A More Beautiful Question

January 20, 2014
Innovation specialist Berger (Glimmer) takes on some big questions in this absorbing treatise that calls for more curiosity in our corporate development and daily lives. Having studied the business realm, Berger found that many companies establish cultures that discourage inquiry, particularly the all-important question: “Why are we doing this particular thing this way?” Since entrenched practices tend to hold sway, Berger claims, people often try to solve problems by answering the wrong questions. His argument is structured, naturally enough, around “questions that can be acted upon and… can lead to tangible results and change.” Chapters examine both the business and personal arenas, from “Why do smart businesspeople screw up?” to “What if you make one small change?” He also explores why companies don’t train people to question and how they might go about it if they decided to try. Quirky sidebars on topics ranging from George Carlin to hard-boiled eggs add to the book’s inquisitive spirit. This potential game-changer will help readers identify where opportunities lie and how to seize them. Agent: James A. Levine, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.

January 1, 2014
How the art of the inquiry can transform ideas into action. Journalist and advertising guru Berger (Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Your Life, and Maybe Even the World, 2009) examines the science of questioning and the ways in which the world's top innovators have used it to their advantage. Establishing a "culture of inquiry" is a prudent move for both producer and consumer, writes the author, who cleverly examines the impact the "Whys, What Ifs, and Hows" have on the development of products like snow shovels, baby carrots and Crackerjack, among many others. Berger explores how, in asking "the question that defined the problem," struggling entrepreneurs have moved from product conception to profitable execution. Begun as a website assisted by volunteers and researchers, Berger's book expands further on questioning as a skilled art form that can be polished to gain its maximum benefits, even though the author finds its usage underutilized in today's electronic multimedia age. Berger makes great use of both historical and contemporary examples of educators, innovators and business moguls who, by taking time to ask pointed questions of themselves and their respective industries, have both broadened their understandings of challenging situations and expanded the range of positive possibilities. Rhetorically (and hypothetically) asking the right questions also enabled entrepreneurs to establish wildly successful businesses like Netflix ("What if the video-rental business were run like a health club?") or game-changing inventions like the microwave oven ("Could the energy from the radio waves be used to actually cook food?"). The author also touches on the reasons why we stop asking pertinent questions as we age and the ways parents can inspire inquisitiveness in children. If asking questions demonstrates an open willingness to know, Berger writes, the answers have the power to dispel ignorance. A practical testament to the significance of the questioning mind.

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