A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas

　　記者生涯中屢獲殊榮的Warren Berger此次要探討一個人類與生俱來、經常被忽略，卻能在商業活動中造成重大改變的關鍵──提問力。依據他的採訪經驗，一個具有深度、漂亮的提問，可以有效地解決難題，偶爾還能擦出新的創意火花。既然如此，為什麼大家還是懶得開口問「為什麼」呢？

　　根據觀察，孩童每天可以不厭其煩地問上百次「為什麼？」，但這種舉動等他們接受教育後幾乎完全消失。實際上，商場與學校的文化相去不遠，所有人被灌輸要講標準答案才能獲得獎勵，提問挑戰權威經常不被認可，有時甚至會被責難。

　　另一方面， Berger發現最成功的人往往是問問題的專家，他們提問的功力已達爐火純青的境界，知道如何問出關鍵問題，並且找到最有力的答案。書中一窺提問力深植於企業DNA的幾家企業，如Google、Netflix與Airbnb等，同時也舉藝術家、教師、工匠等因提問力而讓生活有所轉變的人生實例。作者希望透過「為什麼？」、「如果……？」等的疑問句引導，人人都能獲得解決問題的能力、挑戰自我，進而跳脫框架、讓創意迸發。

　　In this groundbreaking book, journalist and innovation expert Warren Berger shows that one of the most powerful forces for igniting change in business and in our daily lives is a simple, under-appreciated tool—one that has been available to us since childhood. Questioning—deeply, imaginatively, “beautifully”—can help us identify and solve problems, come up with game-changing ideas, and pursue fresh opportunities. So why are we often reluctant to ask “Why?”

　　Berger’s surprising findings reveal that even though children start out asking hundreds of questions a day, questioning “falls off a cliff” as kids enter school. In an education and business culture devised to reward rote answers over challenging inquiry, questioning isn’t encouraged—and, in fact, is sometimes barely tolerated.

　　And yet, as Berger shows, the most creative, successful people tend to be expert questioners. They’ve mastered the art of inquiry, raising questions no one else is asking—and finding powerful answers. The author takes us inside red-hot businesses like Google, Netflix, IDEO, and Airbnb to show how questioning is baked into their organizational DNA. He also shares inspiring stories of artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, basement tinkerers, and social activists who changed their lives and the world around them—by starting with a “beautiful question.”
Berger explores important questions, such as:

　　- Why aren’t we nurturing kids’ natural ability to question—and what can parents and schools do about that?

　　- Since questioning is a starting point for innovation, how might companies and business leaders begin to encourage and exploit it?

　　- And most important, how can each of us re-ignite that questioning spark—and use inquiry as a powerful means to rethink and reinvent our lives?

　　A More Beautiful Question outlines a practical Why / What If / How system of inquiry that can guide you through the process of innovative questioning—helping you find imaginative, powerful answers to your own “beautiful questions.”