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Interview: 5 Questions You Shouldn’t Ask

My recent good conversation with WNYC.org, where the host challenged me about whether appreciative inquiry is direct and honest enough. You know my opinion.

“Today, we can’t afford to become adults”

MIT’s Joichi Ito’s thoughts on change, questioning, and childlike wonder

Are we turning our future leaders into ‘excellent sheep?’

William Deresiewicz, author of Excellent Sheep talks about the failure to teach and ask big questions at today’s elite colleges, and how this impacts tomorrow’s leaders.

Tony Wagner on questioning as a survival skill

Today I’m sharing a conversation I had with Harvard education superstar Tony Wagner about the power of inquiry in business and in education.

Stephen Tobolowsky: “Improvisation works because it’s about the leap and not about the landing.”

Actor Stephen Tobolowsky on how asking questions helps you get to the truth of any situation and the importance of improv training for real life.

Why should you be stuck without a bed if I’ve got an extra air mattress? {AMBQ Excerpt}

Airbnb’s $10 billion valuation all started with a Beautiful Question.

Can questioning help us to keep up in ‘exponential times?’

Futurist John Seely Brown says “Yes!”

Eric Ries: What if everyone in the company could answer their own questions?

Eric Ries and the role of questioning within the Lean Startup methodology.

Daniel Pink: “A veritable gold mine” of questions

“The Book of Beautiful Questions is a veritable gold mine. In its pages, you will find fresh (and often brilliant) ways to use the power of the interrogative to sharpen your decision-making, boost your creativity, and deepen your connections to others. Berger’s insights are so potent and his advice so practical that only one question remains: What’s stopping you from picking up this extraordinary book?”

—Daniel Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind
Adam Grant: “Full of instantly useful answers”

“Why don’t we ask enough questions? Why do we ask so many bad questions? And how can we ask the kinds of great questions that make us better at leading, deciding, connecting and creating? The Book of Beautiful Questions isn’t just a thought-provoking book on questions—it’s also full of instantly useful answers.”

—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals, Give and Take, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg
Lisa Bodell: “A must-have skill for success”

“In The Book of Beautiful Questions Warren Berger shows us the incredible power that inquiry has to approach problems differently and to unearth powerful, innovative solutions. In an increasingly complicated world, knowing how to ask provocative questions is a must-have skill for success.”

—Lisa Bodell,
bestselling author of Why Simple Wins, and CEO of FutureThink
Greg McKeown: “The difference between a busy life and a life that really matters”

“Use Warren Berger and his latest book as a guide for asking not only more beautiful questions but also more important ones. It may well make the difference between a busy life and a life that really matters.”

—Greg McKeown, New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Frank Sesno: “Warren Berger raises questioning to an art form”

“Warren Berger raises questioning to an art form. The Book of Beautiful Questions is a vital read for anyone who wants to excel at creativity, leadership, decision-making and interpersonal skills. Berger offers a symphony of questions that will inspire you to become your own maestro of inquiry.”

—Frank Sesno, former CNN anchor and author ofAsk More
Marshall Goldsmith: “Be a better thinker, partner, problem-solver, and leader”

“Being an effective leader is not so much about having all the answers as asking the right questions. In The Book of Beautiful Questions, Warren Berger shows why questioning is critical to success—and provides hundreds of questions that can help you be a better thinker, partner, problem-solver, and leader.”

—Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Dorie Clark: “A transformational resource you’ll go back to again and again”

“The Book of Beautiful Questions gives us the power to re-imagine our lives. For those who seek to make better decisions and lead more effectively, it’s a transformational resource you’ll go back to again and again.”

—Dorie Clark, author of Entrepreneurial You and Stand Out
A.J. Jacobs: “Question every aspect”

“In this wise book, Warren Berger shows us how crucial it is to question every aspect of our lives, from business to school to our choice of toothpaste. My question: Why wouldn’t you read this book?”

—A.J. Jacobs, New York Times best-selling author and Esquire columnist
Eric Ries: “Figuring out how to ask”

“In the old economy, it was all about having the answers. But in today’s dynamic, lean economy, it’s more about asking the right questions. A More Beautiful Question is about figuring out how to ask, and answer, the questions that can lead to new opportunities and growth.”

—Eric Ries, New York Times best-selling author of The Lean Startup
Guy Kawasaki: “Real men ask questions”

“The genesis of many great startups is the simple question, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if…?’ Berger helps you understand the power of questions to change the world. Real men ask questions, they don’t spout out answers.”

—Guy Kawasaki, author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur, and former chief evangelist at Apple

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  A Spotify list of more than 50 songs that have to do with questioning—and that I actually like.
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  […] * A funny side note for people who find [...]
- James W. Sanderson
  Warren: Thanks... another insightful post on the imperative need to ask [...]
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  Warren... Thanks for this post. John Seely Brown's insights are [...]
- Warren Berger
  Thanks, Martha!
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Latest on the blog...

People in the news using beautiful questions

When you’re a questionologist, you can’t help spotting beautiful questions in your reading. Below are a few I found by chance in the news.

The Best Networking Advice

My recent article on questioning as a quiet person’s superpower struck a chord with author Susan Cain who called it “The Best Networking Advice I’ve Seen Yet.”

How asking questions at work can help you

You might be hesitant to ask questions of your bosses. But it’s important to do so because it enables you to be better at your job.

Questolutions: The Power of Questions to Get Things Done

Why do questions motivate us more than resolutions?

These 5 questions are “creativity killers.” If you find you’re asking yourself any of them, just stop.

The questions we ask ourselves about creativity also can undermine creative confidence or cause us to misdirect our efforts. Here are five questions that kill creativity…

It’s Back to School as Usual, But in Many Questioning Classrooms It’s Not School as Usual

The curiosity and engagement unleashed by a questioning environment is undeniably powerful and lasting.

36 Questions

The 36 questions used in Arthur Aron’s experiment are wonderful examples of open-ended, deep questions. A discussion of the power of good questions to form lasting connections—even between strangers.