week 90: no bad answers. only bad questions.

the way forward is to ask better questions.

thank you to over 11,000 of you who read this weekly and share with your friends and family for behind the scenes on building a million dollar business from scratch and beyond.

i also include a personal note in the end so i am grateful that you let me do that without judgement.

---

one of greatest disarming gift in leadership that i have learnt is asking questions. 

when i get seemingly bad answers, i have to realize it was because of my bad questions.

for example:

in a sales call if i hear negotiation on pricing too early, the best question to ask is what is the value of our solution for you? 

in a partnership call when i hear a bit of frustration, my immediate question is how can we make something happen to solidly our partnership?

in a team meeting when i hear people telling me how many hours they worked last week, i tend to ask, are you doing the best work of your life? 

these questions typically that gets the conversation back on track. 

big lesson for me is that asking questions to pause a conversation is more powerful than keep talking.

as a matter of fact less talking and asking questions is one of the most powerful leadership skill I am learning and practicing right now. 

---

on personal note, yesterday was a daddy daughter dance day at school. 

it’s a joy that we all get to do especially those who are fathers and have daughters.

as special as these moments are, i am struggling withe one word answers with our kids when we ask how was your day at school or did you have a good time… and you know the one word answer you get :)

instead, here is what we are trying and it’s actually fun.

after school or an event we are trying to ask these two questions (no more how was your day or trip or class):

who did you serve today?

who served you today?

the good news is that neither question will turn into a one word answer which is great!

the first question is about them and the second is about others.

my prayer is that over a period of time, they realize that the ultimate purpose of life is to serve others. 

after all, Jesus said he came to serve and not to be served. 

Leader point - in business and in life, asking the right questions could get us closer to each other and the problem at hand.