16 August 2007

What Are Your "Right Questions"?

We all have questions we need to ask of ourselves, others, and our businesses. But what are the right questions?

Seth Godin, in his little book that tells you when to quit (and when to stick), asks you to ask:

"Is this a Dip, a Cliff, or a Cul-de-sac?"

"What chance does this project have to be the best in the world?"

"Are you avoiding the remarkable as a way of quitting without quitting?"

These are questions I wrestled with recently in thinking about my old job versus my new opportunity. When I could answer those questions, I made my decision.

Before I left TNC, I was trying to get answers to a few of questions that I (and donor-investors) need answered about our priorities:

1. What change has been affected by our actions and strategies?

2. What places are protected that may have been lost?

3. Whose lives are improved?

4. Why could the change not have happened without us?

I still think they are the right questions and, slightly tweaking the second one, are adaptable to any business.

Lucy Bernholz, in a post last week on her excellent blog Philanthropy 2173, suggests three questions for donors to ask themselves:

1. What do I care about enough to dedicate my time and money to?

2. Who can help me do it?

3. How do I know if they are doing a good job?

What are your "right questions"?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What's for breakfast?

What's for lunch?

What's for dinner?