should be ready?, or Can you sum up your report in one sentence for my presentation?, or Can you send me the link to the latest version of the brochure?, or even Do you have the notes of the meeting we had yesterday?.

Then there’s the question that starts.

To answer this question, the other person needs to venture in unknown territory, do resarch, come up with ideas, network, draft a solution, scratch it, draft another one, ask for feedback, find out some more, and then attempt something. It’s both exciting and empowering to be asked this kind of questions. They put things in motion, they enhance your understanding of the world (and our common knowledge of it), and the responder actually ends up building some piece of information that was not anywhere before.

Think about questions such as How would you tackle this?, or What can we do to increase our sales by 20% next year?, or Would you help me with this problem I don’t seem to be able to crack?, or again What would you do if you would be in this position?.

Chances are, you get to ask both questions in your work.

The more you ask questions that stop, the more the work of your team will be fragmented, undirected, demotivating, dissatisfactory, unproductive, and task-oriented.

The more you ask questions that start, the more the work of your team will be fresh, exciting, unprecedented, necessary, sought after, and problem-oriented.

Primal instinct

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Some crises are ok to be handled quickly and instinctively. A central brain takes control, and gives instructions to the rest of the body on what to do.

If the building is on fire, an alarm will ring to tell everyone to get out.

If a person points a gun at you, you take cover.

If you see a red traffic light, you stop.

If the boat is sinking, the personnel takes the lead and everyone follows.

If the deadline is tomorrow, you stick to the plan somebody else might have drafted.

Most of the crises we meet day after day, though, are not really this kind of crises. They involve multiple people, they feature moving pieces, feelings, and opinions, they depend on personal preferences and environmental circumstances.

They are complex.

Of course, we still want to react quickly and instinctively. We want to take control and centralize decision-making, pass on instructions (to ourselves and others), and make the crisis go away. We do want that so much, that often we frame as “crisis” even fairly normal situations, just so that we can avoid thinking and start (re)acting.

That’s seldom the best thing to do.

Most crises and difficulties are actually the right moment to open up.

To ask questions, explore possibilities, hear what others would do or have done in similar circumstances, try something and possibly change direction if it’s not working, make mistakes and learn.

By all means, a decision will have to eventually be taken, and actions will have to follow. But to overcome the first, ready-made decision the brain is offering, you’ll have to be as open as you possibly can.

So, if your marketing campaign is not working, if sales are stagnating, if your product gets more negative than positive feedback, if customer service cannot keep up, if a team member is unhappy, if you did not get the funding you were expecting.

Move past your primal instict.

Mixed motives

Fabrizio4 Comments

You might be solving an interesting problem because you need to find a way to pay your bills. And if you solve it for enough people, perhaps you will be earning way more than you had ever imagined.

That is fine.

You might be sharing what you know with others simply because you are bored and unchallenged in your current professional situation.

That is fine.

You might have enrolled to a two hours workshop because you are interested in the topic and because you’ll get the opportunity to meet that person you’ve been wanting to meet for a long time.

That is fine.

You might be spending hours coaching and developing the people in your team to increase their performance, and because this might mean a better role and a higher pay in the future.

That is fine.

Mixed motives are a reality of the world, and we should be able to look at our work and the work of others through this lens. It’s liberating and it opens up opportunities.

Everywhere

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The voice of your customers – what they feel, what they want, what they say, how they speak about their problems, your product and your competitors, what they think – is everywhere.

It’s in the messages they send to your sales and support.

It’s in the reviews they leave online.

It’s in the forums and discussion boards.

It’s in the noise at trade fairs and conferences.

It’s in the interviews transcript for the next case study.

It’s in the blog and social media posts they write.

It’s in the way they use the material you provide them.

It’s in the results to the survey you are running on your website.

It’s in the questions they ask the first time they meet you.

It’s in their choices after you’ve sent them the final proposal.

Of course, to make all of this relevant, you have to first shut up. Then listen. And finally act on what you have learned.

Working on the voice of customer is an expression of servant leadership. That’s probably the reason why so few succeed with it.

A step back

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The fact you do not have all the necessary skills to do something you have been chosen to do can be a reason why, for a certain period, you cannot perform at your best.

But you have to make sure it does not turn into an excuse.

Being chosen is a responsibility, and you have to own it. It’s ok to leap towards something you are not perfectly confident about, that’s actually the very same idea behind leaping. Then, you have to consciously make the effort to fill the gap. So that, when you look back, the leap does not look as scary as it once did.

If for a long time you find yourself in a position for which you cannot fulfill all the duties, that makes you feel uncomfortable, for which others are demanding things you are not equipped to deliver, it is ok to take a step back.

Even if the one who chose you did not notice.

Especially if the one who chose you did not notice.