Locks and keys

At The Outside, a great deal of our work as we help organizations and movements co-create change is the seeking and opening of more keys—individual ones as well as collective. The Art of Powerful Questions: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation, and Action by Eric E. Vogt, Juanita Brown, and David Isaacs is one of our most essential handouts. Together, we wonder: if there’s a trick to good listening, could it lie in the vicinity of good inquiry?

The usefulness of the knowledge we acquire and the effectiveness of the actions we take depend on the quality of the questions we ask. Questions open the door to dialogue and discovery. They are an invitation to creativity and breakthrough thinking. Questions can lead to movement and action on key issues; by generating creative insights, they can ignite change. —Vogt, Brown, & Isaacs

The sensation of being stuck is a panic, a claustrophobia. When we’re trying to pathfind our way to a better world, we should accept that this ‘groan zone’ is as common to the process as storms are to weather. And bracing ourselves so we don’t scatter to the wind is not about digging our heels in. It’s about pausing to ask, pausing to listen. When we’re stuck, there’s something we’re missing. To maintain forward motion, practice exploring what’s missing.

Talking! Listening! We do it every day. But it’s not just a mechanism. It’s an art form. Here’s to devoted practice.