" The more you play around with it, and the more you see the power in a question, the more you realize that it actually is the cure for the uncertainty that ails many of us." - Larry Robertson
" The more you play around with it, and the more you see the power in a question, the more you realize that it actually is the cure for the uncertainty that ails many of us." - Larry Robertson
Larry Robertson has spent three decades advising leaders on growth, innovation, and strategy. He is also a US Fulbright Scholar, a columnist, and the author of four award-winning books. His newest, Great Question: The Art of the Ask and Getting More of What You Really Want, draws on more than 140 interviews spanning neuroscience, psychology, business, and the arts.
Larry believes we are not a storytelling species. We are a questioning species. He arrived at that conviction book by book, pattern by pattern, over two decades of research.
In this conversation, we explore the power of questions as a form of agency. We examine intellectual humility and what happens when you stop performing certainty. We discuss leadership, polarization, and the Braver Angels framework. We also unpack Larry's five-element Art of the Ask.
Questions are not a technique. They are a behavior. They are something you already know how to do. This conversation is a reminder to start practicing again.
This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.
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Keep questioning!
Episode Notes
00:00 Welcome to Curated Questions
01:48 Meet Larry Robertson
02:22 A Questioning Species
03:06 When Questions Began
03:30 Dinner Table Curiosity
04:26 From Books to Pattern
05:47 Searching the Research Gap
07:05 Parents and Long Term Payoff
08:56 Born Asking Before Words
10:28 Questions as Direction and Light
12:38 Raising Capable Adults
13:42 Birthday Question Tradition
19:37 Agency Through Asking
20:56 What Is a Question
25:22 Leadership Beyond Power
28:26 Asking as a Discipline
34:59 Thriving in Constant Change
39:37 Writing Lessons and Humility
43:27 How Questions Influence The Writing Process
46:24 Intellectual Humility
48:40 Embarrassment As A Case Study
56:46 Larry's Fulbright Scholarship Experience
59:13 Reverse Engineering Fulbright
01:00:16 COVID Delay Becomes Opportunity
01:01:00 Living Across Costa Rica
01:01:54 Questions As A Laboratory
01:02:51 Supercharging The Experience
01:04:45 Two Years With Partner
01:06:00 Research Pivots And Ripple
01:07:07 Language Opens People Up
01:10:07 Hard On Problem Not Person
01:12:19 Polarization And Questions
01:13:10 Braver Angels Workshop
01:14:40 From Attack To Curiosity
01:19:04 Introducing Great Question
01:20:24 Evergreen Favorite Question
01:22:00 Functional Vs Great Spectrum
01:25:50 Art Of The Ask Hand
01:29:03 Five Fingers Framework
01:31:53 Larry's First Question During His Research
01:37:39 Revisiting Great Questions
01:42:57 Deliberate Pause Conclusion
01:45:04 Larry's Right Now Question
Resources Mentioned
Great Question: The Art of the Ask and Getting More of What You Really Want
Rebel Leadership by Larry Robertson
I Never Thought Of It That Way by Monica Guzman
A Deliberate Pause by Larry Robertson
Larry Roberson on LinkedIn