6 • Use Creative Questioning - Part 3

Articles In This Section:

· Help Yourself to More Ideas

· 1 • Make Notes

· 2 • Pick Your Time

· 3 • Give Yourself a Deadline

· 4 • Set a Quota for Yourself

· 5 • Use Checklists - Part 1

· 5 • Use Checklists - Part 2

· 6 • Use Creative Questioning - Part 1

· 6 • Use Creative Questioning - Part 2

· 6 • Use Creative Questioning - Part 3

· 7 • Other Aids - Part 1

· 7 • Other Aids - Part 2

Of course, eventually you have to stop asking questions and start doing. Knowing when that exact point is reached calls for tough judgment. Often it is easier to convince yourself that you still haven't all the answers you need, and therefore should keep on looking, than it is to get down to the job of solving the problem. So you should know how to tell when your questioning is efficient and when to stop.

The first principle is know what it is you want to find out. This may sound obvious, but it is deceptively so. To do a really efficient job of questioning, you have to "back off" from your problem initially. Then you begin to ask questions that will first establish the "big picture" of the problem—its boundaries, limitations, history, and general characteristics. Once this is established, you can again step back and look for the area that seems to offer most immediate possibilities for attack.

Gradually, and with your big picture constantly in the back of your mind, you reduce it into a series of smaller detail pictures about which you ask detailed and specific questions. It is probably a good idea not to try to zero in on details too soon. If you do, you may miss something important in the over-all picture. Furthermore, if you begin asking questions to pin down details before policy is clear, you may end up wasting a great deal of time. A shift from an assumed policy could make all your detail decisions obsolete or even wrong.

As to when you stop, it is again a case of getting a worthwhile return on your investment. You stop when what you "get back" in information and ideas is no longer worth what you "put out" in time and effort.

But always conclude with one final question: "Have I overlooked any sources of new answers?"