good questions

Tell me, what questions do you carry, that wouldn’t exist if you knew exactly what you were doing? (Hint: That’s where your next interesting thing lives)

Beth Kempton • Confessions of a Self-Help Author

What’s working, and how can we do more of it?” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet, in the real world, this obvious question is almost never asked. Instead, the question we ask is more problem focused: “What’s broken, and how do we fix it?

Dan Heath • Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Executive performance coach Julie Gurner on the power of better questions:

“The questions you ask yourself will largely determine the answers you get.

“Why am I not successful?” You’ll get answers that berate you.

“How can I succeed here?” You’ll get answers that push you.

James Clear • 3-2-1: A recipe for unhappiness, the most valuable items in my home, and managing limiting beliefs

There will be a small group of “What” and “How” questions that you will find yourself using in nearly every situation. Here are a few of them: What are we trying to accomplish? How is that worthwhile? What’s the core issue here? How does that affect things? What’s the biggest challenge you face? How does this fit into what the objective is?

Chris Voss • Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

Ask yourself, “What are the questions I’ve always been interested in?” This could include grand, sweeping questions like “How can we make society fairer and more equitable?” as well as practical ones like “How can I make it a habit to exercise every day?” It might include questions about relationships, such as “How can I have closer relationships w

Tiago Forte • Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential

Typical open-ended questions are variations on “Tell me more” and “Help me understand better ….”

Roger Fisher • Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most

How do you know? It’s a question we need to ask more often, both of ourselves and of others. The power lies in its frankness. It’s nonjudgmental—a straightforward expression of doubt and curiosity that doesn’t put people on the defensive.

Adam Grant • Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

Effective leaders ask questions rather than providing answers. The questions are key. Great leaders don’t tell people, they don’t direct people, and they don’t order people around. They facilitate great thinking through self-reflection. We talked about one ego-bypass question in an earlier chapter: “What would ‘great’ look like?” Here are a few oth

Cy Wakeman • No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results (How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Drama in the Workplace, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results)

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.