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Curated Questions

Celebrating The Power Of Questions

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#103 Ken Woodward: The People Who Leave Get the Last Word: Revisiting a Question Ten Years Later

"What do former members say about the organization?" - Ken Woodward

Ten years ago today, I asked a question on my daily practice, IOTD365: what do former members say about an organization? I wrote it after my daughter gave up on an internship. One conversation in a hallway with a senior who'd done it was all it took.

In 2016 I read that question as an insider asking leaders to listen. Today I read it as a former member who left federal service after thirty-two years without anyone asking what I knew. I also read it as a founder who can't hear what's said after I leave the room.

In this episode, I reread the original post and question the man who wrote it. I look at where reputation really lives and the courage it takes to tell someone the truth. Then I borrow a habit from my years navigating submarines in and out of port. Taking a fix on an old question shows how far I've moved.

What question did you answer years ago that deserves a second look?

This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.

Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions)

Keep questioning!

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tags: Curated Questions, Ken Woodward, revisiting questions, asking better questions, organizational reputation, former employees, exit interviews, employee feedback, workplace culture, climate survey, leadership listening, organizational learning, institutional knowledge, speaking up at work, workplace courage, internship, career reflection, leaving federal service, Navy veteran, submarine navigation, taking a fix, self-reflection, personal growth, journaling practice, Insight of the Day, IOTD365, reputation management, founder lessons, listening to feedback, curiosity
categories: Leadership, Strategy, Coaching, Critical Thinking, Innovation, Legacy, Problem Solving
Wednesday 09.30.26
Posted by Kenneth Woodward
 

#99 Wanda Herndon: What Are They Really Asking? | Former Starbucks SVP on the Second Question

" I had to start trying to think beneath the questions: what are they really saying?" - Wanda J. Herndon

Wanda J. Herndon trained as a journalist, then spent forty years on the other side of the notebook. Dow. DuPont. Eleven years as Starbucks SVP of Global Communications while the company grew from 550 stores to more than 11,000.

Her curiosity starts with a middle child in Flint, Michigan, who wore out her siblings asking why. She describes learning, after being misquoted, to ask what a reporter is really asking. She calls listening a discipline she never mastered. And the question that carried her through divorce: what is this moment trying to teach me?

Crisis work as a puzzle solved with who, what, why, when, where, how. Mentoring as a two-way street. Why she always asked Howard Schultz why. Being the CEO of you. Owning Flint rather than letting others define it.

And her right now question: will we survive this chaos, and what can I do to help?

This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.

Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions)

Keep questioning!

Read more

tags: Wanda Herndon, Wanda J. Herndon, W Communications, Working Class to Breaking Glass, Curated Questions, Ken Woodward, Starbucks, Howard Schultz, Starbucks communications, global communications, corporate communications, strategic communications, crisis communications, media relations, public relations, employee communications, executive communications, brand building, reputation management, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Flint Michigan, Michigan State University, journalism, the Great Migration, memoir, Black women leaders, women in leadership, corporate leadership, mentoring, mentorship, sponsorship and advocacy, career advice, self-definition, resilience, listening skills, the art of asking questions, curiosity, lifelong learning, Alpha Kappa Alpha
categories: Connection, Leadership, Listening, Mental Wellness, Personal Growth, Equity, Imagination, Journalism, Strategy, Black Women, Community
Wednesday 09.02.26
Posted by Kenneth Woodward
 

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