LEADERSHIP THOUGHTS: 14

This is part of a larger article that I found recently.... some very interesting questions to ask, regardless of "what you lead" (business, family, school, etc).

Ask Yourself Big Questions
18/January/07 Filed in: Leadership Articles


The big question is a variant of the ‘George Bailey question’ (as in the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life). A personal version would be, “what would the world miss if you didn’t exist?”

Below are seven big questions to ponder. Some you have likely seen before, some not, but each has the potential to stimulate important insight.

1. If you started from scratch, would you do what you now do? If not, what are you going to do about it?

2. What would make you excited – joyful, exuberant, energized – to get up each morning?

3. If you were guaranteed success, what would you do?

4. What are your fears? What would you do if you were not afraid?

5. What is the experience you want from life? What is the experience you want other people to have of you? (Don’t forget, what experience does your business give your customers?)

6. How do you want to be remembered? What are you doing to make that happen?

7. What is the gift you bring to the world? What gift does the world bring you?

Putting big questions to work for you is perhaps best explained by further questions. What question most resonates with you, gives you pause to think? What would happen if you asked yourself that question each morning for the next 90 days?

Or better said by the poet Rilke, “Live the questions now.”


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by Tom Stevens (c)2007
Tom Stevens helps individuals and organizations create brilliant futures and make a difference. To contact him, visit www.ThinkLeadershipIdeas.com