You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
102 reviews for:
A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas
Warren Berger
3.84 AVERAGE
102 reviews for:
A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas
Warren Berger
3.84 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Interesting concepts, could have been condensed into a more succinct read, felt as though there were many repeated points
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
In "A More Beautiful Question", author Warren Berger poses the ultimate meta-question: why do we not question? The entire book is an exploration on the art of questioning and its inherent power, which Berger sustains is not only an increasingly pivotal skill in our futures but also the biggest underlying reason why creative people have succeeded.
What really got me engaged with this book was the notion that young children question the hell out of everything yet this very nature becomes subdued to the point of going mute as we grow older. Schools teach people to find answers yet discourage questioning. Work environments are seldom conducive to questioning, lest you be the sore thumb that sticks out. And many of us simply don't question because we perceive it as a personal weakness.
Berger evolves a framework based on the "Why?", "What If?" and "How?" triplet of questions, a roadmap to identify problems, explore possible scenarios around them and zero in on the best solutions - which may well lead to ever more questioning. By analyzing all of this both from the individual and the business point of views - and the ways they are inextricably linked - he tries to put us in a position of finding great questions instead of simply attempting to find answers. Admittedly there's some repetition in the text (which is why I didn't give it a full rating) but at its core it's still definitely a mind opener of a book.
What really got me engaged with this book was the notion that young children question the hell out of everything yet this very nature becomes subdued to the point of going mute as we grow older. Schools teach people to find answers yet discourage questioning. Work environments are seldom conducive to questioning, lest you be the sore thumb that sticks out. And many of us simply don't question because we perceive it as a personal weakness.
Berger evolves a framework based on the "Why?", "What If?" and "How?" triplet of questions, a roadmap to identify problems, explore possible scenarios around them and zero in on the best solutions - which may well lead to ever more questioning. By analyzing all of this both from the individual and the business point of views - and the ways they are inextricably linked - he tries to put us in a position of finding great questions instead of simply attempting to find answers. Admittedly there's some repetition in the text (which is why I didn't give it a full rating) but at its core it's still definitely a mind opener of a book.
While the organization of the book is not quite my style, I must admit: I've never highlighted so many things in this type of book ever, by like an order of magnitude. This is super rich/dense with solid quotable bits. Lots of good things to think about, for sure. And I've found that I'm definitely doing a lot more and much better asking of questions, of myself and others. And I'm listening better for where they lead. Recommend.
Super thought-provoking! Loved all the stories of amazing questions throughout history - questions that led to the invention of better cancer screening devices, the world wide web, the airbnb concept (just to name a few). We learn through stories, and the in-depth look at the questions these innovators asked was really powerful. I think the technique is simple yet profound. Could have gone for more guidance in the HOW stage - pulling oneself out of the deep dive and putting the rubber to the road!
I guess I am a little tired of the commoditization of thinking. Or I have already basically read all the same ideas in IDEO books. Some really great examples and questions and processes but this could have been half as long and said as much.
What Robert Burton calls "certainty epidemic" is the moment when you become too familiar with something and overestimate your knowledge, putting too much faith in your gut instinct, walking around convinced you have more answers than you actually do and for this reason your most likely to ask less questions.
How might you change this you're wondering? Reading this book is a great start. You'll learn about the importance of taking a step back. It may seem unusual, but you'll gain more from taking a step back in order to move forward. You need to stop from "doing" and "knowing" in order to find something new, as Jon Seely Brown said "in order for imagination to flourish, there must be an opportunity to see things as other than they currently are or appear to be".
Then start with simple questions: Why? What if? How?
How might you change this you're wondering? Reading this book is a great start. You'll learn about the importance of taking a step back. It may seem unusual, but you'll gain more from taking a step back in order to move forward. You need to stop from "doing" and "knowing" in order to find something new, as Jon Seely Brown said "in order for imagination to flourish, there must be an opportunity to see things as other than they currently are or appear to be".
Then start with simple questions: Why? What if? How?
What Robert Burton calls "certainty epidemic" is the moment when you become too familiar with something and overestimate your knowledge, putting too much faith in your gut instinct, walking around convinced you have more answers than you actually do and for this reason your most likely to ask less questions.
How might you change this you're wondering? Reading this book is a great start. You'll learn about the importance of taking a step back. It may seem unusual, but you'll gain more from taking a step back in order to move forward. You need to stop from "doing" and "knowing" in order to find something new, as Jon Seely Brown said "in order for imagination to flourish, there must be an opportunity to see things as other than they currently are or appear to be".
Then start with simple questions: Why? What if? How?
How might you change this you're wondering? Reading this book is a great start. You'll learn about the importance of taking a step back. It may seem unusual, but you'll gain more from taking a step back in order to move forward. You need to stop from "doing" and "knowing" in order to find something new, as Jon Seely Brown said "in order for imagination to flourish, there must be an opportunity to see things as other than they currently are or appear to be".
Then start with simple questions: Why? What if? How?