As an outside consultant in Digital Strategy, I believe that sometimes my role should be the Question Asker, not the final provider of answers. And so, especially during the early stages of an engagement, I find myself asking the following questions:
- Is the organization as ready to digitally transform itself as I think it is?
- How can we accelerate the growth of the company by transforming the “how” of what they do and not just “what”?
- By focusing on human beings and user experience, can I help reduce the uncertainty in the client’s business?
- Do the people who work at the client company believe they know more than the CEO does?
- Do they actually know more than CEO does?
- What will help the client company grow faster: more control or more value creation?
- Should people who create value be governed by people who control it?
- Is the client company C-suite too focused on control?
- Are they obsessed with control?
- How can I encourage giving more control to others in the organization, especially employees who create value?
- What rules could the client company get rid of today that would increase their ability to create value?
- Could we throw out the entire company rulebook?
- Would my (hypothetical) children want to work in a company like this one?
- Would the C-suite’s children want to work in their company?
Any suggestions for other questions?
About Wendi McGowan