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| Humor at Work |
ISSUE 466 - Dec 5, 2012 |
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What Question Aren't You Asking?
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"You can tell
whether a person is clever by their answers. You can tell whether they are wise by their questions." Egyptian Nobel prize winner Naguib Mahfouz
Asking just the right question isn't always an easy thing to do, but finding the right question is akin to finding a lost key to a hidden door. The right question can help defuse a heated argument, reveal a hidden truth, root out the source of a problem or shine a light on a brilliant new idea.
To gather feedback for their customer service at Zappos (the on-line shoe business that I continually rave about), their favorite question is "How likely would you be to hire this employee if you ran your own customer service business?"
One of my favorite questions to get people thinking about that state of their workplace culture is: "Does your workplace match the hype of your help wanted ads?" I also like asking people to describe what TV show title best describes their workplace. A question like this sparks interesting conversations and typically reveals more hidden truths than asking a direct question.
When things go off the rails, my friend and fellow speaker Jeff Mowatt suggests: "What will it take for you to trust us again? You tell us."
Finally, one of my favorite meeting questions is simply, "What question aren't we asking?"
Since the right question can be invaluable, keep track of your favorite questions by starting a question file. And solicit your team mates and customers for their favorite questions.
If you have a question you think is highly effective, I'd love to hear it. I'll award a copy of my e-book, Inspiring Questions for the best question I receive by the end of this Friday, December 7. |
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Mike's Fun at Work Tip |
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A simple way to reduce silos and improve communication between departments and teams in your workplace is to assign different people to play the role of "ace reporter" and interview various people from different departments. Keep the videos short and fast-paced with a lighthearted tone. Use the videos as part of your employee orientation sessions, post them on your intranet site or, if you have nothing to hide and want to put a more human face to your organization, post them on your website and You Tube channel as a way for the entire world to get to know the people behind your organization.
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Quote of the Week |
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"Everything will be all right in the end, and if it's not all right, it's not yet the end." - From the movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
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It's a Wacky World |
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It is thought that there are perhaps as many as 5,000 distinct facial expressions, yet many of you have likely worked alongside someone with a total facial repertoire of one. You know who I mean. . .the "Why don't you tell your face you're happy to be here?" co-worker.
Sadly, it could get even worse. A New York doctor is offering Botox treatment to poker players. Yes, Pokertox treatments will help poker players remove any of those pesky facial tells that might betray their poker face. Could Politco-tox be far behind?
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Humor at Work TV
Is your workplace where ideas go to die? Keeping Ideas Flowing Through Your Workplace
Ideas to add more fun, humor and creativity into your conference meetings and retreats: Meetings That Rock!
Inspiring Savings!
Take advantage of Mike - in a nice way! Great savings to book Mike to speak: Kelowna or Penticton, B.C. February 1-14, 2013;
South Africa, April 2-9, 2013
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Copyright © 2012 Humor at Work. All Rights Reserved.
mike@mikekerr.com
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