Page 6 - DIVA_1_2017

BUSINESSMAN'S BLUES

To be honest, I prefer the typical tod- to open up, consider a new model
dlers question, which nearly always based on acquired experience over
starts with 'why'. You know, they say the years.
things like: 'Why is it morning?' and
"Why are lions, lions?" and so on. At a) Where do you see your company
least there is honesty in the childish in 10 years time?
questions, in the sense that they just b) What are the prospects of your
want you to talk more about stuff products / services in terms of evo-
and they don't care in which direc- lution and development and what
tion you take your answer because impact is this likely to have on your
they lack knowledge in all areas and overall market share?
want an adult to elaborate so they
can sponge the information. Question (a) is likely to give you a
short and fanciful answer based on
I sometimes play games with friends ambition and desires, while question
and relatives when they ask lazy (b) is guiding the person to analyse
questions like: "do you have the right the state of his/her business from a
time?" and "can I interrupt you for a ring to. The questions that can en- number of areas such as products,
minute?" and "can I ask you a ques- lighten intellectually challenge and market place and finance. The an-
tion?" where my answers would be arrive at new truths. swer to (b) is likely to be richer in in-
respectively: 'yes, thank you' and formation and more likely to trigger
you already have' and 'you just did'. I Clearly, carefully crafted questions secondary questions.
know I am being a smart alec about can potentially have a sinister pur-
it but, I just do it to tease them and pose and maybe designed to trap the Back to old Socrates, he is credited,
eventually, they get what they want subject, which is not the intention through his most famous student
out of me. here. For example, you can ask some Plato with the concept of 'Socratic
one the following two questions: Method which encourages proac-
In a way, I am contradicting the log- tive discussion through well thought
ic of the most famous question of all a) Do you beat your wife up? out questions that promote critical
time: To be or not to be, that is the b) Do you still beat your wife up? thinking and may well bring out new
question! ideas and thoughts.
Assuming that you are a balanced
In case you don't know it, in Shake- human being who is not in to do- So in the future, I urge you to consid-
speare's Hamlet the hero is musing mestic violence, by answering 'NO' er your questions carefully; avoid the
about whether to live this life (to be) to the first question, you are in the closed ones; avoid threatening ques-
and suffer its problems, or commit clear. However, the same answer to tions; invite the subject to think; get
suicide (or not to be) and go to per- the second question would only half them to be excited by the prospect of
manent sleep. He concludes that in clear you because you are unwitting- answering; above all, anticipate pos-
his eternal sleep he may experience ly accepting the premise that you sible answers and work out supple-
horrible dreams worse than the actual used to beat your spouse but you mentary questions.
experience of living thus, invalidating stopped at some point.
the reason for taking his own life. Finally, here is a short quiz to get your
On a more serious note, compare the logical left-brain go into overdrive:
The point of my rambling is this: ask- following sets of similar questions:
ing a question is occasionally about You walk into a room with two peo-
gathering information: where is the a) What changes would you like to ple in it. One person is a liar who
nearest police station? Would you make to your organisation to im- never tells the truth and the other al-
like another cup of tea? How many prove its productivity? ways tells the truth. You are allowed
people work in this office? And so b) If you were to start this business to ask one of them a single question
on. But these questions are discov- all over again, how would you or- in order to establish who is the liar
erable by other means and not ones ganise it? and who is the truth teller. What
I worry too much about. The ques- would your question be and how do
tions I am talking about are, without Question (a) is likely to put the per- you work out who is the liar and who
trying to be pretentious, are similar son questioned on the defensive is not?
to the questions Socrates was refer- while question (b) invites him/her MUFID SUKKAR

4 DIVA - INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT