Questions Issue

 

Issue No. 665 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Dec. 10, 2025) quotes J.R. Briggs who writes, “people who ask frequent questions are more popular among their peers and more often seen as leaders.” Plus, click here for recent issues posted at the NEW site for John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including a “double feature"—a “museum” review and a stunning book on evidences for a creator God.  Also, check out the 20 management buckets (core competencies). “There is no paint by numbers kit included in this book,” writes J.R. Briggs, author of The Art of Asking Better Questions. Ditto the other five books in this issue—but highlighters, pens, and crayons might be helpful.   6 Books & Hundreds of Questions! Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, acknowledged: “My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.” So…welcome to “The Questions Issue.” Here are six books to invigorate your questions. Or do you prefer to just ask “lazy” questions—a bad habit per the author of Book #1. (Christmas gift ideas?) [   ] BOOK #1: The Art of Asking Better Questions: Pursuing Stronger Relationships, Healthier Leadership, and Deeper Faith (Oct. 7, 2025), by J.R. Briggs. (Order from Amazon.) Yikes! Convicting! Do you ask “lazy questions?” (After reading this book…oh, my. Guilty!) I must do better. So this week instead of asking the lazy question, “How was your trip?”—instead I asked my grandson, Anders, about the cross-country marathon (North Carolina to California) he drove with his sister, Emelia.  “Anders, tell us about a moment on your trip that was memorable.” Instead of a short, routine response, for the next 20 minutes Anders entertained us with the fascinating conversation he enjoyed with “Bob,” a docent at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, N.M. (And don't you love the museum's tagline? "Reactions welcome.") Frequently, his siblings, parents, and grandparents use up most of the oxygen in the room (he doesn’t need the platform)—but that one question activated a memorable evening for all of us. (Thanks, Anders! And thank you, J. R. Briggs—for this very helpful book.) Briggs punctuates his book with PowerPoint-worthy quotes and callouts:    • “The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask God, yourself, and others.”    • “What if the paradigm of the leader-as-expert is replaced with the leader-as-lead-questioner?”    • “Is it better to be a servant who leads or a leader who serves?”    • Seven self-examination questions from A.W. Tozer, including: “What am I laughing at?”    • “What is the best question you’ve been asked this month?”    • Nine questions to ask in times of lament, including “What do I want? What do I miss? What do I need?” Briggs describes himself as “a professional question-asker” who has been working on this book his entire life. He adds, “As a faith-oriented leadership development coach and consultant, I'm called to ask questions of leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds and vocations every day. I've read dozens of books on asking questions.” He also wrote his dissertation on “how to equip faith leaders to ask better questions for deeper impact.” You’ll love this book—and the author’s approach and transparency: “I’ll lay all my cards down on the table here: this book is not for everyone.” And, “To be clear, this is not a book of 1,001 best questions to ask at your next dinner party… Nor is this book a formulaic, follow-these-seven-steps-add-water-and-stir approach."  As the title teaches, “…asking great questions is an art. Nobody should create a spreadsheet and declare they are 37.4% better at asking today than they were last quarter. Asking better questions is a mindset. It is a posture. A way of life. Growing in our asking is not about ticking off a checklist of dos and don'ts. There is no paint by numbers kit included in this book.” Instead, Briggs includes tempting blank pages in the back of the book because (of course)—you’re going to bring your pens and highlighters to your “art” of asking better questions class. (Brilliant!) Two memorable highlights: • Chapter 3, “Living a Question-Oriented Life,” launches with a heart-stopping story you will never forget: a hooded intruder invites himself to an outdoor dinner party. • The concluding chapter, “Now What?” features the results of a seven-day exercise the author challenged a back-row seminar attendee to play at his home and work. His wife noticed the result: “You’ve changed. I don’t know what has happened, but you’ve changed. I feel deeply loved by the questions you’re asking me.” Did I mention? The question-askers in your life would appreciate receiving this book for Christmas! [   ] BOOK #2: Now That's a Good Question! How to Lead Quality Bible Discussions (Updated and Expanded), by Terry Powell (Order from Amazon. Read my review.) Read my review at the Pails in Comparison blog—and learn more on “MANAGING MONOPOLIZERS!” Page 100 is worth the price of the book! The author gives five ways to address “a group member who feels that a second of silence is a divine mandate to speak. Though most monopolizers are motivated learners who are passionately involved with the subject matter, their verbal initiatives cause passivity among others in the group.” [   ] BOOK #3: Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets: 5 Questions to Help You Determine Your Next Move, by Andy Stanley. (Order from Amazon. Read my review.)   My book-of-the-year for 2007 was Andy Stanley’s gem, The Best Question Ever: A Revolutionary Approach to Decision Making. (My wife and Dick Towner told me to read it—so I did!) Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets is Stanley’s 2020 update—and the five questions are convicting, including “The Maturity Question: What is the wise thing for me to do?” (Read my review here.) [   ] BOOK #4: Great Questions for Leading Well, by Steve A. Brown. (Order from Arrow Leadership.) This toolbox of convicting questions will find its way into your staff meetings, team meetings, one-on-one meetings, and family dinner discussions. And get this! While reading this little gem, I conducted my own market-testing with clients. After leveraging my favorite questions, almost everyone ordered this power-packed booklet! Just 28 pages and, by my count, 205 questions. In groups, or one-on-one, I read this humdinger question first—and, trust me, the room gets really quiet! “What’s one thing you are hoping we don’t talk about?” Note: Steve Brown now serves as president of Columbia Bible College in British Columbia and just published a new book this year, Finding Courage. (Watch for my mini-review in the next issue.) [   ] BOOK #5: God in the Marketplace: 45 Questions Fortune 500 Executives Ask About Faith, Life, and Business, by Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby. (Order from Amazon.) Here are just three of the 45 questions: • How do I honor God when I have to fire someone and make other difficult business decisions? • How do I deal with a non-Christian boss or colleague whose actions and values are unethical?  • How do I know when it’s time to leave my present job?  Note: This is an excellent companion book to my 2021 book-of-the year, Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God, by Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, and Claude King. (Read my review.) [   ] BOOK #6: The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask (With Answers), by Mark Mittelberg, with a foreword by Lee Strobel. (Order from Amazon.)   "The best defense is a good offense," writes Mark Mittelberg in this timely book. Noting "one of the greatest verbal comebacks in the history of public discourse..." this apologetics guru mentions Ronald Reagan's 1984 debate quip about Walter Mondale's age! While this book is excellent on how to defend your Christian faith, Mittelberg also delivers helpful insights for going on the offense, per 2 Corinthians 10:4.    Note: Lee Strobel, who wrote the foreword to Mittelberg’s book, also asks life-changing questions in his books, including Is God Real? Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life. (Order from Amazon. Read my review.) And…check out Strobel’s latest book, Seeing the Supernatural.   YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) Peter Drucker famously asked five questions that CEOs and board members of nonprofits must answer. Read Peter Drucker's Five Most Important Questions: Enduring Wisdom for Today's Leaders, by Peter F. Drucker. (Order from Amazon. Read my review.) Discuss: "Question 2: Who is our customer?” (Drucker’s follow-up question: “Who is our primary customer?” He defines it.) 2) In Briggs’ book, The Art of Asking Better Questions, Part 4, “Ridiculously Practical Ways to Ask Better Questions,” begins with a simple chart of nine “Common Questions” and nine “Next-Level Questions.” (Hint: strive for next-level questions.) My friend, Scott Anderson, has a warm and caring next-level question he asks me often: “What is it like to be John Pearson today?” (That requires a thoughtful response.) Discuss: What’s the best book you’ve read on the art of asking better questions? What book will you read next?       SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time! Book #35 of 99: Dollars and Sense For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #35 of 99 in our series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.   Dollars and Sense:  How We Misthink Money and  How to Spend Smarter  by Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler (Nov. 7, 2017) What’s not to like when the co-author of this book describes himself as “just another Princeton-educated lawyer turned award-winning comedian, author, speaker, and advocate for behavioral economics.”    • Reviewed in Issue No. 377 (Feb. 13, 2018).    • Read my review on Amazon.    • Order from Amazon.    • Management Bucket #15 of 20: The Budget Bucket Here are my two take-aways from this book: #1. I’ve been misthinking about money. Yikes. This book has immediately changed the way I think about how I spend money—and I’m not a spender. #2. Besides being well-researched and very practical, this book is hilarious!    CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN      Mistake #4 of 8: “Not Leveraging God-given Gifts and Passion.” Read more in the new workbook, The 8 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board—and look at the “cheat sheets” on page 47 to discern your own "social style" comfort zone—and how to ensure other board members understand how God made you (and them!). IMPORTANT NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here. New book reviews will also be archived here at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Or, click here for John’s recent book reviews on Amazon. BOARD BLOG! More than 200 board governance topics are covered in the short blogs posted by John Pearson at ECFA’s Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations Blog. To learn why the board at Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center schedules a “Heavy Lifting” segment in every meeting—to address “big rock” agenda items, click here. MORE RESOURCES: • BLOG: Pails in Comparison • SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews • JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon  • WEBSITE:  Management Buckets • BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations Now That’s a Good Question! On the Pails in Comparison blog, read my review of Terry Powell’s helpful book, Now That's a Good Question!: How to Lead Quality Bible Discussions (Updated & Expanded). Chapter 9 on “Handling Difficult Discussions” is worth the price of the book. Find more reviews at my Pails in Comparison blog. Note: This is the NEW location for John Pearson's Buckets Blog. Slowly (!), the previous 650+ blogs posted (between 2006 and 2025) will gradually populate this blogsite, along with new book reviews each month.