INSPIRING QUOTES

The Right Question Can Change the World

Imagine you had one hour to solve a problem, and your life depended on it.

Most people would rush to brainstorm and list solutions.
Tick… 30 minutes left.

A few might start testing solutions.
Tick… 15 minutes left.

Still no breakthrough.
Five minutes to go, and each tick hammers in your ear.

Almost no one would spend most of that hour just asking questions.
But that’s exactly what Albert Einstein advised:

Could asking the right question really save lives, though?

🧫 From Accident to Antibiotic: A Medical Breakthrough Started With “Why”

In 1928, Alexander Fleming returned from vacation to find a stack of petri dishes in his lab. One dish was covered in a fuzzy green mold. The surrounding bacteria had vanished in a perfect halo, as if an invisible barrier was protecting the mold.

Most scientists would have thought, How do I prevent contamination next time?

Fleming asked instead: Why is this mold killing bacteria?

That shift in framing led to the discovery of penicillin, and it changed the course of medicine.

The right question reframes the problem, revealing the root cause instead of chasing symptoms. Spend too little time clarifying the challenge, and you risk solving the wrong problem. Spend enough time formulating questions wisely, and you ensure innovation becomes almost inevitable.

The power of the right question isn’t limited to science. In everyday life, the right questions can turn conflict into cooperation, uncover hidden value, and create solutions no one thought possible.

CREATIVITY SPOTLIGHT

The Coconut Conundrum

Three sisters as beautiful as Zeus’s daughters lived on a tropical island. One day, they began fighting over a single coconut.

“That’s mine!” one shouted, reaching for a coconut held by her sister.

“I don’t see your name on it!”

As both wrestle with the coconut, the third sister screamed, “Don’t you brats dare break my coconut!”

How would you resolve this fight? Take a moment.

Their father, furious over the bickering, storms into the kitchen. But he doesn’t let his anger get the better of him. Aiming for fairness, he splits the coconut into three equal parts.

Yet all three sisters walk away disappointed. Why?

🙋‍♀️ Asking Before Acting

This isn’t just a parable. Replace “coconut” with “budget,” “project,” or “opportunity,” and you’ve got a problem most people face every week. The real breakthrough comes when you ask people what they actually need.

It’s human nature to go after the first solution that comes to mind. Our instincts push us toward action, the faster, the better. But a quick answer to the wrong question is like sprinting toward the wrong finish line.

In business, that’s how well-meaning fixes fail. It may manifest when addressing customer complaints with quick fixes instead of asking, “What’s the underlying frustration?”

Managers from all domains face this, too. When allocating projects or tasks, do you assume everyone wants a promotion? Instead, ask, “What are team members’ ultimate goals?” You might find that what motivates each member isn’t what you assumed. Maybe some don’t prioritize a promotion, even though they’re good enough to deserve one.

Then what do they want? There’s only one way to find out.

Ask tough questions. Elicit honest, uncomfortable answers. And your ideal solution will be a lot easier to obtain.

Next time you’re under time pressure, start by generating more questions than answers. Acting on what you learn will take courage. And that courage matters most when you discover the right question, the one that unlocks a solution everyone can live with, as our coconut story shows.

🥥 Asking the Right “Why”

The father’s mistake wasn’t his fairness. It was assuming the conflict was about quantity rather than purpose.

One sister wanted the rich flesh to eat.
Another wanted the sweet water inside to drink.
The third wanted the shell to carve into a bowl.

A perfect solution existed, if only someone asked each daugther, “Why do you want it?” or “What’s the real need here?” Had the father stepped back and asked the right questions, he could have unlocked a win-win.

The resolution to the coconut fight proves the power of the right question. Unfortunately, not all questions lead to clarity. Which raises the iconic question about questions: Can a question itself be bad?

🤔 Yes, There Are Bad Questions (And That’s Good)

“Yes” because if there is no such question as a bad question then there is no such thing as a good question. So, both exist. Also “Yes” because a question that’s loaded with bias, based on faulty assumptions, or framed too narrowly can blind you to better answers.

But “No” because the main reason you should allow or tolerate (what you think are) bad questions is that even bad questions can inspire better problem solving solutions.

The key is to treat every question as a starting point, not a destination. Ask, refine, and reframe until you land on the question that truly matters. The quality of your answers will always rise to meet the quality of your questions.

STORY VIA TRIVIA

A Story That Needs A New Ending

BLINKS, THINKS & LINKS

Curiosity Candy

• Asking questions is something we all need to master.
  

• What does this have to do with asking questions? Find the cow!

• A list of critical thinking questions you can ask about anything.

ACTIONABLE PROMPTS

A Framework For Better Questions

This week’s core idea pairs a playful Question Burst with the rigorous First Principles method to reimagine something we all do on autopilot: the morning routine.

Once you see how it works for mornings, you can apply it to your biggest, strangest, most important problems.

❓ Step 1: Question Burst (= Playful & Wide-Open)

Flood your brain with possibilities before chasing answers.

Set a 4-minute timer.
Write down every question you can about the problem. Weird, obvious, defiant, all welcome.
No answers allowed.
Push yourself past the easy stuff; the last few questions are often the gold.

• Simple Example:

  • High Level Problem: “How can I wake up earlier?”
    

  • Step 1 questions (just a few for the interest of space):

    • Why do I need a morning routine at all?

    • What if my “morning” started the night before?

    • Which parts of my routine are habit, and which are necessary?

🔍 Step 2: Identify Assumptions

Drill into your best and most bold questions to their bare truths. List hidden beliefs inside your chosen question.

• Example (cont’d):

  • From the list above, let’s pick the most intriguing: “What if my morning started the night before?”

  • Mornings and evenings are separate.

  • My energy and productivity peak in the morning.

  • Evening is for winding down, not prep work.

🧩 Step 3: Break Down to Fundamentals:

Strip the assumptions to its core truths, ignoring tradition or precedent.
Ask: What do I know for sure? List only what’s indisputably true.

• Example (cont’d):

  • I have limited time and energy each day.

  • My energy levels vary by time of day.

  • Some tasks have deadlines, others don’t.

🧠 Step 4: Rebuild with Logic

Create a solution from those fundamentals, ignoring tradition, habits, or “the way it’s always been done.”

• Example (cont’d):

  • Keep mornings for activities that truly benefit from fresh energy (exercise, creative thinking).

  • Move breakfast to mid-morning when I’m truly hungry.

  • Move repetitive, low-energy tasks (clothes, lunch prep) to the evening.

The key isn’t to use the routine in my example, it’s to discover yours, built from truths rather than traditions.

Try this on something more important to your life and watch how your “best” answers suddenly change.

But the real value?
Questions don’t just find better answers, they create better questions.

Thanks for reading,

V.C. Hanna
Founder, Kreatio