“We spend an entire course to come up with one question.”, my student guide matter-of-factly stated.

What? Did I just hear him correctly? You have got to be kidding me. You mean to tell me that you spend an entire university course to come up with one question?! Please help me understand.

He began to explain to me the thinking behind this exercise. For one, the question needed to be big enough for you to spend your life answering it…

We were in the midst of a private tour of an exceptional private university in British Columbia. Quest University Canada is nestled amidst the glorious mountains surrounding Squamish BC. (Squamish, by the way, was selected as #32 on the New York Times 52 must see destinations of 2015.) Quest University is Canada’s first independent, not-for-profit, secular university. Quest offers only one degree, a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, and focuses entirely on excellence in undergraduate education.

As we toured Quest’s impressive campus I continued to press my new student friend on the essence of the education he was receiving. As I digested the input he was providing I attempted to summarize my understanding of his free flowing feedback to my inquiries.

“So, would it be accurate to say that you are learning the power of asking good questions?” I asked.

“Yes, the questions we ask determine our course of action and the outcomes we create.” he replied.

The penny began to drop for me. The question is critical. The question is the beginning of any worthy quest. We can have no solutions if we ask no questions. Worthy solutions begin with worthy questions. Exceptional outcomes are the result of exceptional questions.

There can be no “quest” without first posing a ‘question’.

It has been said that the key to success in business is to find a need and meet it. How can you discover what needs need to be met without asking questions? One could argue that all work is the response to a question of some sort.

Innovation is impossible without questioning. The seed of innovation is curiosity. Curiosity must express itself in questioning. Spend some time with a young child who is discovering the world at an amazing rate. How is their curiosity expressed? Through questioning of course – oftentimes through relentless questioning…

“Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? How does the bird know what song to sing? Why do dogs lick you when they are happy to see you? How come a cat’s nose is rough? How come daddies have whiskers and mommies don’t?”

Curiosity leads to questioning, questioning leads to discovery, discovery leads to innovation. Without asking questions we will never move forward. When we ask good questions – when we engage in the process of inquiry – we move forward to new understanding and produce new accomplishments.

When we do not ask good questions, we don’t produce good results. Our Quest tour guide outlined how they spent a fair degree of time in their ‘questioning course’ determining the criteria for a good question. These criteria vary depending on the situation but the process always includes identifying gaps in initial questioning attempts.

We must be willing to question the questions we are asking to ensure we are asking appropriate questions to effectively address the issues we are facing. And, sometimes we need to ask ourselves why we aren’t asking more questions. We need to question why we are perhaps unwilling to question what is going on.

If we really want to get to the bottom of what is necessary to move forward, progress and grow we must ask challenging questions that cannot easily be answered. We must also understand that challenging questions are best developed with the input of others. Our own blind spots limit our ability to see what question could be beneficial to ask. The input of others always contributes to a broader understanding of questions that need to be asked.

Questions are the key to progress, growth, discovery and innovation. We must address what truly needs to be addressed to ensure we create the most beneficial solutions possible.

We must learn to question our questions.