Excerpted from Business Black Belt by Burke Franklin
A good answer evolves from many good questions.
If I had two hours to solve a problem, I would spend the first hour and a half asking questions and questioning assumptions—mine and those of everyone involved. I’ve found that often the solution will reveal itself easily once the problem has been fully and properly identified.
Let’s take the question thing a step further. When our grade school teacher asked a question, we were rewarded for being the first to answer. We knew that whoever was the fastest would get all the credit and look the smartest. Many of us are still racing to be the first with a solution so we can get all the credit for solving the problem. In doing that, however, we make many mistakes and overlook potential problems.
Most of us are too quick to come up with answers. We kick ourselves later for wasting time and money. We don’t spend enough time and effort unfolding the whole problem. We’re too busy trying to quickly find any solution.
In our haste to do it fast, we stop asking questions too soon. If you’re really in a hurry for an answer, you’re not going to explore all the angles of a problem. Take more time to ask more questions.
Remember the story about the five blind men and the elephant? One leaned up against his leg and thought the elephant was a tree. Another grabbed his trunk and thought he was a snake. The third man held the elephant’s ear and thought he was a bird. The fourth one felt his huge stomach and concluded it was a whale. Finally, the fifth man caught the elephant’s tail and thought it was a rope. They each touched only one part of the elephant, and because they were blind, they were unaware that the rest of the elephant existed. They argued among themselves, each certain that the others were wrong, none of them aware of the complete animal.
You can’t just touch the trunk and blindly come away with a complete understanding of an elephant. To get a good idea of the whole animal, you’ve got to walk around it and touch it in many places. And don’t just assume that the elephant is gray. Ask someone who can see from a distance. Making assumptions and jumping to conclusions could land you in a heap of elephant dung.
Continue... to Part 2: Does this happen in business?
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