In my last post, we talked about how to avoid disaster by tuning into what the market is telling you and asking the right questions before pricing your commercial property.
In both commercial real estate and life, questions are one of the most crucial tools in your arsenal. Leverage them well, and the sky’s the limit. Assume you understand everything at its absolute core, and you get left behind.
Simply: if you’re not asking questions, you’re stagnating.
Questions are our gateway to learning, the first volley thrown in a game of bettering yourself. The majority of our success in life depends on asking the right questions and acting on the information we acquire from the answers. They give us the means to pivot our thinking and authentically collaborate with others. Some even believe that questions are more important than answers.
Asking Questions Helps You Be a Better, Well, Everything
Once upon a time, one of the strongholds of classroom education was rewarding correct answers and penalizing wrong ones. But Chris, isn’t this a generalization? First of all, good question. Second, sure, but it was a common mindset nevertheless (Socrates withstanding.) Learning used to be more linear and stringent; having the right answers was considered the only end-all-be-all barometer of successful learning.
Now, I’m not trying to vilify accuracy at all; I’m trying to reframe what we view as knowledge. Just as education models have evolved, we’ve experienced a shift in emphasis from being right to being curious.
We’ve advanced to understand that the ability to think critically and ask creative questions is a better measurement of success in a fast-changing world than simply being able to regurgitate the “right” answers. People who stay sharp and attuned to advancements in every industry know it’s preferable to focus on asking the best questions we can ask.
What’s in a Question? Possibilities.
Educator Terry Heick says it best: “questioning is the art of learning. Learning to ask important questions is the best evidence of understanding there is, far surpassing the temporary endorphins of a correct answer.”
Questions make us listen. Whether we like to be honest with ourselves or not, there’s a lot of noise in modern life, and we often don’t listen close enough to get what we need from a conversation. Questioning not only adds depth to every interaction, but it also helps us actually absorb what the other person or entity is trying to tell us.
Like that Churchill quote corroborates: rather than just knowing everything, it’s better to constantly question and adapt. Take that as you will and apply it to your CRE investments and life at large.
It’s simple: stay curious, stay successful.
