NAME THE QUESTION · 7 OF 7 · C1 · 50 min

Name It, Think It, Say It

Six kinds of question, mixed together. Hear which kind it is, run its lens, and say an answer that ends with what would change your mind. And find out which questions do not fit at all.

← Where the Tools Run Out  ·  The whole pathway

Today: you'll name a question before you answer it, run the right lens from memory, say a defensible answer with a point, a reason and a condition, and notice when a question fits no lens, or two at once.

Have a go, and don’t worry about mistakes

Without looking back at any lesson: name the six kinds of question and the cue word that signals each one. Say them out loud, then reveal.
Should we…? go / no-go · Which…? choosing between options · What first…? priorities · What if…? risk and scenarios · Why…? diagnosis · Is it right…? values and ethics, where the tools run out.

Name the question

Twelve questions you might be asked at work, mixed together. Which kind is each one? Some begin with one cue word and belong to another kind. Choose, then check.

1. Why have our best customers stopped renewing this year?
2. Should we move our whole team to a four-day week?
3. Should we fix the website or the payment system first?
4. Is it acceptable to tell a patient only part of the truth?
5. What happens to us if our main supplier fails in the winter?
6. Which of the two candidates should we hire?
7. Would it be fair to dismiss someone for a mistake the system allowed?
8. We cannot do all five projects. Where do we start?
9. Why do customers say they like us and still leave?
10. Should we recall the product before the test results arrive?
11. What if the regulator changes the rule next year?
12. Which would you choose: the cheaper plan or the more flexible one?

1. Why…? — something has already happened and you are asked to explain it: a diagnosis.

2. Should we…? — a commitment under uncertainty: is it reversible, can it be tried small, what does waiting cost?

3. What first…? — it begins with ‘should we’, but the decision is made; the question is the order.

4. Is it right…? — it turns on what is fair and acceptable, and no tool settles it.

5. What if…? — you are asked to look ahead: how likely, how bad, and what is the plan.

6. Which…? — a choice between named options: criteria, trade-offs and a price.

7. Is it right…? — it is about fairness and responsibility, not about facts you can look up.

8. What first…? — too much to do and limited capacity: an order, with a reason.

9. Why…? — an unexplained pattern: facts first, then possible causes and evidence.

10. Should we…? — a go / no-go with rising risk and no time to test: the lens points to deciding now.

11. What if…? — a scenario about the future: how likely, how bad, what would warn us.

12. Which…? — two named options: what matters most, and what each choice costs.

The six lenses, from memory

Say each lens out loud before you reveal it. Then say one real question of that kind, and what you would do first.

Should we…? — Say the three questions of the go / no-go lens and the four recommendations they lead to.
Can we undo it? Can we try it small? What does waiting cost? → pilot · stage it · decide now · decline for now.
Which…? — Say the four questions of the choosing lens and the three kinds of answer.
What matters most? How does each option do? What do I give up? What would flip it? → a clear pick, with its price · “A, unless…” · neither yet.
What first…? — Say the three questions of the order-of-work lens and the four places an item can go.
What is urgent and what is only loud? Which few matter most? What depends on what? → do now · do next, with a date · hand it on · leave it, and say so.
What if…? — Say the four questions of the risk lens and the four responses.
What could happen? How likely, how bad? What would warn us? What is our response? → prevent · reduce · prepare · accept knowingly.
Why…? — Say the four questions of the cause-and-evidence lens and the three outcomes.
What exactly happened? What could explain it? What evidence tells them apart? How sure am I? → a leading cause, with a confidence · two rivals and one check · not enough data, and which.
Is it right…? — Say the four questions of the principle-and-limit lens and the three kinds of answer.
Who is affected, and who decides? Which principles pull apart? Would I accept it applied to me? What can I not know? → a position with its principle · a position with a limit · “it depends on X”, said exactly.

Say it

Name the kind, run the lens in your head, then speak: a point, one reason, a stop, and a condition that would change your mind. Choose a task, start the timer, and talk.

Useful language: “This is a question about…” · “My recommendation is… because…” · “The price of that is…” · “The early warning would be…” · “I’m fairly sure, but I’d check…” · “I’d change my view if…”
Time remaining: 4:00
Round 1 — Rapid fire

Your partner reads six questions from the cards below, in any order. After each, say the kind in two seconds: “That is a ‘Which’.” No explanation. Then swap. Count how many you named correctly the first time.

Round 2 — The full run

Pick one card. Say the kind, then answer in ninety seconds: run the lens aloud, give a point first, one reason, the price or the limit, and end with I’d change my view if…

Round 3 — The look-alike

Your partner reads a question that begins with one cue word but belongs to a different kind (for example, “Should we fix A or B first?”). Say what it seems to be, what it really is, and how you would answer it.

Round 4 — Under challenge

Answer a card, then your partner says: “But what if you are wrong?” Respond in thirty seconds. Name the check, the checkpoint or the fact that would change your view.

To finish — the harder questions

  1. Which of the six kinds do you reach for first, and which do you neglect? What does that say about how you usually answer?
  2. The lenses end in a position and a condition. Is it a weakness or a strength to say what would change your mind?
  3. Which of the four rounds was hardest, and what would help you do it better next time?
  4. We said you would be able to name a question, run its lens and say a defensible answer. Can you? Which part felt most secure, and what do you want to practise again?

The question cards

  1. Should we open a second office in another country?
  2. Which would you rather have: a larger team or a better budget?
  3. What should the new manager do in her first month?
  4. What if our biggest client reduces its order by half?
  5. Why did the project run over budget?
  6. Is it right to promote someone because they are loyal?
  7. Should we tell the customers about the delay before we know how long it will last?
  8. Which of these three reports should I read first?
  9. What first: the new hires, the new system, or the new building?
  10. What if the new system fails on the first day?
  11. Why are the best people leaving this department?
  12. Is it fair to ask staff to work late when the plan was ours?

Where it breaks

A set of lenses is only useful if you can tell when it does not fit. Read each question, decide what you would say, then reveal.

“Why did the launch fail, and what should we do now?”
Two kinds, in order. Why comes first: find the cause. Then Should we or What first: choose the response. Answering the second before the first usually repeats the mistake.
“Tell me about yourself.”
Not one of the six. It is an open request. Use the landing plan from Begin With the End: decide where you will land, say the point first, give one reason, and stop.
“Should we tell the staff about the redundancies before the announcement?”
A Should we that is really Is it right. The lens of reversibility cannot settle it. Decide who is affected, which principles pull apart (honesty and prudence), and say a position with its limit.
“Which is the bigger problem, the late deliveries or the complaints?”
Look-alike. It sounds like Which, but the complaints may be a symptom of the late deliveries. Ask Why first; the choice may disappear.
“What if we simply did nothing?”
A What if, and a trap. Doing nothing is also a choice with a risk and a cost. Run the risk lens on it as you would on any other option.
“Can you just give me a quick answer?”
A pressure, not a kind. Name the kind in your head, give a point first, and say how sure you are: My short answer is… but I would want to check…
Talk it through:
  • Which of these misfits do you meet most in your own work? How do you usually respond?
  • When is it right to say that you cannot answer yet, and what would you ask for?