Political season always makes us think about the power of Evidence Questions. In the Precision Q+A framework, Evidence Questions aren’t just about analyzing data, they also help us assess credibility and weigh reasons for and against a position. A political position involves balancing pros and cons, weighing upsides and downsides, and marshalling support for a conclusion. This month we have the perfect opportunity to practice asking about evidence in order to build our credibility. Faced with … [Read more...]
The one question that yields better focus
We have all noticed that our attention is in constant demand. Multiple communication channels, myriad interruptions, and technological distractions can keep us from bringing our full presence to our work. At Vervago, we have recently re-named a category of question, formerly Go/NoGo Questions, as Focus Questions, reflecting the growing importance of controlling our energy and attention in our work. This growing prominence of Focus Questions for the quality of work is reflected in psychologist … [Read more...]
Escape from unnecessary meetings with grace
We don’t mean to sound irreverent, but when was the last time you asked: “Do I need to be here?” Go/NoGo Questions are invaluable in helping us examine the bigger picture of how we use precious resources at work. Almost all of us feel like we have too many urgent things to do, too many meetings to attend, and too many channels of communication to monitor. So, we need to be asking ourselves and our colleagues more often: Do I need to be here? And do you? It is easy to work in a reactive mode, … [Read more...]
The Go/NoGo Question you need to ask today
Go/NoGo Questions are the ones we use to ask about the process of our thinking rather than the content. When we are constantly bombarded by IM, email, text messages, and social media feeds, on top of our typical day full of work, a new type of Go/NoGo Question jumps to the forefront: we call it the Mental Ecology Go/NoGo. The Go/NoGo category of questions is one of the most underutilized categories, because we become prisoners of our habitual reactions rather than active managers of our own time … [Read more...]
The Power of Go/NoGo Questions
When meetings go wrong, the grumbling begins. The leader didn't have an agenda. The goals of the meeting weren't clear. One person monopolized the discussion. Key participants were unprepared. There were too many useless tangents. So whose job is it to fix broken meetings? … [Read more...]
The art of questionstorming
Most of us are already familiar with brainstorming, a technique for generating new ideas as rapidly as possible, without stopping to judge or discuss them. The theory behind brainstorming is that genuinely creative ideas often look silly or useless at first, so we need tools that help us suspend disbelief and keep us focused on generating fresh ideas, one after another. … [Read more...]