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| Volume 3, Issue 8 - August, 2004 • The Power of the Question Working on the articles for the “Taking Aim” newsletter has forced me to be more reflective and to think about what works, what doesn’t and why. In many respects I wish that I had been more reflective earlier in my career as I am constantly amazed at how much smarter I am now because of that reflection and introspection. In my reflection, there is one subject that I would recommend to students preparing for college. In fact if you could get a PhD. in this area of study, I am certain that you could change the world and generate incredible wealth in the process. The area of study that I am referring to is, “The Question.” The power of the Question is incredible and it cuts across all areas of life. If you don’t believe me, just think back to your last trip to the doctor’s or the dentist’s office. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand the power of the implied alternative to the question when the dentist asks you if you want to get that cavity fixed. As a youngster, I remember finding myself in trouble and being asked by an adult, “How would you like it if someone did that to you?” This was invariably a devastating question and the activity that prompted the question was never repeated. I don’t want you to get the impression that I was in trouble all the time, but the lectures that included words like don’t, shouldn’t, against the law, etc. never had the same impact on me as the ones that involved a question. In college I took courses in sales and marketing and learned to ask questions like, “Would Monday or Wednesday be better for you?” or “Would you like the regular size or the Super Economy size?” My son worked at McDonalds in high school and learned to ask, “Would you like fries with that?” We were both taught to ask these questions because they worked. They produced the desired result. Life went on and I became fairly successful in the world of Sales and Marketing, primarily because I worked hard and focused on the features and benefits of the products I was selling. In a sense, it was easy and comfortable to do this because I was in control and pretty much knew what the response would be and how to respond. That all changed when the company I was working for introduced a new product. I was bored with my traditional approach and decided to experiment. Oh, I still presented all of the features and benefits of this new tool, but then I broke with tradition and asked the prospective customer what they thought the cost of the product was. It was a risk, but invariably, the response came back higher than the actual price and that usually sealed the sale. It was a risk, because I gave control of the presentation to the prospect, but I can’t remember a time when it didn’t work. At the time, I was working as a Sales Manager and encouraged the individual sales people to try this approach, but few if any did because there was a risk that proved uncomfortable for them. That experience stuck in my mind from then on, I have always tried to find questions to make my major points. It has been difficult, but it does get easier with practice. More recently I became intrigued with something called “Appreciative Inquiry.” In a book of the same name by Cooperrider, Sorensen, Whitney and Yaeger, it is described as, “the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend, anticipate and heighten positive potential.” One of the aspects of Appreciative Inquiry that ties to my earlier experience is creating a question and presenting it to the group in an effort to co-create the answer to the question. In a sense, this is a risky proposition because it is out of our individual control. I have used the process myself in groups ranging in size from a dozen to over 100 participants. Very shortly, I will participate in a group of several hundred using Appreciative Inquiry. I have learned to trust the process because I have learned that Appreciative Inquiry works and I will not be disappointed in the results. It works for large-scale systems change in an organization. It works as a strategic planning tool. It also works in decision-making. The key to making the process work lies in the crafting of the questions. The right question at the right time can be an incredibly powerful tool in any human endeavor. Whitney, Cooperrider, Trosten-Bloom and Kaplin have undertaken an effort to begin the process of crafting positive questions and making them available in a book entitled, “Encyclopedia of Positive Questions, Volume One.” Let’s hope that this is just the beginning and that there are many more volumes to come. Archimedes said something to the effect of give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the Earth. My experience leads me to paraphrase that quote to explain the power of the question by saying, “Give me the right questions and I will change the world.” • Appreciative Inquiry in Miami This year’s conference will feature business and community organizations that have used Appreciative Inquiry to overcome the challenges of increased competition, limited resources, poor execution and lack of employee engagement to produce extraordinary results. • Taking Aim Blog If you have a subject that you would like to see covered in future issues of “Taking Aim,” please send me an email at aim@CannonAdvantage.com.
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Robert E. Cannon "Best Practice" Sales Force
Development Change Management Customer Service Assessment for ISO Requirements Smart Thoughts from Smart People – "Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us - and those around us – more effectively. Look for the learning." Eric Allenbaugh "The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly." Corra May Harris "Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome." Samuel Johnson "He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven." George Herbert Taking Aim © 2004 Bob Cannon, The Cannon Advantage Newsletter. All Rights Reserved. The Cannon Advantage visual branding by Zarney Creative. For contact information, click “Resources.” |
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