Berger champions the humble question as among the most effective tools in business. In The Book of Beautiful Questions, he curates a selection of the best, culled from a variety of leaders, academics, entrepreneurs, and others.” —Inc.com
“In [A More Beautiful Question], the author explored how the right kinds of questions can spark creativity and innovation. In this follow-up, he delves further into 'beautiful questions,' which are powerful tools that can transform people's thinking . . . VERDICT: This practical work is designed to prompt action and get results” —Library Journal
“Guides professionals to think deeply about how they can use questions to improve decision making and to inspire creativity, connect with others, and cultivate leadership skills . . . Introspective readers, or readers who feel like they can't get off the hamster wheel, will find this helpful.” —Publishers Weekly
“Berger makes a good case for building questioning into work culture and work flow.” —Kirkus Reviews
“I have found several great books on questioning, and bestselling author Warren Berger's latest book, The Book of Beautiful Questions, is no exception . . . [I] recommend it to any small business owner wanting to expand their ability to inquire.” —Small Business Matter
“The Book of Beautiful Questions is a veritable gold mine. In its pages, you will find fresh (and often brilliant) ways to use the power of the interrogative to sharpen your decision-making, boost your creativity, and deepen your connections to others.” —Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of WHEN, DRIVE, and A WHOLE NEW MIND
“If we want better answers, we need to ask better questions. Warren Berger shows us the incredible power that inquiry has to approach problems differently and to unearth powerful, innovative solutions. In an increasingly complicated world, knowing how to ask provocative questions is a must-have skill for success.” —Lisa Bodell, bestselling author of WHY SIMPLE WINS and CEO of FutureThink
“Warren Berger raises questioning to an art form. The Book of Beautiful Questions is a vital read for anyone who wants to excel at creativity, leadership, decision-making, and interpersonal skills. Berger offers a symphony of questions that will inspire you to become your own maestro of inquiry.” —Frank Sesno, former CNN anchor and author of ASK MORE
“Why don't we ask enough questions? Why do we ask so many bad questions? And how can we ask the kinds of great questions that make us better at leading, deciding, connecting, and creating? This isn't just a thought-provoking book on questions—it's also full of instantly useful answers.” —Adam Grant, bestselling author of ORIGINALS, GIVE AND TAKE, and OPTION B with Sheryl Sandberg
“Use Warren Berger and his new book as a guide for asking not only more beautiful questions but also more important ones. It may well make the difference between a busy life and a life that really matters.” —Greg McKeown, bestselling author of ESSENTIALISM: THE DISCIPLINED PURSUIT OF LESS
“The Book of Beautiful Questions gives us the power to re-imagine our lives. For those who seek to make better decisions and lead more effectively, it's a transformational resource you'll go back to again and again.” —Dorie Clark, author of ENTREPRENEURIAL YOU and STAND OUT
“Being an effective leader is not so much about having all the answers as asking the right questions. In The Book of Beautiful Questions, Warren Berger shows why questioning is critical to success—and provides hundreds of questions that can help you be a better thinker, partner, problem-solver, and leader.” —Marshall Goldsmith, bestselling author of TRIGGER and WHAT GOT YOU HERE WON'T GET YOU THERE
08/20/2018
Journalist Berger (A More Beautiful Question) repackages familiar business advice for the inquisitive and the reflective. The author, who considers himself a “questionologist,” guides professionals to think deeply about how they can use questions to improve decision making and to inspire creativity, connect with others, and cultivate leadership skills. He believes that the urge to question is gradually socialized out of people as children, when they’re praised for the “right” answer and scolded for the “wrong” one, even though questions are the best way to develop ideas and goals. As to how to foster a “questioning habit,” he advises, “Try to ask at least one naive question before noon tomorrow.” The questions range from the concrete to the lofty, and sometimes include the hackneyed. These are interesting enough thought exercises to help readers in a rut, but as a whole, this is just a run-of-the-mill leadership book with slightly different framing, offering questions instead of answers. Introspective readers, or readers who feel like they can’t get off the hamster wheel, will find this helpful; others will feel they’ve read it all before. (Oct.)
2018-08-20
The right question at the right time can inspire business empires, scientific insights, revolutions—and, of course, books such as this one.
In a book whose title is rather more elegant than its contents, business guru Berger builds on a predecessor, A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas (2013), to examine ways in which being an ardent, avid, active questioner can presumably build businesses, inspire ideas, and otherwise lead to good things in the world. The argument seems—well, inarguable, even if the author, who calls himself a "questionologist," does allow that an all too common response on the part of the managerial class is to demand, "don't bring me questions; bring me answers." What to do with such people? That's a good question, to which the answer is to understand that "having a curious, engaged, and inquisitive workforce presents challenges." Questioning authority is one thing; questioning how and why things are done is another, an exercise that Berger puts in the lap of none other than Steve Jobs, who was in the discomfiting habit of asking why things were being done the way they were at every stop on his round of Apple's offices. "As Jobs took on the role of the inquisitive four-year-old wandering the company," Berger writes, "it had a powerful effect on him and those around him—forcing everyone to reexamine assumptions." Alternating among case studies, series of model questions set within sidebars ("Why do I want to lead this endeavor?"; "Where will I ever find an original idea"; "How can I come up with an idea that will make money?"), and cheerleading, Berger makes a good case for building questioning into work culture and work flow. But a question emerges: Just how many books can this questionology business sustain?
There's nothing overly challenging here, but Berger's approach might prime the pump for deeper inquiries.
