THE PRINCIPLE

Asking questions is a great way to explore any problem – and discover solutions

In the first part I talked about the power of questions to reawaken the sense of curiosity we all had as children. In the course of originating ideas, you can also use this questioning process in a more targeted way.

One approach is to start with how things are done at the moment and question that with the persistence of Socrates (who must have been really annoying to be around). For instance, let’s say we’re trying to come up with a new approach to business cards. We might ask:

• Why paper cards? That leads us to consider what else they could be made of: cloth, metal, wood, leaves (remember, we’re not judging at this point!), stone.
• Who should be on your card? Normally it’s you, but who else could be on it? Satisfied customers with testimonials? Your family? Your parents? Your dog? The people who most inspire you? The bully who gave you the determination to succeed?
• What information should it contain? In addition to, or in place of, your contact information, could it contain a puzzle? A quote? A question for the person you give it to? A discount coupon?
• Where do you use business cards? Yes, at networking events and meetings, but where else could you give them out or leave them? At the library or in a book store, you could tuck a card into all the books that relate to your product or service. You could attach them to small chocolate bars and give them away at a convention.
• When is the best time to give someone your card? The usual thing is to give it to someone the moment you meet them, or when you’re about to wind up your chat. When else could you do it? You could hand out half a card and say you’ll post them the rest (assuming you collect their card, so you know where to send it). If the half you give them has an intriguing question on it, the other half could have the answer. Or the first half might have an image that looks like one thing but when it’s matched with the other half, the image turns into something else. If the point is to make you memorable, there are lots of possibilities.

When you have gone through all the questions, look over all the ideas you have generated and see which ones go together. You may find that by giving the current approach the third-degree, you have invented a fresh and exciting new one.