So What: The Definitive Guide to the Only Business Questions that Matter

So What?......Page 1
CONTENTS......Page 15
Introduction: Understanding the Value of Questions......Page 23
1 So What?......Page 27
How to use the So what? cycle of questions......Page 28
For internal use only?......Page 30
Internal So what? questions......Page 31
External So what? questions......Page 32
The art of inquisition......Page 33
Learning from children......Page 35
Venting your feelings......Page 36
Sticking it to the man......Page 37
The importance of getting feelings out in the open......Page 38
Directional and pointed lines of inquiry......Page 40
Organizing your feelings......Page 41
Who cares about other people’s feelings?......Page 42
Interlocking your feelings with theirs......Page 43
What not to say, and when not to say it......Page 44
Helpful, directional expressions of feelings......Page 45
The power of pointy thinking......Page 46
Conceding ground to make progress......Page 47
The difference between an instruction and a true purpose......Page 48
So what? summary......Page 49
Exercise: Expressing your feelings......Page 51
2 Why?......Page 53
The power of Why?......Page 54
What Why? means......Page 55
Why? For what reason?......Page 56
Why? For what purpose?......Page 58
Why? For what cause?......Page 60
Why are we here?......Page 61
Internal Why? questions......Page 62
External Why? questions......Page 63
When asking Why?, stick to the facts......Page 65
The Why? chromosome......Page 67
If you need to ask Why?, the sooner you do it the better......Page 68
Why bother?......Page 69
Write a list of what you are not going to do......Page 70
Why, oh why? Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells......Page 71
Taking the edge off the Why? question......Page 72
Summary of Why? thinking......Page 74
Why? summary......Page 75
Exercise: Getting constructive questioning right......Page 76
3 How?......Page 77
Time to take stock......Page 78
The power of How?......Page 79
What How? means......Page 80
How? In what way?......Page 81
How? In what manner?......Page 82
Ask How? early to avoid disappointment......Page 83
“There’s no such thing as a bad idea.” Yes there is!......Page 84
How to use the How? question......Page 85
External How? questions......Page 86
Establish how not to do it......Page 87
The killer How? question......Page 88
Indirect How? questions: fl ush out and fl esh out......Page 89
Qualitative How? questions......Page 90
Hopeless answers to How? questions......Page 91
HOW? Resistor Type No. 2: Horrible Old Ways......Page 92
HOW? Resistor Type No. 3: Hunch Overcomes Wisdom......Page 93
Subsidiary How? lines of inquiry......Page 94
How do you do? Finding out how others do it......Page 95
If you can’t answer the How? question, ditch the project......Page 96
Summary of How? thinking......Page 97
How? summary......Page 98
Exercise: Moving from concept to reality......Page 99
4 Who?......Page 101
The cult of Who?......Page 102
The power of Who?......Page 103
External Who? questions......Page 104
Internal Who? questions......Page 105
Who? Which person?......Page 107
Who me? I’m too busy......Page 109
Who? Which persons?......Page 110
The kids are alright......Page 111
Whose responsibility?......Page 112
Who are you?......Page 114
If it’s someone else, get the people right......Page 115
Spotting the wrong people......Page 116
Jargon and cliché red alert......Page 117
Who’s next?......Page 119
Summary of Who? thinking......Page 120
Exercise: Who is actually going to do this?......Page 121
5 When?......Page 123
What When? means......Page 124
When? At what time?......Page 125
Problem 1: Other stuff......Page 127
How to use the When? question......Page 128
External When? questions......Page 129
Understanding the time spectrum......Page 130
It’s now or never......Page 131
Understanding time......Page 132
Long-, medium-, short-, and no-term......Page 133
Introducing livelines......Page 134
How long is a deadline?......Page 135
If you’re going to panic, learn how to panic early......Page 136
Why essay crises don’t work......Page 137
Time lags and what to do about them......Page 139
The false metrics of the Finance Director......Page 140
When did this happen before?......Page 141
Just say when......Page 142
Summary of When? thinking......Page 143
Exercise: When to publicize the plan......Page 144
6 Where?......Page 145
What Where? means......Page 146
The power of Where?......Page 147
How to use the Where? question......Page 148
In, at, or to what place, point, or position?......Page 149
The importance of precision......Page 150
Where? In your head......Page 151
Where? Rough draft on paper......Page 152
Where? Refined computer copy......Page 153
Where? Colleagues and team exposure......Page 154
Where? Office awareness......Page 155
Preparation: what you have to do beforehand......Page 156
Preparation: what they have to do beforehand......Page 157
Rules of engagement: what you have to do on the day......Page 158
Where? Country (multiple centres)......Page 159
Where? (In)continent......Page 160
Wherehousing: dealing with multinational teams......Page 161
Where? feedback......Page 163
The power of context......Page 164
Wherewithal......Page 165
The whereafter......Page 166
Summary of Where? thinking......Page 167
Exercise: Hunt the colleague......Page 168
7 Do We Really Need to Do This?......Page 169
Recap of all the questions so far......Page 170
The power of Do we really need to do this?......Page 171
What Do we really need to do this? means......Page 172
How to use the Do we really need to do this? question......Page 173
External Do we really need to do this? questions......Page 174
Internal Do we really need to do this? questions......Page 176
If it doesn’t tick all the boxes, don’t do it......Page 177
Do we really need to do this? Today......Page 178
Do we really need to do this? Next week......Page 179
Do we really need to do this? Next month......Page 180
Do we really need to do this? Next year......Page 181
Do we really need to do this? Ever......Page 182
How does this compare with everything else we are doing?......Page 183
To what effect?......Page 185
Do we really need to do this? summary......Page 186
Exercise: Ever or never......Page 187
8 Something Must be Wrong if…?......Page 189
The power of Something must be wrong if…......Page 190
What Something must be wrong if… means......Page 191
How to use the Something must be wrong if… statement......Page 192
External Something must be wrong if… statements......Page 193
Everyone claims to be too busy......Page 194
Postponement is suggested......Page 195
The right resources aren’t immediately available......Page 196
I don’t fancy it......Page 197
I never did like the idea anyway......Page 198
I don’t want to go to work in the morning......Page 199
Little voices: the value of speaking up......Page 200
The power of honesty......Page 201
Something must be wrong if… summary......Page 202
Exercise: Fill in the rest of this sentence......Page 203
9 Are We There Yet?......Page 205
Learning from children......Page 206
Surviving long journeys......Page 207
The power of Are we there yet?......Page 208
External Are we there yet? questions......Page 209
Internal Are we there yet? questions......Page 211
Dealing with problems......Page 212
The power of synectics......Page 214
Other childish questions......Page 215
Final roundup of questions......Page 216
Are we there yet? summary......Page 218
Exercise: Questioning everything like a child......Page 219
10 What? Author’s Postscript......Page 221
The What? question......Page 222
Say what?......Page 223
If you don’t know what you are doing…......Page 224
Back to the beginning......Page 225
Exercise: What the @!*k am I doing?!......Page 226
APPENDICES......Page 227
Appendix I: Book Summaries......Page 229
Appendix II: Origin of Time Divisions......Page 253
Appendix III: Gottschaldt Figurine Solutions......Page 255
Appendix IV: Bibliography......Page 257
INDEX......Page 259