How a question can expand your perception

One of the world’s most famous paintings is Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch.” When curators hung it in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, they tried an experiment: They asked museum visitors to write down questions they had about the painting. The questions collected were varied: How much did the painting cost? Had it ever been forged? Are there any mistakes in the painting? Why did Rembrandt choose this subject to paint? Who were the people in the painting?

The curators then posted the questions, along with the answers, in a room next to the gallery where the painting hung. Visitors had to walk through that room before viewing the painting. To their surprise, curators found that the average length of time visitors spent looking at the painting jumped from about six minutes to half an hour. Art lovers walked back and forth, reading questions and then examining the painting. They told museum officials that reading the questions encouraged them to look closer and longer and to remember more details.

What does this story have to do with managers?

It shows the importance of questions—of the richness the answer to a question can add to our understanding of topics and situations, people and animals, and machines and operations. Whether you’re having an informal exchange with a colleague or listening to a staffer explain a glitch in a procedure, ask a question. Or two. See where it leads. As Albert Einstein said, “the universe has the answers, all we need to do is ask the right questions.”

All the success,

Peter