Asking Questions

Questions are places in your mind where answers fit. If you haven’t asked the question, the answer has nowhere to go. It hits your mind and bounces right off. You have to ask the question – you have to want to know – in order to open up the space for the answer to fit. Clay Christiansen.

• Ask smart questions:
  1. Do your own research first.
  2. Provide useful context up-front. Include things you have tried and thought of before asking the question.
  3. Be explicit about what you want to achieve in the end and provide as much up-front information as possible to help.
  4. Respect other people’s [[time]]. Follow up after you get an answer.
• When asking for help, let the people know what the problem you are trying to solve actually is instead of simply saying your solution and the reader guessing what it is you are actually trying to do.
• Think about the question like a child.
• The most simple, seemingly silly questions are almost always profound.
• Good questions must come from a sincere desire to learn, rather than as a veiled means of stating your own opinion.