We all have heard the story of the rather unpleasant looking guy who is married to the beauty queen. And when asked how from all men he was able to get married to her he said:
“I asked…”

A great many of us experienced first hand what happens when a student asks a question: The “teacher” get’s annoyed and either ignores the question or even worst will make the one asking looking like a fool.

But who is the real fool?

Very often we can see how people perform a task incorrectly. A simple and short question along the lines of: “What do you mean?” could have solved the problem at hand and saved time, costs and frustration.

“He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes, but he who never asks a question remains a fool forever.”

Tom J. Connelly

We all have missed out on great opportunities because we forget that one simple question can change everything. And still many are afraid to ask questions or to go the step further to use questions for change and growth. Sometimes people tell me that I am always asking the difficult questions. But are there really any difficult or easy questions? Or is it more that we try to avoid answering; and saying: “What a difficult question” gives us an easy and fast excuse?

When was the last time you asked a question that cleared things up, lead to a change?

Are you asking enough questions?

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