Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change - Hardcover

Sesno, Frank

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814436714 ISBN 13: 9780814436714

Publisher: AMACOM, 2017

Synopsis

What hidden skill links successful people in all walks of life--across cultures, industries, generations . . . all of time? The answer is surprisingly simple: they know how to ask the right questions at the right time. Questions help us break down barriers, discover secrets, solve puzzles, and imagine new ways of doing things. The right question can provide for us not only the answer we need right then but also the ones we’ll need tomorrow. Emmy award–winning journalist and media expert Frank Sesno wants to teach you how to question others in a methodical, intentional way so that you can find the same success that others have found by mastering this simple skill. From the author’s illuminating interviews that he has included in the book, you will learn:· How the Gates Foundation used strategic questions to plan its battle against malaria· How turnaround expert Steve Miller uses diagnostic questions to get to the heart of a company's problems· How creative questions animated a couple of techie dreamers to brainstorm Uber · How journalist Anderson Cooper uses confrontational questions to hold people accountableThroughout Ask More, you’ll explore all different types of inquiries--from questions that cement relationships, to those that will help you plan for the future. By the end, you’ll know what to ask and when, what you should listen for, and what you can expect as the outcome.

About this title

Book Description

An Emmy-award-winning journalist reveals how to ask the QUESTIONS that make a difference.

What hidden skill links successful people in all walks of life? What helps them make smart decisions? The answer is surprisingly simple: They know how to ask the right questions at the right time.

Questions help us break down barriers, discover secrets, solve puzzles, and imagine new ways of doing things. But few of us know how to question in a methodical way. Emmy-award-winning journalist and media expert Frank Sesno aims to change that with Ask More.

From questions that cement relationships, to those that help us plan for the future, each chapter in Ask More explores a different type of inquiry. By the end of the book, you’ll know what to ask and when, what you should listen for, and what you can expect as the outcome. Packed with illuminating interviews, the book explains:

· How the Gates Foundation used strategic questions to plan its battle against malaria

· How turnaround expert Steve Miller uses diagnostic questions to get to the heart of a company’s problems

· How NPR’s Terry Gross uses empathy questions to dig deeper

· How journalist Anderson Cooper uses confrontational questions to hold people accountable

· How creative questions animated a couple of techie dreamers to brainstorm Uber

Both intriguing and inspiring, Ask More shows how questions convey interest, feed curiosity, and reveal answers that can change the course of both your professional and personal life.

From the Inside Flap

What hidden skill links successful people in all walks of life? What helps them make informed decisions, inspire creativity, and forge stronger connections? The answer is surprisingly simple: They know how to ask the right questions at the right time.

Questions help us break down barriers, pinpoint solutions, and explore new ways of doing things. Yet most of us assert more than we ask. We talk more than we listen. Imagine how much more effective we would be if we flipped the equation.

Ask More puts questions at the center of every conversation. Author Frank Sesno, an Emmy Award–winning journalist, has spent decades questioning global leaders and everyday people alike. He draws on his formidable interviewing skills to break down the art of inquiry into eleven categories of questions, each designed for a different purpose.

Ask More recounts dozens of stories of people who have used questions to discover and excel. Whether you’re trying to manage a project, solve a problem, or confront an adversary, these stories are inspiring. They show how to ask, what to listen for, and how to link your questions to your goals.

· Colin Powell shows how strategic questions can define a mission and forecast success—or failure.

· Turnaround expert Steve Miller uses diagnostic questions to get to the heart of a company’s problems.

· NPR’s Terry Gross digs deeper with empathy questions.

· Journalist Anderson Cooper uses confrontational questions to hold people accountable.

· Creative questions led a couple of techie dreamers to imagine Uber and a young mayor to challenge history.

· The Osborne Group uses mission questions to help nonprofits fundraise more successfully.

· Dr. Anthony Fauci posed methodical scientific questions to help crack the HIV/AIDS mystery.

· And many more.

In an age of instant answers, fly-by facts, and relentless clickbait, Sesno makes a passionate appeal to observe carefully, listen intently, and ask more. He reveals a process of inquiry that can change your life, and might even change the world.

Frank Sesno is a former CNN anchor, White House correspondent, and Washington bureau chief, and is now director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. He has interviewed leaders from around the world, including five US presidents, and is the creator of Planet Forward, an innovative storytelling platform seeking solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges.

Edition details

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0814436714
• ISBN 13: 9780814436714
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272