The art of asking questions

It’s well known in the innovation world that it’s questions, not ideas, that drive real change. Yet it’s surprising how often this is overlooked. Organizations and teams often put a lot of emphasis on brainstorming ideas, but miss what is often the starting point for groundbreaking success: the really good questions.

Because it’s not just the answers that matter – questions have the power to spark curiosity, create focus and drive change.

Questions that ignite innovation

A good question can be the starting point for an entire organization’s collective energy. Questions like “How can we double our value to customers without increasing costs?” or “What would happen if we completely removed our most popular product?” have the ability to shift perspectives and create new paths forward. They act as sparks that ignite ideas and set major processes in motion.

Think of companies like Uber and Airbnb – they were born from questions like “Why do we need to own a car to travel comfortably?” and “What happens if we use our homes as hotels?” These questions challenged established norms and opened the door to new ways of thinking.

The creativity of children’s obvious and uncomfortable questions

Children are masters at asking questions. They ask “why” about everything, without hesitation, and dare to ask the questions that adults often avoid for fear of appearing ignorant.

I remember once when I held a creative meeting with my eight-year-old daughter at work. The group was discussing why a new product didn’t get the impact it should, when everyone who developed it thought it was so useful. Suddenly, my daughter, who had been listening, says: “Why is it so ugly?”

Her question silenced the room. We had taken for granted that the product was relevant – but no one had dared to question that it wasn’t attractive enough. That simple but obvious question became the starting point for a whole new discussion about appearance and packaging, and ultimately a whole new product strategy.

The Power of Curiosity in Innovation

The first answer to a good question is rarely the whole truth – but it is often as interesting as the question itself. It provides an opportunity to dig deeper.

As an innovator, you should always follow up with questions like:

“Why is that?”
“Why more?”
“Why do you say that?”
“What happens if you do the opposite?”

This type of follow-up quickly generates new ideas, because it forces us to question our assumptions and explore options that we would otherwise have missed. A classic example is the post-it note, which was born when researchers at 3M who had mistakenly boiled a lot of glue asked: “What can we use a bad glue for?” – instead of just discarding it.

Good leaders and the organization’s question culture

Good leaders know that their role is not to have all the answers, but to ask the right questions. When leaders dare to be curious and invite others to participate in problem solving, they create a culture where creativity and collaboration flourish. There are leaders who lead with only questions and basically never give answers, because they want employees to think for themselves and become better at solving problems themselves.

Questions like “How can we do this better together?” or “What do you see that I don’t see?” give employees the opportunity to contribute their perspectives and ideas. At the same time, a sense of shared responsibility and commitment is created.

For example, Steve Jobs praised his team for not only following his instructions but also questioning them. He realized that his role as a leader was to ask questions like “Why do we do this this way?” and then let others come up with solutions.

A hundred answers to a question

A good question is often worth more than 100 ideas, because it can create a myriad of perspectives and possibilities.

Imagine a workshop where participants are asked to answer an open-ended and clear question that is relevant to an organization: “How can we reduce food waste by 50% in one year?” If 100 people answer based on their own experiences, the answers will be incredibly varied – from technological solutions such as AI to track fresh produce, to changes in customer behavior through education and marketing.

If the same 100 people instead just write down a random idea each, without starting from a common question, the ideas will likely be even more scattered, lack a common thread and generally be more difficult to implement because there is no receptivity in the organization for them.