PPB January 2016

VERY MORNING YOU GET UP, get dressed, down a cup of coffee (or several)

and mentally begin running through the to-do list in your head. There are clients

to visit, phone calls to make, emails to wade through, a new vendor who needs just

a minute, bills to pay, orders to check on, a sales position to fill … and the list goes

on. Before you know it, it’s getting dark outside and, if you are lucky that day, you’ve ticked off a

few of the most pressing items on your list. The next day and the next and the next flicker by the

same way like a scene from

Groundhog Day

When do you stop and really think about your business and where it’s headed? And when you

do take the time to think about the bigger picture, what are the blunt, provocative and often

uncomfortable questions you should be asking yourself ? Are you willing to rock the boat?

Fifteen of the industry’s most successful business owners and visionary leaders lay out the ques-

tions (in no particular order) they think are most critical to those who want to think strategically

about what’s next. To this list I’d add one more: If my company/product/service wasn’t around any

longer, would anyone miss it?

Asking these types of candid, open-ended questions is a proven way to release your thoughts

for deeper creativity, problem solving and goal setting. If you are not yet asking yourself questions

such as these on a regular basis, consider the opportunities you may miss if you don’t. A sugges-

tion is to ask yourself one new question every week. Add it to your to-do list, if you must.

62 •

PPB

• JANUARY 2016

GROW

15 Tough Questions

Every Business

Owner Must Ask

BY TINA BERRES FILIPSKI