I Have A Few Questions
They’re relevant to everyone, and apply to lots of things:
Who has the right answers but I ignore because they’re not articulate?
What haven’t I experienced firsthand that leaves me naive to how something works? As Jeff Immelt said, “Every job looks easy when you’re not the one doing it.”
Which of my current views would I disagree with if I were born in a different country or generation?
What do I desperately want to be true, so much that I think it’s true when it’s clearly not?
What is a problem that I think only applies to other countries/industries/careers that will eventually hit me?
What do I think is true but is actually just good marketing?
What looks unsustainable but is actually a new trend we haven’t accepted yet?
What has been true for decades that will stop working, but will drag along stubborn adherents because it had such a long track record of success?
Who do I think is smart but is actually full of it?
What do I ignore because it’s too painful to accept?
How would my views change if I had 10,000 years of good, apples-to-apples data on things I only have recent history to study?
Which of my current views would change if my incentives were different?
What are we ignoring today that will seem shockingly obvious in a year?
What events very nearly happened that would have fundamentally changed the world I know if they had occurred?
How much have things outside of my control contributed to things I take credit for?
How do I know if I’m being patient (a skill) or stubborn (a flaw)? They’re hard to tell apart without hindsight.
Who do I look up to that is secretly miserable?