STRATEGIC QUESTIONING:ENGAGING PEOPLE’S BEST THINKINGB Y J U A N I T A B R O W N , D A V I D I S A A C S ,

E R I C V O G T , A N D N A N C Y M A R G U L I E S

F E A T U R E

SYSTEMST H I N K E R®

B U I L D I N G S H A R E D U N D E R S T A N D I N G

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top asking so many questions,”many children hear at home.

“Don’t give me the question, give methe answer,” many students hear atschool.“I’m not interested in hearingwhat you don’t know, I want to hearwhat you do know,” many employeeshear at work.

The injunction against discoveringand asking questions is widespread intoday’s family, educational, and corpo-rate cultures.That’s unfortunate,because asking questions that matter isone of the primary ways that peoplehave, starting in childhood, to engagetheir natural, self-organizing capacitiesfor collaborative conversation, explo-ration, inquiry, and learning. In ourown work with creating positivefutures, we are discovering that theusefulness of our knowledge dependson the quality of the questions we ask.Clear, bold, and penetrating questionstend to open up the context for newlearning and discovery, which is a keycomponent of strategy innovation.

Strategic learning can occur, notonly through formal planning activi-ties, but also through webs of infor-mal conversations and networks ofrelationships, both within an organi-zation and among key stakeholders.Choosing to ask and explore “bigquestions”—questions that matter tothe future of the organization—is apowerful force.

When people frame their strate-gic exploration as questions ratherthan as concerns or problems, a con-versation begins where everyone canlearn something new together, ratherthan having the normal stale debates.In effect, people begin looking at “themap of the territory” together.Thequestions encourage them to wonder“What is the map telling us?” rather

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than to push preconceived ideas ofwhat they think it shows.

Why Don’t We Ask BetterQuestions?If asking good questions is so critical,why don’t we spend more of our timeand energy focused upon discoveringand framing them? One reason may bethat much of our Western culture isfocused on knowing the “rightanswer” rather than discovering the“right question.” Our educational sys-tem focuses more on memorizationand static answers rather than on theart of seeking new possibilities throughdynamic questioning.We are rarelytaught how to ask powerful questions.Nor are we often taught why weshould ask compelling questions in thefirst place. Quizzes, examinations, andaptitude tests all reinforce the valueof correct answers, usually withonly one correct answer for eachquestion asked. Is it any wonderthat most of us are uncomfort-able with not knowing?

Perhaps our aversionto asking creative questionsstems from our emphasis onfinding quick fixes and our attach-ment to black/white, either/or think-ing. Often the rapid pace of our livesand work doesn’t provide us theopportunity to be in reflective con-versations where creative questionsand innovative solutions can beexplored before reaching key deci-sions.This dilemma is further rein-forced by organizational rewardsystems in which leaders feel they arepaid for fixing problems rather thanfostering breakthrough thinking.Between our deep attachment to theanswer—any answer—and our anxi-ety about not knowing, we have inad-

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vertently thwarted our collectivecapacity for deep creativity and freshperspectives in the face of theunprecedented challenges we face,both in our own organizations and asa global human community.

The World’s Best IndustrialResearch LabOne of the best corporate examples ofhow a “big question”—a truly strate-gic question—can galvanize collectiveconversation, engagement, and actionoccurred at Hewlett-Packard.Thedirector of Hewlett-Packard Laborato-ries wondered why HP Labs was notconsidered the best industrial researchlab in the world.As he thought aboutit, he realized that he did not knowwhat being the “World’s Best Indus-

trial Research Lab” (WBIRL)really meant.

One key staff memberwas charged with coordi-nating the effort. Instead oflooking for “answers” out-side the company, sheencouraged the director toshare his “big question” with

all lab employees around theworld. Instead of organizing a seniorexecutive retreat to create a vision andthen roll it out, she encouraged orga-nizationwide webs of inquiry and con-versation, asking people what WBIRLmeant to them, what it would meanpersonally for their own jobs, andwhat it might take to get there. Sheinvited the entire organization to joinin exploring the question throughinformal, ongoing conversations; andshe took advantage of more formalinternal survey and communicationinfrastructures.When the lab directoracknowledged his “not knowing”—anuncommon stance for a senior execu-

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We’ve asked hundreds of people onseveral continents,“What makes apowerful question?” The followingthemes have emerged:

A Powerful Question

• Is simple and clear

• Is thought-provoking

• Generates energy

• Focuses inquiry

• Surfaces assumptions

• Opens new possibilities

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Q U E S T I O N ?

Stakeholders in any system

already have within them the

wisdom and creativity to

confront even the most difficult

challenges.

tive—an open field was created formultiple constituencies and perspec-tives to be heard.

The conversation continued forseveral months.The WBIRL leaderdeveloped a creative “reader’s theater”piece which reflected 800 surveyresponses, detailing employee frustra-tions, dreams, insights, and hopes. Play-ers spoke the key themes as “voices ofthe organization,” with senior manage-ment listening.That made a differenceto everyone’s thinking by literally put-ting a variety of points of view onstage together. But it wasn’t the onlyvenue in which the “big question” wasexplored. Senior management met instrategic sessions, using approachessuch as interactive graphics and “story-telling about the future” to see newopportunities that crossed functionalboundaries. In these strategic conversa-tions, they considered core technolo-gies that might be needed for multiplefuture scenarios at HP Labs to unfold.

People throughout the labs,meanwhile, were initiating projects atall levels, resulting in significantimprovement in key areas of the lab’swork.Weekly Chalk Talks for engi-neers,“coffee talks,” an AdministrativeAssistant Forum, and a CommunityForum created opportunities forongoing dialogue, listening, and learn-ing.A WBIRL Grants Program pro-vided small stipends for innovativeideas, enabling people to act at thecorporate grassroots level, taking per-sonal responsibility for work theybelieved in. In all of these efforts, theleader of the WBIRL project spentmost of her time “helping the partssee the whole” and linking peoplewith complementary ideas.

And yet, while productivity wasimproving rapidly, something wasmissing. During an informal conver-sation while planning for a “Celebra-tion of Creativity” to acknowledgewhat had already been accomplished,one of the lab engineers spoke up.She wondered what was really differ-ent about HP that distinguished itfrom any other company that wantedto be the best in the world. She said,“What would get me out of bed inthe morning would be to become thebest for the world.”

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Suddenly a really “big question”had emerged.What would it mean forHP Labs to be the best both in andfor the world? (See “What Makes aPowerful Question?”)

A senior engineer created animage of what “for the world” meantto him. It was a well-known picture ofthe founders of HP looking into thebackyard garage where the companybegan. He added a beautiful photo ofEarth placed inside.This picturebecame the symbol of “HP for theWorld.”A “town meeting” of 800 PaloAlto employees with live satellitehook-ups enabling a global conversa-tion focused on the question,“Whatdoes ‘HP for the World’ mean to you?”The “HP For the World” image spreadthroughout the company—appearingin lobbies, featured in recruitingbrochures, and offered as executivegifts. More than 50,000 posters werepurchased by HP employees around

the world, stimulating a growing net-work of conversations about themeaning of the big question for thefuture of the company.

In the course of this exploration,people rediscovered that the companyfounders, Bill Hewlett and DavePackard, had always maintained acommitment, as Packard put it, that“the Hewlett-Packard companyshould be managed first and foremostto make a commitment to society.”Growing numbers of people through-out HP reconnected to that foundinggoverning idea—stimulating investiga-tions into breakthrough technologiesfor education, remote medical care forthird-world nations, and global envi-ronmental issues.

As part of this effort, the samesenior engineer who had created the“for the world” poster image was per-suaded to pursue a 25-year-old

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dream:To create a mile-long educa-tional diorama, placing human life inthe context of evolutionary history. In1997, this work—“A Walk ThroughTime: From Stardust to Us”—wasfeatured at the annual State of theWorld Forum.There, the question ofwhat it means to be for the world wasposed to global leaders gathered fromevery continent. Public and privatepartnerships evolved from these con-versations. Clearly, this is a powerfulquestion that “travels well.”

Big Questions and Strategic ThinkingThis approach to discovering and ask-ing the “big questions”—strategicquestions for which we truly do nothave answers—is grounded in theassumption that stakeholders in anysystem already have within them thewisdom and creativity to confronteven the most difficult challenges.Given the appropriate context andsupport, members of an organizationalcommunity can often sense wherepowerful strategic possibilities andopportunities for action may lie. Is itsimply “luck” that enables us to stum-ble onto questions that really matterfor strategic thinking? Or can weactually design processes that make itmore likely for those questions toemerge? (See “How to Use QuestionsEffectively” on page 4.)

“Discovering strategic questions,”says one colleague, a senior executiveat a major multinational corporation,

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• Well-crafted questions attractenergy and focus our attention onwhat really counts. Open-endedquestions—the kind that don’t have“yes” or “no” answers—are mosteffective.

• Good questions need not implyimmediate action steps or problemsolving. Instead, they invite inquiryand discovery rather than advocacyand advantage.

• You’ll know you have a good ques-tion when it continues to surfacenew ideas and possibilities. Bouncepossible questions off key people tosee if they sustain interest andenergy.

H O W T O U S EQ U E S T I O N S

E F F E C T I V E L Y

“is like panning for gold.You have tocare about finding it, you have to becurious, and you have to create ananticipation of discovering gold, eventhough none of us may know aheadof time where we’ll find it.You headtoward the general territory whereyou think the gold may be located,with your best tools, your experience,and your instincts.”

To evoke strategic thinking basedon discovering powerful questions,several activities may be useful.They

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Here are some questions you might ask yourarchitecture of powerful questions.They are being done at the Public Conversations Projestructive dialogue on divisive public issues.

• Is this question relevant to the real life andexploring it?

• Is this a genuine question—a question to w

• What “work” do I want this question to dmeanings, and feelings do I imagine this queexploring it?

• Is this question likely to invite fresh thinkinognizable and relevant—and different enou

• What assumptions or beliefs are embedde

• Is this question likely to generate hope, imanew possibilities, or is it likely to increase a

• Does this question leave room for new aninitial question is explored?

Adapted from Sally Ann Roth, Public Conversation

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may not apply to all situations andthey may not always follow the samesequence, but they suggest ways thatformal and informal processes canevolve together to support individualsas well as teams in discovering “gold”for themselves.

Assessing the Landscape. Get afeel for the larger context in whichyou are operating. Scan the horizon, aswell as the contours of the currentbusiness and organizational landscape,related to the system or project you areworking with. Like trackers in themountains, look for obvious and subtleindicators that point to storms as wellas to sunny skies.Allow your curiosityand imagination to take the lead asyou begin to identify the many ques-tions that the business landscapereveals. It will be tough, but important,to frame your findings as questions,rather than as concerns or problems.To help in framing those questions, askyourself:“How does A relate to C andwhat questions does that suggest? If Xwere at play here, what would we beasking? What is the real questionunderneath all this data?”

Discovering Core Questions. Onceyou think you’ve posed most of therelevant questions (and there may bemany of them), look for patterns.Thisis not a mechanical process, eventhough it can be disciplined and sys-

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self as you begin to explore the art andbased on pioneering work with questionsct, an organization that helps create con-

real work of the people who will be

hich I/we really don’t know the answer?

o? That is, what kind of conversation,stion will evoke in those who will be

g/feeling? Is it familiar enough to be rec-gh to call forward a new response?

d in the way this question is constructed?

gination, engagement, creative action, and focus on past problems and obstacles?

d different questions to be raised as the

s Project, 1998

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tematic.You are on a treasure hunt,seeking the core questions—usuallythree to five—which, if answered,would make the most difference to thefuture of your work. Cluster the ques-tions and consider the relationships thatappear among them. Notice what“pops up” in order to discover the “bigquestions” that the initial clusters reveal.

Creating Images of Possibility. Imagine what your situa-tion would look like or be like ifthese “big questions” were answered.Creating vivid images of possibility isdifferent from pie-in-the-sky vision-ing, especially if people with a varietyof perspectives have participated inthe earlier stages of the conversation.This part of the conversation can alsoprovide clues for evolving creativestrategies in response to the “big ques-tions.” It often reveals new territoryand opportunities for action whileremaining grounded in real life.

Evolving Workable Strategies.Workable strategies begin to emergein response to compelling questionsand to the images of possibility thatthese questions evoke. Of course, thecycle is never complete. Relevantbusiness data, ongoing conversationswith internal and external stakehold-ers, informal conversations amongemployees, and feedback from theenvironment enable you to continu-ally assess the business landscape—revealing new questions.

Many organizations are stuck in a“problem-solving orientation” when itcomes to strategy.They can’t seem toshake the focus on fixing short-termproblems or seeking immediate (butineffective) solutions. Simply by mov-ing their attention to a deliberate focuson essential questions, they can developan inquiry-oriented approach to evolv-ing organizational strategy (see “HowCan I Frame Better Questions?”). In aknowledge economy, this approachprovides an opportunity for developingthe capability of strategic thinking ineveryone, and for fostering sustainablebusiness and social value.

How Can Leaders Use Powerful Questions?In today’s turbulent times, engagingpeople’s best thinking about complex

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Here are some questions for assessing your organization’s capabilities:

• To what degree does the leadership in your organization foster an environment inwhich discovering the “big questions” is as much encouraged as coming up withworkable solutions?

• Does your organization have rewards or incentives for members to work acrossfunctional boundaries to find those challenging questions that create common focusand forward movement for knowledge creation?

• Do your leadership development programs focus as much on the art and architec-ture of framing powerful questions as they do on techniques for problem-solving?

• Do your organization’s strategic planning processes include structured ways to dis-cover the “big questions” that, if answered, would have real strategic leverage?

• Are there collaborative technology tools that enable people on the front lines toask each other questions related to their daily work (for example, customer serv-ice, equipment maintenance) and receive help with these questions from colleaguesin other locations?

• Do senior leaders in your organization see the process of strategy evolution as onethat engages multiple voices and perspectives in networks of conversation that con-tribute both to discovering the “big questions” as well as to finding innovative solu-tions within individual arenas of responsibility?

I S Y O U R O R G A N I Z A T I O N

A N I N Q U I R I N G S Y S T E M ?

issues without easy answers representsone key to creating the futures wewant. Leaders need to develop greatercapacities for fostering “inquiring sys-tems” in order to learn, adapt, andcreate new knowledge to meetemerging needs (see “Is Your Organi-zation an Inquiring System?”).

The leadership challenges of thenext 20 years are likely to revolvearound the art of catalyzing networksof people rather than solely managinghierarchies as in the past.The abilityto bring diverse perspectives to bearon key issues both inside and outsidethe organization and to work withmultiple partners and alliances will bea critical skill for effective leaders.Webelieve the following core capabilities,rarely taught in today’s MBA or cor-porate leadership programs, will helpdefine leadership excellence:

Engaging Strategic Questions. Ina volatile and uncertain environment,one of the most credible stances lead-ers can take is to assist their organiza-tions in discovering the rightquestions at the right time.A keyleadership responsibility is creatinginfrastructures for dialogue andengagement that encourage others atall levels to develop insightful ques-tions and to search for innovativepaths forward. Leaders also need toconsider reward systems that provideincentives for members to workacross organizational boundaries todiscover those challenging questionsthat create common focus and sharedforward movement.

Convening and Hosting LearningConversations. A core aspect of theleader’s new work is creating oppor-tunities for learning conversationsaround catalyzing questions. However,authentic conversation is less likely tooccur in a climate of fear, mistrust,and hierarchical control.The humanmind and heart must be fully engagedin authentic conversation for thedeeper questions to be surfaced thatsupport the emergence of newknowledge.Thus, the ability to facili-tate working conversations thatenhance trust and reduce fear is animportant leadership capability.

Supporting Appreciative Inquiry.Opening spaces of possibility through

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discovering powerful questions mayrequire a shift in leadership orienta-tion from what is not working andhow to fix it, to what is working andhow to leverage it. Shifting the focusin this direction enables leaders tofoster networks of conversation basedon leveraging emerging possibilitiesrather than just on fixing past mis-takes. Leaders who ask,“What’s possi-ble here and who cares?” will have amuch easier time gaining the collabo-ration and best thinking of their con-stituents than those who ask,“What’swrong here, and who is to blame?”By asking appreciative questions,organizations have the opportunity togrow in new directions.

Fostering Shared Meaning. Lead-ers of organizations in the 21st cen-tury will discover that one of theirunique contributions is to provideconceptual leadership—creating acontext of meaning through stories,images, and metaphors within whichgroups can discover relevant questionsas well as deepen or shift their think-ing together.To tap into this pool ofshared meaning, which is the groundfrom which both powerful questionsand innovative solutions emerge, net-

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work leaders need to put time andattention into framing common lan-guage and developing shared imagesand metaphors.

Nurturing Communities of Practice. Many of the most provoca-tive questions for an organization’sfuture are first discovered on the frontlines, in the middle of the action ofeveryday life. Key strategic questionsthat are critical for creating sustain-able value are often lost because fewof today’s leaders have been trained tonotice, honor, and utilize the socialfabric of learning that occurs throughthe informal “Communities of Prac-tice” that exist throughout an organi-zation.A Community of Practice ismade of up people who share a com-mon interest and who work togetherto expand their individual and collec-tive capacity to solve problems overtime. Nurturing these informal learning networks and honoring thequestions they care about, is anothercore aspect of the leaders new work.

Using Collaborative Technologies.Intranet and groupware technologiesare now making it possible for widelydispersed work groups to participate

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• Assess Your Organization’sCapabilities: Assess the degree towhich your organization is an“inquiring system.” How is theorganization developing people andinfrastructures in ways that supportdiscovering and asking catalytic ques-tions to foster new knowledge andhelp shape the future?

• Read, Read, Read: Begin with theresources listed at the end of thisarticle.They will point you to morematerial about the power of “bigquestions” and the creation ofknowledge through networks ofconversations.

• Surf the Net: You can find lots ofinteresting perspectives on questionsand questioning by experimentingwith different combinations on yoursearch engine. Some we’ve foundparticularly useful are: asking power-ful questions; strategic questioning;and questions and breakthroughthinking. Experiment! You might besurprised by what you learn.

N E X T S T E P S

We’d like to thank Fran Peavey for her pio-neering work in making strategic questions partof our lexicon as well as for her creative contri-butions to the use of strategic questions forsocial change.

in learning conversations and teamprojects across time and space.Asthese tools become even more widelyavailable, leaders will need to supportwidespread online conversationswhere members throughout theorganization can contribute their ownquestions and best thinking to criticalstrategic issues.The Hewlett Packardcase shows how importantenabling technologyinfrastructures are forstrategic innovation.Collaborative toolswill be a criticalfactor in how wellstrategic questionstravel both withinthe organizationand among cus-tomers and otherstakeholders who arekey to success.

Co-Evolving the Future It is quite easy to learn the basics ofcrafting powerful questions. However,once you have begun down this path,it’s hard to turn back.As your ques-tions broaden and deepen, so doesyour experience of life.There is notelling where a powerful questionmight lead you.Transformative con-versations can result from posing asimple question such as:“What ques-tions are we not asking ourselvesabout the situation in the MiddleEast?”Tantalizing possibilities emergefrom the simple act of changing apreposition from “in” to “for” as inthe HP example. Profound systemicchange can emerge from creating aprocess for discovering and acting onthe “big questions” within a businesssetting.

Where collaborative learning andbreakthrough thinking are require-ments for a sustainable businessfuture, asking “questions that matter”and engaging diverse constituencies inlearning conversations are a coreprocess for survival. Because questionsare inherently related to action, they

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are at the heart of an organization’scapacity to mobilize the resourcesrequired to create a positive future.

Seeing the organization as adynamic network of conversationsthrough which the organizationevolves its future encourages membersat every level to search for questionsrelated to their real work that can cat-alyze collective energy and momen-

tum. It enables each one ofus to realize that our

thoughtful participa-tion in discover-

ing andexploringquestions thatmatter—toour team, toour organiza-tion, and to

the largercommunities of

which we are apart—we can

make a difference to the whole. For itis only in this way that organizationswill be able to cultivate both theknowledge required to thrive todayand the wisdom needed to ensure a sustainable future.

Juanita Brown (juanita@theworldcafe.com),Ph.D., collaborates with senior leaders to createstrategic dialogue forums focused on critical organizational and societal issues. David Isaacs(david@theworldcafe.com) is president of ClearingCommunications, an organizational and com-munications strategy company working with corporate leaders in the U.S. and abroad. EricVogt (evogt@communispace.com) is founder anddirector of Communispace, a leading provider ofweb-based software and services that help compa-nies leverage the power of online communities.Nancy Margulies (nm@montara.com) is thedeveloper of the visual recording process, Mind-scaping, and the author of several books, includingthe best-selling Mapping Inner Space: Learning andTeaching Mind Mapping, second edition (ZephyrPress, 2002).

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For Further Reading

Brown, Juanita, et al., The World Cafe: A ResourceGuide for Hosting Conversations That Matter (Whole Systems Associates, 2002; available atwww.pegasuscom.com)

Brown, Juanita, The World Café: Living KnowledgeThrough Conversations That Matter (Ph.D. disserta-tion, the Fielding Institute, available through WholeSystems Associates at 415-381-3368)

Goldberg, Marilee, The Art of the Question (JohnWiley & Sons, 1997)

Peavey, Fran,“Strategic Questioning” in By Life’sGrace: Musings on the Essence of Social Change(New Society Publishers, 1994). More informationis available at www.crabgrass.org.

www.communispace.com provides a source ofsoftware and services to support creative workconversations and large-scale corporate communities.

www.interclass.com is a high-trust community ofexperienced practitioners in large organizationsexploring innovations in learning and human performance.

www.theworldcafe.com is a resource for hostingconversations around questions that matter.

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