Questions Are the Answer summary

Why don’t we ask more questions? Or worse, why do we sometimes stop asking questions all together? Think back to a classroom where your teacher asked all the questions, and the students barely spoke unless called on. Studies show this is the norm – teachers ask dozens of questions an hour while students might ask one a month. Children come to school full of curiosity, but that enthusiasm fades when their questions are seen as distractions from the need to get through the curriculum. Kids learn that asking too much interrupts progress and even irritates authority figures. They leave school with a talent for answering questions but little confidence in asking their own.

This pattern continues into adulthood. Many workplaces value productivity over inquiry. You might have experienced this first hand – a boss shutting down your question as unnecessary or unproductive. For example, a study in the 1960s tested nurses’ willingness to question authority by having a fake doctor call in orders to administer a fictional drug at twice its stated maximum dose. Nearly every nurse was prepared to give the drug without hesitation, ignoring clear violations of hospital protocols. The environment didn’t encourage questioning – even when lives were on the line. If you’ve ever hesitated to ask something important, think about whether a similar dynamic held you back.

The brainstorming session is failing. MBA students, tasked with solving gender inequality in male-dominated workplaces, sit in silence, uninspired. Then the approach shifts: instead of seeking solutions, they’re asked to brainstorm questions. The room changes immediately. Questions begin challenging assumptions, sparking unexpected energy and new ideas. By the end, the students leave animated, talking about potential avenues of action. This moment highlights that the right questions can unlock creativity and lead to breakthroughs in ways answers can’t.

Innovation often depends on creating environments that encourage curiosity. Salesforce’s Marc Benioff discovered this during a Hawaiian sabbatical. In a moment of reflection, he questioned why software couldn’t be delivered like books on Amazon, leading to his cloud-based business model. Today, Salesforce continues to embrace questioning through spaces like its “Ohana” floors – open, scenic areas designed to inspire broad, forward-thinking conversations. These spaces make questioning part of the company’s culture.

Lior Div’s groundbreaking approach to cybersecurity emerged when he realized the industry was asking the wrong question. Early on, he noticed that most solutions focused on keeping attackers out, but his work deploying systems revealed that intruders were often already inside. By shifting the question from How do we keep them out? to What are they doing now? Div developed innovative tools that tracked and disrupted attackers in real time, fundamentally changing how cybersecurity professionals approached their work. 

But in many organizations, questioning isn’t encouraged. Employees are often expected to quietly resolve problems without raising deeper issues, reinforcing flawed systems. At Charles Schwab, CEO Walt Bettinger addressed this by requiring “brutally honest reports” from his team, where employees openly identify what isn’t working. These reports ensure constant feedback and create a culture where challenging the status quo is expected, making it easier to address hidden issues and improve processes.

Isidor Rabi, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, credited his mother with shaping his career in a unique way. Instead of asking him what he had learned each day, she asked, Did you ask a good question today? That simple habit encouraged Rabi to value curiosity over rote knowledge, setting him on a path of lifelong inquiry and discovery. His story illustrates how important it is to nurture curiosity in children. By encouraging kids to ask meaningful questions, parents can help them develop the habits that lead to deeper learning and creative thinking.

This principle extends beyond parenting. Schools have the potential to instill curiosity by emphasizing questioning as much as answering. The Workshop School in Philadelphia demonstrates this through project-based learning. Students tackle real-world issues, and their own questions drive the process. Simple changes, like allowing more time for thoughtful responses or framing lessons around the questions that sparked discoveries, can help any classroom develop these skills.