Do Cows Give Milk?

One thing I learned from senior executives of our company is asking the right question. It is not always about giving the right answer or decision that matters. It is all about throwing the right question at the right moment. Leaders and learned people in business and economics say there are no right or wrong decisions - only sound decisions.

My limited experience with top level management has taught me that questions are actually answers in disguise. In the Book of Genesis, Cain asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" One's imagination and creativity are tickled and triggered into action by simple questions. Mahatma Gandhi once asked his fellow countrymen, "What is 50 years of independence if we cannot manufacture our own cars?" Now they have Tata. The skillful trial lawyer leads his witness to revealing the facts of the case by his questions.

Pinoy Henyo, the famous noontime game show invented by Eat Bulaga is a very good testing ground for asking the right questions. Ask the wrong questions and you lose the game. The whole country is spellbound once Kris Aquino asks her signature question, "Pilipinas, game ka na ba?!"

We save a lot of time if we ask the right questions. Communication is sure to become two-way when you start asking questions. And it threshes out vague matters.

I cannot forget when my seven-year old brother came back from school crying due to a mistake in an exam. He was insisting that his answer to the question, "Do cows give milk?" was correct. I asked him what his answer was. He said, without blinking an eye, "No, cows don't give milk!" I asked why cows don't give milk. He said, "They did not say if it's a male or a female cow."

Let's all start asking the right question. It saves nine.