“God may be in the details, but the goddess is in the questions. Once we begin to ask them, there’s no turning back.”
“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”
In the age of sound bites, skimming, and superficial answers, we need to dig deeper for substantive solutions.
Our inclination is to find “quick fixes” for problems before fully understanding the causes of the problems or the consequences of our first solutions. This post is meant to be a stimulus to think beyond our first questions and our first impulses by asking a second question if not a third, fourth, fifth or more. The quotes above set the tone.
I believe our best chance at finding the right solution to any problem is to ask the right questions.
Here are several problems with no easy answers:
Problem: Crime is tearing apart communities.
- First question: How do we fix it?
- Answer: Put more cops on the street.
- Second question: What kind of cops?
Problem: Immigrants are crossing our borders in record numbers.
- First question: How do we slow down the flow.
- Answer: Build a wall.
- Second question: What can we do to change the conditions in the countries from which they are coming?
Problem: Drug abuse is ruining people’s lives.
- First question: How do we crack down?
- Answer: Build more prisons.
- Second question: What kind of prison programs help people deal with their drug addictions?
Problem: Gun violence is making our kids feel unsafe in schools.
- First question: How do we stop school shooters?
- Answer: Arm the teachers.
- Second question: How do we prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands?
Problem: China’s trade practices create an uneven playing field.
- First question: How do we change their behavior?
- Answer: Punish them with tariffs.
- Second question: What kind of relationships and alliances do we need to establish in order to promote fair trade across the globe?
Problem: Iran is destabilizing the Middle East.
- First question: How do we keep them from becoming a nuclear power?
- Answer: Slap them with sanctions.
- Second question: What would it take to stop them from developing a nuclear capability?
Problem: North Korea poses a nuclear threat.
- First question: How do we keep them from developing ICBMs?
- Answer: Hold a summit meeting to legitimize their leader.
- Second question: What kinds of diplomatic approaches might entice them to join the world community?
Problem: Afghanistan provides a safe haven for terrorists.
- First question: How do we eliminate the Taliban.
- Answer: Send in troops for 17 years and spend trillions of dollars.
- Second question: How can we help them create a functional and inclusive government?
Problem: Climate change is a significant threat to millions of species.
- First question: How long can we pretend that our environment is not in imminent danger?
- Answer: Reduce the regulatory authority of the EPA.
- Second question: What are the root causes of climate change and how can we best address them?
You get the point.
The first questions we ask when confronted with a problem may be the wrong ones and may not lead to the best solutions. And the first answers we generate, even to good questions, may actually cause greater problems in the future.
The old saying is true: Today’s solutions often become tomorrow’s problems.
Personally, I have always been shocked by the lack of genuine and deep inquiry into meaningful issues. (Note the adjectives in the last sentence: genuine, deep, and meaningful.) To personalize this experience for you, when is the last time someone asked you a question about one of your passions? And then asked a thoughtful follow-up question?
You are probably aware of the “5 Why” approach to problem solving—an iterative interrogative method used to explore cause and effect relationships. The goal is to determine the root cause of a problem by repeating the question “Why?” Each answer triggers another “why” based on the answer to the first question.
Theoretically, after five “why” questions the inquiry gets to the bottom of any given issue.
The outcome, of course, depends on the knowledge, skill, curiosity, and persistence of the people involved. And, there is no magic to the number 5. It may require hundreds of questions to understand deeply a complex problem like the Middle East or climate change or divisiveness. Take your pick.
As an example, let’s consider the problem of obesity.
- Why are so many people obese? They consume too many calories.
- Why? Their diet consists of too many carbohydrates and fats.
- Why? They don’t always make healthy food choices.
- Why? They haven’t been sufficiently educated in the benefits of nutrition.
- Why? Our schools don’t focus sufficiently on health promotion and wellness.
The questioning for this example could continue, but you can see that the “5 Whys” lead you to a different place then stopping after the first question. Notice in this example the fifth why suggests a broken process that could be addressed through a systematic approach to wellness education in schools. The key to effective problem solving is to avoid making assumptions, failing into logic traps, or blaming the victim before following the chain of causality to its ultimate root.
Yes, deep and genuine inquiry into complex problems can yield meaningful and sustainable solutions.
When I’m coaching executives how to better inspire their employees to peak performance, I encourage them to start by asking questions to each individual on their team:
What are your dreams and aspirations? How do you think we should approach this problem? How are you feeling about your current work load and responsibilities? How well does your work align with your values? What could I do to help you more fully satisfy your values and achieve your aspirations?
Executives are often surprised by how inspired their employees feel when their boss asks them questions about who they are and what they want.
In mindfulness training, one of the most important questions you can ask is, “Why Am I Talking?”
That question also forms the handy acronym WAIT. Maybe before we start spouting off solutions to any issue we may be confronting, we might WAIT and ask a question instead.
In geo-political conflicts, it would also be helpful to WAIT. The political pundits could certainly benefit by using that acronym. It would be refreshing to hear a few more thoughtful questions and a lot less blabbing about half-baked opinions in an attempt to compete for air time. Instead, what we typically hear are people shouting over each other and pouring their personal nonsense into the public void. Oy.
I’m hoping we will start to do more probing for the truth and less pretending there are easy answers. May we be inspired to ask meaningful questions by people like Gloria Steinem and Albert Einstein.
One of my favorites Ricky! Thank you once again for stimulating me (us) to try to enhance the human experience! RonnyDonny