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47

EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN

The Future Depends on It

It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.

—EUGENE IONESCO

Ajit Rangnekar, the former dean of the Indian School of Business, welcomed me to his Hyderabad campus saying, “This is a place of inquiry, not answers. I am interested in what you are bringing into this building.” I’ve never forgotten that invitation.

The opportunity to explore, debate, take an idea and turn it inside out is a luxurious necessity. Luxurious because active contemplation without the pressure for immediate answers is a rare indulgence in corporations, and a necessity because in our rush to action we expose ourselves to several pitfalls:

•   We leap at obvious (though potentially incorrect) conclusions.

•   We don’t stop to consider if we are even asking the right question.

•   We don’t fully assess the complexity of a situation.

•   We focus on what we know and let seemingly intractable issues simmer beneath the surface.

•   We ask questions to confirm our conclusions rather than obtain new information.

•   We give the illusion that we are interested in other views, but all we are after is support of a predetermined idea.

•   A conceptual emergency becomes submerged as action overtakes attention. We miss the big picture (or the intricacy of the details).

Why does this happen? It takes courage to say, “I don’t know.” or “We don’t know.” When employees are paid to perform, competency is too often equated with having the answer—on demand. We fear that not knowing will make us appear weak. Even more anxiety-inducing, sometimes we don’t know how to formulate the question. We just know something is wrong—or we anticipate it will be. And for extra tension, it’s possible that the emergent answer may threaten the status quo. How uncomfortable can you get?

Be brave. Be messy. Luxuriate in the not knowing. At the root of innovation is the courage to ask a beautiful question. Sometimes it’s as simple as, “Why isn’t someone doing this?” or “What if I tried to do that?”

THIS IS FOR YOU IF

•   The future excites you.

•   Opening the window for wisdom to flow in is more important than shutting the door to any idea that isn’t already proven.

TAKE ACTION

Images   Run toward, not away, from the question without an obvious answer. As you read the latest memo or sit in yet another meeting, stop to ask, “What are we avoiding because we don’t know?” Bring people together to explore, not solve the dilemma. Your gathering can be immediate: grab a few of your colleagues and ask them for 30 minutes this afternoon at 4 p.m. to share in the fun of not knowing (bring snacks). Or plan ahead, and make it interesting for yourself and others. Pose the question, send an invite, and make it clear that this is a chance to swap ideas on a topic without judgment or pressure. Brainstorming? Have plenty of paper (whiteboards if you have access to them), markers, and Post-its so you can colorfully play with ideas.

Images   Don’t get lost in the details of execution while you’re still toying with concepts. Examine your question from a distance. What patterns can you recognize?

Images   Play doctor; make a good diagnosis. We don’t know what’s wrong, but the patient (organization, product) doesn’t look well. Consider several possibilities simultaneously. What’s needed to test your hypothesis? Don’t settle for three possibilities. Push yourself to generate at least 10, no matter how wacky. Now what? Will you reconvene after your colleagues have had a chance to get more data? In person? By phone? Agree on a date now. Is the metaphorical patient on life support? If not, don’t rush the answer, but don’t delay by adding greater depth to the exploration. Agree to a timeline to reach a considered conclusion.

Images   Don’t let the Internet define your search. Your keyboard isn’t always a reliable tour guide. Don’t outsource problem-solving to an algorithm. You may have to have a conversation—with real people.

Images   Invert the problem; see it as the solution. The costume jewelry market is taking off and your gem stone business is faltering. The women flying in first class are wearing diamonds made of paste. Rather than seeing your customer’s choice to wear fakes as the problem, ask, what are they solving for?

Images   Each Friday, Flipboard, the online news aggregator, invites employees from all levels to a one-hour demo called “mock o’clock.” The staff gather around a large table, and anyone can share their latest projects and get ideas from colleagues who work outside their functional teams.

Images   Whether you are pulling together an impromptu group or planning a session next month to envision the future, think across age groups. By nature of how they consume and share information, millennials and Gen Z staffers are likely to see different interconnections than their baby boomer counterparts.

Images   Hold an exploration session at the library. It’s cheaper than renting a conference room, and libraries are now more than a place that lends books. They are becoming maker spaces set up for tantalizing tinkering.

Images   Explore the online, free tool box from Stanford’s D School that encourages you to question everything. Even (and especially) the things you think you already understand. You will learn a lot, including how to write “how might we” (HMW) questions (https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources/design-thinking-bootleg).

KEEP IN MIND

•   While there are no bad questions, don’t be lazy; challenge yourself to search for even better ones.

•   Don’t disguise an attack on a person or concept as a question.

CASE STUDIES

How to Fill an Empty Head

What do you do when you are the chief innovation officer, but you’ve run out of fresh ideas? Richard pioneered the use of social media for marketing campaigns. He rose to lead innovation at his agency and landed in my office with “an empty head” and a panic attack. Richard felt dated relative to the new, nimble startups and disconnected from his former tech colleagues. Many of the entrepreneurs he wanted to learn from were interested in exposure to his well-respected organization. The chief innovation officer became chief host for a monthly innovation lunch. He invited two outside speakers and six internal colleagues of different generations and perspectives. Richard presented a challenge in advance so everyone could prepare. His unanswered questions transformed from aspirin-inducing to brain-activating opportunities. The sessions sparked new ideas for Richard, and the exposure to a wider community of strategic partners meant he could deliver novel products more quickly and often with lower overhead.

Pushing Past Politeness

A network of senior black executives at a major investment bank invited me to facilitate their first workshop on race relations. There were 30 black professionals and 30 white managers. The white managers anticipated that the conversation would focus on career tips for getting ahead, how to select a mentor, get on the right deals, and so on. But that’s not what unfolded. We began with participants working in pairs, taking turns answering the question, “When did I first become aware of my race, and why did that matter?” The conversation between two people grew to a discussion among four, and then eight at each table.

When I opened the floor to the assembled, it became clear that the question of “How do I advance at the firm?” was not the right prompt. What the group wanted to address was “How do we become color brave, not color blind?” The white participants shared how, in their effort to see everyone as equal, they had shied away from conversations that drew attention to racial differences. Several black executives said they welcomed being asked, “Are you worried for your son’s safety?” after the news reported yet another police shooting of an unarmed black teen. A Nigerian woman with a striking headdress lamented that no one ever complimented her on her style. The white managers’ polite, cautious behavior reinforced a sense of otherness. The firm had invested in recruiting diverse candidates; they had set targets for promotions, but until our workshop, there hadn’t been a forum to address the difficult question of “How do we recognize our differences daily while striving to achieve greater unity in the future?” There were no easy answers. But we started to shape the question.

Discovery Is Fundamental to Our Humanity

NASA scientist Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton is teaching all of us to be explorers seeking novel solutions today, and into the future—on earth and in space. Dr. Elkins-Tanton and her team at the Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration are providing answers to questions many of us didn’t even know to ask, such as:

•   How will we extract drinkable water from the lunar polar deposits?

•   How best do we train NASA administrators to communicate with extraterrestrial life?

•   What policies are needed to govern future interplanetary settlement?

Her team is also maximizing the workplace potential of students by providing a process to respond to opportunities we have yet to imagine. The focus is on learning how to learn and to do so collaboratively. Education doesn’t stop in the classroom. Dr. Elkins-Tanton and her team demonstrate that contemplating the celestial is an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be human. Innovative pilot programs are engaging the public with prompts like, “What Would You Pack for Mars?” Participants are asked to imagine a scenario where 100 people are going to another planet in our solar system. They are taking a box with them that contains all the knowledge they will need to build a vibrant and sustainable community—a kick-starter “Community-in-a-Box.” What are the three things you would put in that box, and why?

Dr. Elkins-Tanton’s fearless pursuit of knowledge is palpable, as is her commitment to collaboration. Soon after we were introduced, she invited me to join meetings and contribute curriculum ideas. Inclusion was her first response.

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