Monday Manager Entrepreneur

Read time: 3.7 minutes

Introduction

I have an artist friend who talks about "pulling creations through the veil'. 

Sometimes the 'veil seems to mean from the unconscious to the conscious mind.  Other times it seems to mean from another or parallel world to this one.  A contstant however, is that creation and creativity is unlimited and available to everyone.

He also talks about old knowledge and new knowledge, dead knowledge and living knowledge.  If we already know it, it's old.  If we're no longer using it, it's dead in his model of the world.

Either way to bring it through the veil we need to quest for it.  This brings us neatly to this weeks subject...

...The Great Questions

My great friend Peter Thomson says "the question mark is the enter or return key for the mind"

This week I'd like to offer you 4 questioning frameworks that I've absolutely loved using as a manager and change agent.  They've been the vehicle that has allowed me to access, and help others access new frontiers of knowledge.  The've given me the privilege of helping unlock innumerable creators.

I hope they do the same for you-lets dive straight in

 #1 Your 6 Best Friends

At least this is what they were called by Rudyard Kipling.  Also known as:

• Funnelling and Tunnelling
• Socratic Questioning
• High Quality Questions

The idea: Only sentences starting with these 6 words: 'what', 'how', 'when', 'where', 'who', and 'why' a real questions.  All others with 'is it' or 'isn't it' on or in are simply statements of fact already known with a question mark on.

Instructions on the diagram below:

#2  The Ultimate Drill Down

Otherwise known as the Meta Model.  People have 3 unhelpful filters in their minds which block information from their perseptions and communications. These 3 filters are:

• Generalisation
• Deletion
• Distortion

The table below has the ultimate key questions that restore the detail:

#3. The Chunk Shifter?

Otherwise known as Chunking Questions.  Want to move people up a level to bigger picture, down into detail, or sideways for new ideas?  Try the questions below

#4. Dimensions Of Time

When I was training as a change agent - we were shown there are many different types of time.  Present time, past time, future time, alternate time, clock time. workshop time, etc. This is called the 'as if frame". e,g:

• If you were here 30 years ago,,, what...?, how..., etc
• If you didn't work here at all ....how...?\
• If you were to travel into your own future, 25 years hence...
• Etc....

The bottom line is you can invent a framing in any time you want.  Then you can ask any of the questions above.  It is truly amazing what you can discover!

Enjoy

A One Day Challenge

You might like to try this.  Set aside 1 day when you are going to ask as many questions as you can.  So your dialogues will consist mainly or only of questions.  It can be really fun expecially if you involve others in what you are doing. 

It'll need a little planning but the results are spectacular - notice how much you learn,

Summary

The key to being interesting both to yourself and to other people is to be interested.  It is the means by which to as a manager can help other people become creators.When you have a kind of open curiosity and listening that encourages others to find and give the best of themselves.

The keys to being interested?

Your 6 Best Friends: What, How, When, Where, Who, Why.

The Metal Model: To fill in the gaps created bu Generalisation, Deletion and Distortion

Moving Around Consciousness: Up into bigger picture, down into detail, laterally into creativity

Travelling in Time and Space: It is often possible to solve problems and create new opportunities by looking at them in a different reality.

I hope this helps

That’s all for this week.

See you again next week. T

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

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