How to ask beautiful questions
ChangingMinds.org has a great, short essay on How to ask beautiful questions.
And begins by pointing at the common one-down practice.
…Often many people ask tough questions mainly to satisfy their ego of making others uncomfortable, cover up their lack of knowledge, or to impress others. Most discussions and arguments you observe are all about how someone outsmarted someone else by firing a smart question. Watching someone squirm gives a self congratulatory sadistic pleasure to many people like, “Hah, you should have seen that bozo’s face when I asked him that tricky question.”…
And then discusses the alternative.
…However, a beautiful question can be described in many ways. Here are a few ways to learn how to ask beautiful questions….
3. Beautiful questions create pleasantness and collaboration. It removes fear and extracts right answers even if the answer is bad news. Successful managers know how to get the right answers from employees by not being intimidating in their approach. Their objective is to solve an issue or a problem, and not get a mischievous pleasure by making people uncomfortable. Beautiful questions help you achieve that….
And closes with a great quote by Dorothy Nevill. Check it out.
There’s Busyness and there’s work for reward
Too Much Infotechnology Can Lead to Brain Overload:
“Conventional wisdom says the internet will continue to become more central in our lives, bringing with it productivity gains. And for more than 15 years, internet innovations have revolutionized marketing.Culturally, however, there are some signs of a backlash against technology — even among the most addicted. This trend is worth watching because it could slow down or even derail the digital-marketing train.
(Via The Steve Rubel Lifestream.)
Steve goes on to say, “Over the last decade, Americans have become hopelessly addicted to information and busyness.”
He’s right. Busyness is not the same as Business. Is it?
There is effort and there is rewarded effort.
(& not all rewards are in money either)
Cellphones and land lines
Some time ago, I dropped my land line, the cell phone was always with me. And as reliable as the analog landline. More folks are doing the same.
Cellphone firms end analog-network service:
“As of today, cellphone companies are no longer required to provide service using the analog network. The change is not likely to affect many cellphone users, who long ago switched to digital service even if they didn’t know it.”(Via azcentral.com | business.)
One key thing if you go away from landlines, be sure the cellphone’s GPS is setup to work with 911 calls, so they know where you are (ok two things, the phone has GPS and it works with 911). The landline had a known location. The cellphone could be anywhere and 911 would need to know where “where” is.
Caring for elders
GenBetween posts about another site, Aging Parents and Elder Care.
I’m sure its good, given the recommendation. And I may post more about it later.
A culture for strategy
Fast Company’s November issue has an article on strategy: Analysis of Paralysis
If your strategy doesn’t help employees act, it’s not a strategy.
“Keep it simple, stupid.” That’s the advice every executive has received on how to share strategy with employees. The subtext is often, “Keep it simple, because your people are stupid.” But you don’t need to embrace simplicity just so your people can comprehend your message. The point of simplicity is more fundamental: Simplicity allows people to act….
That is a large distinction. Enable your staff to instinctively know what fits the strategy and how to build on it.
Now, will there be issues when the strategy shifts to match a changing environment? Yes!
But that is always a struggle. Simplicity then will ease that transition as well.
“The point of simplicity is more fundamental: Simplicity allows people to act.”
