Great Questions

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal (April 13, 2004) had a headline "The Best Innovations Are Those That Come From Smart Questions." The article talks about Dr. William Hunter, President and CEO of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (www.angiotech.com) and how the questions he asked both to start his business and now to grow it very rapidly are literally the core of the business.



Angiotech's business is to add drugs to medical devices to increase their effectiveness. Hunter is quoted as saying, "Medical equipment makers typically ask surgeons, 'How can we build a better stent?' and then you get the answer, 'You should make it more flexible, easier to see and stronger.' But we've been asking 'What does the body do to these stents and why do they fail?'"



Without reading the rest of the article you get the major point. The better questions get us more valuable answers.



So the next time you are trying to solve a vexing problem, satisfy a customer, create a new marketing strategy, or coach an employee, start by crafting the questions you want to ask of this situation. Then craft a few more, coming at the situation from a fresh perspective. The time spent in this sort of planning is well worth it.