Why Asking the Same Question Limits Solutions

Something I still hear too often: "Let's ask the user what they want" "Let's ask them if they like this feature" "Let's ask them what our product is missing" Sure you may think its a quick and easy way to understand the users needs, but really, it can lead you away from valid research data. Here's why: 1. Surface desires vs. underlying needs • Users often suggest features based on immediate thoughts without considering their true needs. • Example: More customisation options in a productivity app vs. an intuitive way to organize tasks. 2. Limited perspective • Users usually have a limited view of what's technologically possible. • Example: Small improvements vs. innovative solutions. 3. Solution bias • Asking for features shifts the conversation toward solutions rather than problems. • Example: Detailed maps in a navigation app vs. enhanced route suggestions based on real-time traffic. 4. Innovation constraints • Feature requests can restrict the creativity of your design team. • Example: More filters in a photo-editing app vs. a feature that suggests the best edits. 5. Confirmation bias • Risk of only hearing information that supports your preconceptions. • Example: Positive comments confirming existing beliefs vs. discovering valuable new insights. So let's remember to focus on understanding problems deeply, and solutions will follow naturally. How have you dealt with this question popping up in your organisation? Let me know in the comments below 👇

Data teams can't build the future when they're stuck answering questions about the past. In a world increasingly run by algorithms, sensors, and relentless streams of information, we still ask the data team the same question every Monday: "Can you pull that report again?". It’s a bit like hiring NASA engineers to help you reset your Wi-Fi. This isn’t just a joke; it’s a structural problem. Data teams are too often reduced to glorified support desks. They’re stuck answering the same shallow questions with the same shallow tools, using dashboards built for a business model that stopped evolving five quarters ago. There’s little time left to build robust models, explore new sources, or ask better questions—let alone automate the answers. This isn’t a failure of competence. It’s a failure of allocation. When intelligence is allocated to routine, novelty is sacrificed. When your best minds are stuck pulling yesterday’s numbers, no one’s working on tomorrow’s breakthroughs for optimizing your funnel, generating revenue, and identifying cost-cutting opportunities. And here’s the kicker: the questions themselves are getting simpler. Thanks to advances in natural language interfaces and automated querying, machines can now handle much of what human analysts once did. Yet, the org chart hasn’t caught up. We still put our smartest humans between a stakeholder and a metric, instead of in front of the unknown. The cost is enormous, but it’s paid in invisible currency: the ideas we never had, the experiments we never ran, the bets we never made. So next time you feel tempted to ping the data team with “just a quick question”, consider this: they could be your strategic engine, your AI pilots, your explorers of what’s possible. Or they could be stuck re-running last week’s numbers. Instead, wouldn't it be cool to ask an AI analyst for the simple and operational stuff and allow your data team to focus on the things that matter most? That's what we're fixing at Briefer (YC S23).

She answered every question before anyone else could. That's when I knew there was a problem... Sarah jumped in before the new hire could finish. "Oh, that's easy. You just need to..." I watched Jake deflate. Third question he'd tried to ask that week. Third time Sarah beat him to the solution. She thought she was being helpful. The "go-to" person. But the patterns were obvious: New hires stopped asking questions in meetings. They'd wait for Sarah to volunteer the answer. Team members stopped problem-solving. They'd just ping Sarah directly. Innovation died. Why think when Sarah would think for you? Then Sarah took a two-week vacation. Day one: Panic. "Who knows how to run the Morrison report?" "Where's the vendor contact list?" "How do we handle this client issue?" Day three: Discovery. Jake figured out the report. Lisa found the contacts. The team solved the client issue together. Day ten: Revelation. They didn't need Sarah's answers. They needed permission to find their own. When Sarah returned, her manager pulled her aside. "I need you to stop answering every question." "But I'm just trying to help..." "You're not helping. You're creating dependence." She looked hurt. Then thoughtful. "So what should I do?" "When someone asks a question, ask one back. 'What have you tried?' 'Where would you look?' 'Who else might know?'" It was painful at first. Sarah bit her tongue. The team stumbled. But within a month: Jake was training newer hires. Lisa redesigned the entire vendor process. The team's output increased 30%. And Sarah? She got promoted. Not for having all the answers. For teaching others to find their own. The hardest lesson for helpful people: Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is stop helping. Because when you answer every question, you're not building a team. You're building an audience.

For years, I thought Design Thinking was all about solutions. Find the problem, fix it, move on. Simple, right? But here’s the hard truth I’ve learned: a solution is only as good as the question that leads to it. When we rush to solve, here’s what happens: • We slap on quick fixes that don’t address the root cause. • We let our biases drive the outcome. • We miss out on creative breakthroughs because we’re stuck in what we think we know. So, I stopped asking “How do we fix this?” and started asking better questions: • What’s the real problem we’re solving? • What are we missing? • Why does this problem exist in the first place? Great questions do more than guide solutions—they unlock opportunities. They challenge you to think deeper, dig further, and uncover what’s really holding you back. The next time you’re ready to jump straight to the answer, stop. Ask the harder questions. Trust me—it’ll take you further. #DesignThinking #CreativityUnlocked #InnovationInAction #AskBetterQuestions

QUESTIONS WE ASK... If you get the same frustrating answer to your question every time you ask, it’s time to change the question. Sometimes, it’s not the answers that are the problem—it’s the way we frame the questions. We often ask: “Why is this not working?” But what if we asked: “What can I try differently?” We keep asking: “Who’s to blame?” What if we asked: “What can we learn?” This idea echoes what Harvard Professor Clayton Christensen once emphasized in The Innovator’s Dilemma—true breakthroughs often come not from better solutions, but from asking different kinds of questions. Similarly, Warren Berger in A More Beautiful Question argues that reframing the problem leads to discovery, not just answers. He notes: “The questions we ask determine the answers we get—and the quality of those answers.” Even in design thinking, a principle championed by IDEO and taught at Stanford Business School, the reframing of problems is a foundational step toward innovation and empathy-led solutions. So no—it’s not about giving up. It’s about unlocking new insight. It’s about choosing curiosity over frustration. It’s about asking differently, so we can grow differently. Innovation, growth, and breakthroughs often begin not with better answers—but with better questions. The next time you feel stuck, frustrated, or unheard—pause. Reframe. Ask differently. You might be surprised by the answer you get. #Innovation #DesignThinking #Leadership #GrowthMindset #StrategicThinking #ProblemSolving #Reframing #BetterQuestions #PersonalGrowth Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology

Ever fix the same issue over and over? You’re probably treating symptoms, not the real problem. Mario Iannantuono has spent his career helping businesses run more efficiently, and his advice is simple: Keep asking why. He uses the Five Whys method—a problem-solving approach that digs past the surface to uncover the root cause. Here’s how it works: Problem: A factory keeps missing production deadlines. Why? Machines keep breaking down. Why? They’re not being properly maintained. Why? The maintenance schedule isn’t being followed. Why? The team is short-staffed and overwhelmed. Why? The company cut the maintenance budget to save costs. Turns out, the real issue isn’t broken machines—it’s understaffing and budget cuts. If you stop at the first "why," you’ll waste time fixing the wrong thing. But digging deeper helps you solve the problem for good. Listen to the full episode, LIVE NOW!

My four year old is a great business coach. He asks why. A lot. For everything. He doesn't take a surface answer that doesn't satisfy him. His curiosity drives him to dig deeper. He's not ashamed to say he doesn't understand. He will only walk away when the answer is clear. Then I usually go back to work and wonder why I didn't ask "why" more on the last call that I had. As communications professionals, we're moving fast. We've seen some things. We know things. We can get to the fix, fast. But is getting to the fix as fast as possible always the best solution? Likely not, because we may not be solving the real problem. We don't ask why enough to get to the root cause of a business problem or issue. It's why I advocate for and use the 5 Whys method -- originally from the Toyota Production System -- as a problem-solving technique. Simply ask "why?" 5 times when asking about an issue/problem. It's like peeling back the layers of an onion. By asking "why" repeatedly, you dig beyond surface symptoms and reveal the root cause. That leads to more sustainable solutions because you're thinking more critically about problems and seeking long-lasting solutions. "Why aren't our messages resonating?" "Why are people not paying attention?" "Why can't we get our story published?" "Why didn't the board agree?" Get to the first answer, and then ask "why" another four times. See what happens. #strategiccommunications #leadershipcommunications ---- Note on 📸: - Dada, why can't I get a ball? - Because the players don't see you; there are lots of other kids. - Why don't they see me? - Because we're not sitting by the dugout and asking for a ball. - Why are we not asking for the ball? - Well, we don't have seats down there to be close enough to ask. - Why don't we ask that guy if we can go down there (points at usher) - Well, he's busy. Maybe we can stand on chair and wave to players. - Why is he busy and can't help us? - Well, they can't just put people in seats ... (as usher is walking over to ask if he wants to stand by dugout to get a ball). 5 minutes later: ball in hand because he found the root cause of not getting a ball.

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗟&𝗗... 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸? Too often, when a new technology enters the market, our instinct is to ask: "How do I do what I do with this new technology?" And that's the wrong question. It's a safe and valid question — but it’s also a limiting one. It keeps us anchored to the past instead of exploring what's possible in the future. In this latest Misadventures in Learning article, I share why the questions we ask shape the innovation we see and how better questions can unlock more strategic, forward-thinking uses of emerging tech in L&D. Curious? That’s a great start. https://lnkd.in/eV5J86ck #LearningAndDevelopment #LTUK #AI #EmergingTech #LearningTechnologies #Curiosity #LearningStrategy