Personal Develpment

THE ART OF POWERFUL QUESTIONS
Catalyzing Insight, Innovation, and Action

by Eric E. Vogt, Juanita Brown, and David Isaacs

WE’D LIKE TO THANK KEN HOMER FOR HIS INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE IN SHAPING THIS ARTICLE AND FRAN PEAVEY FOR HER PIONEERING WORK IN MAKING STRATEGIC QUESTIONS PART OF OUR LEXICON.

THE ART OF POWERFUL QUESTIONS: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation, and Action by Eric E.Vogt, Juanita Brown, and David Isaacs; illustrations by Nancy Margulies Design and layout by Nancy Daugherty Copyright © 2003 by Eric E.Vogt, Juanita Brown, and David Isaacs All rights reserved.

ISBN 0-9724716-1-8

T Printed on recycled paper. Printed in the United States of America. First edition. First printing September 2003.
Published by: Whole Systems Associates 166 Homestead Boulevard Mill Valley, CA 94941 e-mail: info@theworldcafe.com www.theworldcafe.com Produced and Distributed by: Pegasus Communications, Inc. One Moody Street Waltham, MA 02453 e-mail: info@pegasuscom.com www.pegasuscom.com

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THE ART OF POWERFUL QUESTIONS
Catalyzing Insight, Innovation, and Action
by Eric E. Vogt, Juanita Brown, and David Isaacs

over time, led to significant advances in the field of physics. Many years later, an empirical demonstration showed that light from distant stars actually curved as it passed through the gravitational force of our sun. Einstein’s graduate students rushed to him as he was walking through the Princeton campus and hen was the last time you sat through a meeting exclaimed, “Dr. Einstein, light really does bend!” and said to yourself,“This is a complete waste of Einstein looked at them quizzically and said, “Of time!”? Was it yesterday, or even just a few hours ago? course!” He had come to this conclusion through Why did that gathering feel so tedious? Perhaps it’s exploring the question in his own thought experibecause the leaders posed the wrong questions at the ment years before. start of the session. Or,...