The importance of asking questions
A groundbreaking study into innovation by the business school Insead (http://knowledge.insead.edu/innovation-innovators-dna-091221.cfm?vid=358) found that one of the traits that marked innovators was the quantity and quality of questions they asked. One researcher met Alan Lafley, who runs Procter and Gamble, and found that Lafley asked more questions than he did. Another asked Michael Dell, who turned around the computer firm, what his favourite question was. To which Dell replied: “Hell, if I had some favourite questions, everybody would know the answers. Instead, when I’m wandering the world, I try to construct a question for every conversation that might generate information I’ve never had before.”
