I used to just answer questions at face value…..but I learned to ask more questions of people asking me questions before I answer their question.
Why?
Because their question usually doesn’t provide enough information for an accurately informed answer. And sometimes that’s the point.
A few years ago a business manager stopped by my desk and engaged me in a conversation. He mattered about “Scientists…what is it with you ‘types’….why you can’t ever answer a simple question with a yes or a no?“
I smiled and said, “Well, it usually depends on what information you offer with the question..and very few questions actually have a yes or no answer.“
To which he shot back…”See! That’s what I’m talking about!“
We had a really great conversation about science and assumptions and variables, and how they can affect expected outcomes. Nothing is black and white, the information plugged into the question will affect the answer, sometimes radically. That manager’s line of thinking was just flawed, he didn’t really think about the fact that science isn’t a straight line and information leads to a greater probability of an accurate (or more accurate) answer to a question; he’s a business brain, not a science one, and he always said he enjoyed the debates we had because we argued logic from different sides and different perspectives…..we made each other think outside of our own boxes. He retired a few years ago and I miss our discussions because I never knew where they might go (See: What if Dolphins had Opposable Thumbs for an example)
Another individual I’ve had to deal with for a number of years is more …ummm… devious (?) in their questions, maybe it’s just ignorance, perhaps a bit of both, I’m not entirely sure. They (figuratively speaking) hold a hand of cards close to their chest when they ask a really broad question….but they don’t willingly supply enough background information to provide a fully informed answer. I’ve always felt that they are hiding 90% of the information behind their back, all the details needed to form an educated answer to a question that someone else asked them.
They’re excellent at asking black or white questions when there are no black or white answers.
They’re also skilled at using circular logic and cherry picking just enough information to seem to demonstrate understanding of the problem and sway an answer in a direction of desired response.
And they always seem annoyed when I ask questions to clarify the information.
“Why do you ask?” “Can you give me some additional details?”
“Why can’t you just answer the question I asked?“
“Because you haven’t provided enough information for me to do so….“
It’s a valid feeling, I think, because I’ve had others come back to me later and say that “so-and-so said that you said……but ….(insert pertinent information that would have resulted in a different answer here…)“. So I’ve been burned and I’ve learned.
You can’t get a meaningful answer unless you have shared enough information for someone to provide one.
The world is simply NOT black or white and asking a black or white question where the answer may be impactful in some way, can be harmful and/or deceitful. We’ve seen a lot of that the past few years….
Sketchplanations provided this in an interesting graphic and an associated explanation:
The metrics onion
Metrics are like an onion: full of layers.
A simple question to ask can often be complicated to answer. Or we may find that we need to ask a different question. While it’d be lovely to have one simple metric to understand our business the reality is usually a lot more nuanced and interesting than it first seems.
Averages will deceive. Vanity metrics may wow — by, say, quoting a total user count and conveniently ignoring whether those users are actually paid, active, or leaving. Growth overall can hide declines in other areas or product lines and vice versa. The people on monthly subscriptions may be doing great, while revenue from add-ons may be declining. New users may be signing up in droves while existing users are churning. Mobile traffic may be different from desktop, online sales different from store sales… In practice, it’s the hard questions we’re usually asking even if we don’t know how to ask them.
It pays to carefully consider what you’re trying to learn and to understand all aspects of a business before putting faith in the numbers. And it may make sense to start with simpler metrics first.
Spend time with your data.
Want to know more about your own biases and logical fallacies? Check out these two links and learn a little bit about where the potential pitfalls are:
Your Fallacy is….“A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning. Logical fallacies are like tricks or illusions of thought, and they’re often very sneakily used by politicians and the media to fool people. Don’t be fooled! This website has been designed to help you identify and call out dodgy logic wherever it may raise its ugly, incoherent head. Rollover the icons and click for examples. If you see someone committing a fallacy, link them to it e.g. yourlogicalfallacyis.com/strawman“
Your Bias is…. “Cognitive biases make our judgments irrational. We have evolved to use shortcuts in our thinking, which are often useful, but a cognitive bias means there’s a kind of misfiring going on causing us to lose objectivity. This website has been designed to help you identify some of the most common biases stuffing up your thinking.
Click on the icons to see full explanations on link-able pages e.g. yourbias.is/confirmation-bias and share this website to help make the world a more rational and thinky place”
So be aware of your biases, recognize logical fallacies, and if someone asks you a question…why not start your response with something simple like….”Why do you ask?” …that might, at the very least, open the question to a bit of dialogue and you just never know where the conversation will go….at the very least it will probably be a better informed response.