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Ask a good question today
December 2007

Isidor Rabi, a Nobel winning physicist, gave his mother credit for his interest in science. He described how while other children’s parents would ask them what they learned when they came home from school, his mother would ask, “Izzy, did you ask a good question today?”

Someone recently asked me, “Do you think that we would be more successful in market “a” or market “b”? Obviously, I didn’t answer “a” or “b”. Rather I asked him 5 questions. 1) What led you to those two markets? 2) Why do you believe that you can proper in either of those markets? 3) What core competency will you be using in those segments? 4) What is the profit potential in those markets? 5) Why are those segments more attractive than exploiting your existing market?

I’m sure that you can think of a few more questions, but you get the picture. Sometimes our rush to find an answer doesn’t serve us well, particularly when trying to identify business strategy—which I’ll define as “how you will proper in your environment for some period in time”. Thinking about the “what” (strategy) is much more foreign to most of us than the “how” (tactics). Most business leaders get to their leadership position by being good at tactics. They are promoted to CEO or GM and suddenly are supposed to be good at strategic thinking. What intervention was available to them to allow them competency in strategic thinking? When push comes to shove, most will revert to tactics when required to change or reinvigorate strategy.

Tactics without strategy is like flying without a flight plan. It might be fun, but you won’t get anywhere. To identify strategy, you must ask many questions. At the end of each of your workdays, perhaps you should reflect on what Isidor’s mother asked, “Did you ask a good question today?”

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Todd Ordal helps CEOs and senior leaders connect the dots between current reality and a compelling vision of the future. He consults on strategy and serves as a thought partner for CEOs because he understands from his days as a CEO that it is lonely at the top. You can contact Todd at todd@appliedstrategy.info or call 303-527-0417.