Smarter Questions

By Jim Mikula, President/CEO

This summer, I’ve been thinking a lot about creative and critical thinking, so an article titled, The Art of Asking Smarter Questions intrigued me. Written by three professors at the International Institute for Management Development, a 75-year-old, global business education organization, the article was published in the Harvard Business Review. The authors outlined five types of strategic questions:

·         Investigative

·         Speculative

·         Productive

·         Interpretive

·         Subjective

Investigative questions seek to uncover what is known and to understand root causes. The “five whys” sequence devised by Toyota managers is a good example of investigative questions. The technique starts with a “why” question and the next “why” question comes from the answer. This is done to at least five levels and sometimes up to eight levels. A similar technique uses “how” questions. The purpose of these processes is to generate nonobvious information.

Speculative questions are used to reframe the problem or explore creative solutions. Examples of speculative questions include “what if…” what else…” or ‘how might we?” This approach was popularized by the Creative Education Foundation for innovative thinking as well as creative problem solving.

Productive questions help organizations assess resources such as talent, capabilities, and time. These questions can also influence the speed of decisions, how initiatives are introduced and accelerating growth. Questions include “how can we get it done,” and “how will we measure progress?” These questions can identify metrics and milestones, and create alignment on projects.

Interpretive questions often follow the answers to investigative, speculative and productive questions. A question after an investigative question might be, “what happens if the trend continues?” After a speculative question answer, “what opportunities arise from this idea?” The article advises, “a decision-making process should always circle back to interpretative questions. They provide the momentum to move from one mode of inquiry to another, and they convert information into actionable insight.”

Subjective questions get at what is often left unsaid - the emotional part of exploration and decision making. These questions deal with personal reservations, tensions, and hidden agendas. Asking what might subvert the execution of ideas could be crucial. Another question might be, “how much and what kind of stress will this decision or cause in the organization?”

The authors interviewed many CEOs in their research and concluded that most CEOs rely on one or two of these question types. It’s great to know that even prominent CEOs do not necessarily ask great questions! We can all improve by identifying our strengths and weaknesses in this area. Then, we can expand our repertoire of questions and learn to ask others for help in supporting creative thinking and sound decisions.

As we enter the fourth quarter, we will be planning the Chamber’s annual strategic retreat. We will be sure to include the five question types to drive in-depth dialogues and generate new strategies and initiatives that will create more value for our members.