Quotable Quote: Questions
by Miki SaxonDo you ask questions? I ask them constantly. In fact, I drive some of my friends nuts because I’m always asking questions.
In order to ask questions you need to listen makes you think and is a good way to show interest, not just about what was said, but about the person who said it.
As Nancy Willard says, “Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”
Naguib Mahfouz says,“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions,” but I doubt that most my questions show wisdom—just curiosity.
My friends call me a why person (true), which is why I agree so wholeheartedly with Friedrich Nietzsche’s comment, “He who has a why can endure any how.”
There’s an old joke that men won’t ask for directions, but these days I find that a lot of women won’t, either. Maybe that’s what is meant by equality.
As usual, the ancient Chinese offer excellent wisdom regarding questions.
Thousands (millions?) of executives and managers would do well to heed the words of this Chinese proverb, “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever” in combination with these words from Confucius, who said, “Never hesitate to ask a lesser person.” Just think of all the money they would save asking their own people instead of hiring consultants.
That’s all for this week, but come back next week for more about questions.
Image credit: immrchris on sxc.hu
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