????四歲時，我們有無窮的好奇心，會提出成千上萬的問題，以了解周遭的世界。我們在很早就意識到，提問題可以幫助我們探索新知，培養一種了解世界的全新方式。

????但很快，我們便進入了一個鼓勵回答多于鼓勵提問的教育體系。有數據顯示，6至18歲的孩子每個月在每一個小時的課堂上平均僅提出一個問題。相比之下，老師們平均每天要向學生們提出300至600個問題，而且等待回答的時間平均只有一秒鐘，這便形成了我所說的“全球提問危機”。

????在成年人的世界里，許多領導者為了把事情做好，小心翼翼地堅持著這種以回答問題為中心的文化。但根據我的研究以及與當代著名領導者的直接交流，有影響力的創新者很清楚，他們必須通過提問題來產生破壞力，否則將成為被顛覆的對象。因此，他們一直保持著這種關鍵的技能，不僅會提出更多問題，而且能夠發現“熱點”問題——那些挑釁性的、能激發情緒的、令人非常不舒服的問題，他們甚至會鼓勵周圍的人提問。最后，他們會利用一些關鍵的發現技能，比如觀察、社交、試驗和關聯思考，來尋找這些熱點問題的答案。

????對于這些領導者來說，提問題并非達成目的的手段，而是一種創造性的思想交匯。一個好問題可能將催生一套全新的解決方案，帶來創新的關鍵時刻。

????通過問題找到領先優勢

????在南非，ALG Estates旗下一家名為Cedar Citrus的合作型柑橘園，每年都會受到狒狒的騷擾，即便在果子尚未成熟的時候。奇怪的是，成群結隊的狒狒們經常光顧其中一棵樹。有一年，種植園工人安德烈斯·菲克斯特沒有抱怨糾纏不休的狒狒，而是想到這樣一個問題：“為什么狒狒們每年都來吃這棵樹的果子？”他知道，即便最饑餓的狒狒也非常挑剔，不會吃酸果子，所以他對比了這棵樹和周圍樹上的果子。結果他發現，盡管這棵樹的柑橘皮還是綠色的，但里面的果肉已經成熟，味美甘甜。于是，菲克斯特將這個發現告訴了種植園主阿爾文和格利特·范德邁威。范德邁威兄弟并沒有選擇砍掉那棵樹來擺脫狒狒，而是問：“我們如何利用這一發現？”

????最后，范德邁威兄弟發現，狒狒們頻繁光顧的那棵樹發生了基因突變，使這棵樹上的果子比其他果樹早熟。除此之外，這棵樹結的果子比其他果子更甜。通過這個簡單的問題，以及領導者與員工之間的知識交流，Cedar Citrus柑橘園成功利用這些早熟的果樹，使柑橘園的年產量翻了一番。

????在一個截然不同的行業，寶潔公司現任董事長兼首席執行官雷富禮，也從一個問題中得到了啟發：“什么能給我們的客戶帶來快樂？”在尋找答案的過程中，他訪問了許多國家、店鋪和家庭，直接觀察和傾聽客戶，了解他們現在因為什么高興，未來又有什么能讓他們快樂？他所積累的這些客戶洞察，在他成為寶潔公司CEO后發揮了關鍵作用，他堅持“顧客就是上帝”的宗旨，帶領公司實現復興，而且在繼續專注于客戶最喜愛的品牌（比如汰漬）同時，還推出了許多創新品牌，如Swiffer和紡必適（Febreze）。

????過去一周，你是否曾經提出過或者收到過直接下屬或其他員工提出的令人不舒服的問題？如果你的答案是“沒有”，你可能錯過了可以幫助你在競爭中更進一步的關鍵信息。

????以攝影界為例，在攝影行業過去一個世紀的發展過程中，問題發揮了關鍵作用。比如，埃德溫·蘭德的小女兒反復問“我為什么不能馬上看到照片？”，受到這一問題的啟發，蘭德發明了寶麗來相機，解決了傳統膠片需要等待沖洗的問題。隨著數字攝影技術對整個行業帶來破壞性影響，富士膠片、尼康、索尼等公司不斷思考，如何繼續改善公司狀況。他們對這個問題的回答就是多年的持續創新，比如面部識別，在相機內去除紅眼，等等。而頗具諷刺意味的是，發明數碼相機的柯達，提出的問題卻極少，致使該公司未能更好地挖掘數碼與社交媒體的協同效應，最終無力回天。如果柯達公司的領導者能夠提出或者傾聽其他人提出更有挑戰性的問題，以提高他們的不適程度，這家公司或許能延續傳奇，繼續成為攝影行業的重要一員。

????如今我們所處的環境變得日益復雜，為我們自己和其他人創造提出正確問題的適當條件，對于找到新的解決方案至關重要，不論在工作中還是生活中，均是如此。否則，我們的機構、政府、組織和個人成長都會停滯不前。（財富中文網）

????本文作者赫爾·葛瑞格森為麻省理工學院領導力中心執行主任，麻省理工學院斯隆商學院領導力與創新專業高級講師。他著有《創新者的基因：掌握破壞性創新的五種技能》一書，是4-24項目的創始人。

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????審校：任文科

????At age four, we’re fueled with curiosity, asking thousands of questions to better grasp what’s going on around us. Already we are aware, at a very fundamental level, that questioning helps us feel our way around a situation and develop entirely new ways of engaging with the world.

????It isn’t long, however, before we enter an educational system that rewards answers more than questions. Consider that the average child between six- to 18-years old asks only one question per one-hour class per month. Contrast that with the average teacher, who peppers kids with 300 to 600 questions a day and waits an average of one second for each reply, and you have a recipe for what I call the “Global Questioning Crisis.”

????As adults, many leaders perpetuate this answer-centric culture, playing it safe as they get things done. But, based on my research and firsthand conversations with the most renowned leaders of our time, high-impact innovators know that they must question to disrupt, or risk being disrupted. As such, they sustain this critical skillset, not just by asking more questions, but by identifying the “hot” questions – ones that are provocative, emotional and downright uncomfortable – while also encouraging those around them to be passionate about the same. Finally, they actively pursue answers to these hot questions by leveraging several key discovery skills – observing, networking, experimenting, and associational thinking.

????For these leaders, questioning is not a means to an end, but the creative intersection where a whole new solution – an innovative moment of truth – can catch fire.

????Leading through questions

????Every year, Cedar Citrus, a co-op citrus farm in South Africa owned by ALG Estates, received frequent visits from a troop of baboons even though the fruit was not yet ripened. Strangley, the baboons tended to frequent one tree more than any other. One year, instead of grumbling about the pestering baboons, Andries Fickster, a worker on the farm, asked, “Why do the baboons keep coming back to this one tree?” He knew even the hungriest baboons were picky eaters and would not eat sour fruit so he compared the fruit to the trees around it. Although the skin was green, the fruit inside was ripe and sweet. Fickster brought this knowledge to the owners, Alwyn and Gerrit van der Merwe and, instead of ripping out the tree to get rid of the raiding baboons, they asked, “How can we use this?”

????Ultimately, the van der Merwe brothers learned the particular tree the baboons were visiting had genetic mutations, causing the fruit to ripen two weeks earlier than all other trees. On top of that, the fruit was much sweeter than the other available fruit. Through this simple question and knowledge transfer between leaders and employees, Cedar Citrus was able to capitalize on the early-ripening trees and double its yearly production.

????In a totally different industry, A.G. Lafley, now chairman and chief executive officer of Procter & Gamble PG -0.35% , was similarly inspired by one question: “What delights our customers?” In search of an answer, he visited various countries, stores and homes to observe and listen to consumers so he could see firsthand what made them happy today and what might delight them tomorrow. This stockpile of consumer insights would play a critical role when he became P&G’s CEO, revitalizing the company under a “consumer is boss” mantra and introducing several innovative new brands like Swiffer and Febreze – while continuing to focus on consumer favorites like Tide.

????Have you asked or been asked an uncomfortable question from a direct report or distant employee in the past week? If the answer is “no,” you may be missing critical information that could help put you one step ahead of the competition.

????Consider the photography world, where questions have played a pivotal force for the past century. The question, “Why can’t I see the picture right away?” from his young daughter reportedly inspired Edwin Land to create the Polaroid camera, removing the “waiting game” from traditional film development. As digital photography disrupted the industry, Fujifilm, Nikon, Sony SNE -1.61% and others continuously asked themselves how they could continue to improve the landscape. They answered this question with constant innovations over the years, from face detection to in-camera red-eye fixes. But struggling Kodak, which ironically invented the digital category, asked too few questions to better achieve the digital and social media synergies behind consumer photography too late. Had Kodak’s leaders ratcheted up their discomfort level by asking and receiving more challenging questions from others, the company may well have sustained its legacy as a key industry player.

????As the wild terrain we’re walking into grows more complex by the day, creating the right conditions for ourselves and others to ask the right questions is critical to unlocking new solutions, in work and in life. Failing to do so stunts our institutional, governmental, organizational and personal growth.

????Hal Gregersen is executive director of the MIT Leadership Center and a senior lecturer in leadership and innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is the author The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators and founder of The 4-24 Project.