Think The Stupid Thing (again).
Better yet; say it.
When WeWork filed for bankruptcy a while ago, we were inspired to write one of our most popular Jolts about asking stupid questions.
If you were a subscriber back then, we asked how you would have felt being the person to stand up in the WeWork all-company meeting, just before anyone knew a pandemic was about to hit, and asking;
“What would happen if no-one went to an office anymore?”
We imagined the leadership team having a chuckle, and saying something about growth, expansion and the power of the brand.
As we now know, your question became a pandemic reality. At least, for a good few years.
And now the founder of WeWork is back with a new business model called WorkFlow - shared office space in residential buildings and apartment blocks.
Yep, why not live and work in the same space?
This week, we once again encourage you to think about what sort of stupid questions you can ask about your business.
The sort of dumb sounding, axis spinning, “did I really just say that?” questions that make your toes curl.
Now, we know you’re smart enough to know how you should phrase a ‘stupid’ question.
We’re not encouraging you to look like you just walked off the set of dumb and dumber with a bucket of sand between your ears.
The point is, let that perceived stupidity have some air time in your mind. Let it feel wrong. Let it counter everything everyone else is telling you. You don’t have to agree with it, but don’t ignore it until you’ve shaken its hand.
It’s trying to tell you something.
We’ve found the more stupid the thought, the more often it feels closer to its battling bedfellow; the not-so-stupid truth.
At a recent client meeting - a client with 83% market share - we asked what would happen if that share became 23% overnight. Faces frowned. Impossible! What a stupid question…until you looked at the pace of share loss from cheap competitors and no plan to tackle it. Hello Kodak!
One of the best stupid questions I heard, was during a recent product launch meeting. It went like this;
“What if nobody buys this?”.
As stupid and elementary as that question sounded - trust me - nobody had dared plan for the consequences of failure. It was a stroke of stupid genius, for which nobody, literally nobody, had a good answer.