Do you know the right questions?
When is it more valuable to know the right question than to know the right answer?
A long time ago, in a conference room far far away…
Obi Wan Kenobi sits in a meeting with his manager. Lightsaber across his lap, set to “airplane mode” because he’s in the office and he’s one HR complaint away from a mandatoryLightsaber Safety training course. His manager has just informed Obi Wan that he’s been assigned a new project. Find the son of his former Padawan, Luke Skywalker, and protect him from the Empire that is actively searching for him.
[Disclaimer: I haven’t watched the new Obi Wan show on Disney+]
Obi Wan travels across the desert, in search of answers. He might have experience and knowledge that he can bring to this new project. But first, he needs more information. More data. More research.
Obi Wan Kenobi is a curious expert. He has experience and skills to know what he doesn’t know. You should be a curious expert.
The curious expert knows when to listen. And questions lead to knowledge. “Why?” is not a question as much as a category of questions that lead to deeper understanding and knowledge growth.
The curious expert might know the answer (or a close approximation of the answer) but they value the right questions at the early stages of the design process.
Be the curious expert that asks the right question. You can find the right droids…I mean answers later.