First assumptions can be the most difficult to recognize. Beginning assumptions that guide one’s thinking before one has even had a chance to begin thinking.
What if such assumptions were to trap one’s thinking? To mislead and ensnare one in a labyrinth of well-meaning but ultimately self-defeating dead ends.
Peter Block begins his reflections in chapter one of The Answer to How is Yes with just such a survey of fallacious starting points.
If you are new to Thought Leaders Unpackedâ„¢ we are not summarizing or reviewing content when we explore these books one chapter at a time.
We are learning, each one of us in particular. We are responding to what challenges us personally.
I am stunned by the insight that asking “How?” assumes that I don’t know and that someone else does know.
I am stunned to witness how easily I denigrate my power, my experience, my wisdom, my expertise and my ability to solve problems by how I frame the question. How I frame the question in terms that assume I am not a crucial part of the answer.
The second personal challenge I encountered was the possibility that my “How?” questions were helping me to miss or avoid more significant questions like, “Is (more…)