When asking a question, people (especially, me) have a tendency to ask is the answer this OR that? Are the company’s processes inefficient because of the poor technology or lack of employee training?

What if it is neither? What if the business is understaffed, employees are overworked, and morale has hit rock bottom? That could be a problem…

While this may be a broad example, it highlights the key point… beware of “OR” when asking questions.

OR is often an educated attempt to pin-point an answer. Based on the available information, the answer must be A or B. Black or white. What about the grey? Thats the risk that comes with the almighty OR. OR can box-in the thinking (and the responder) into two paths… this or that.

So, what is the alternative? Fight the temptation to assume and leverage open-ended questions. Ask the whats, whys, hows, to guide the responder down whichever path the answer may lead. Who knows where it may just end up.

NH.