Three months ago I had coffee with Alan Webber. Alan lives up the road from me, is one of the founders of Fast Company magazine, a former Harvard Business Review editor, author of Rules of Thumb, and now a gubernatorial candidate in New Mexico. I was asking Alan for some advice, and as he dished out rather a lot of great advice he asked if I’d read his book, Rules of Thumb. I hadn’t read the book, mostly because the title sounds like a sort of Chicken Soup for the Businessperson’s Soul. This is not a Chicken Soup book.

As soon as I got to my office I ordered Rules of Thumb and started reading it 2 days later. There are 52 rules. I’ve only read 12. This book tricks you into thinking it’s going to fun and easy. It isn’t. This book is pushy and probing. I’ve only read 12 rules because I am stuck on rule 10.

Rule #10

A GOOD QUESTION BEATS A GOOD ANSWER

Sure it does, and now I am obsessed with questions. This is making me a better person and professional. I am getting to the heart of the matter much more often, but it was exhausting at first. Did I know what was really important? Did it matter? What if? Why not? What do you want? Why? Did I hear you? Did I answer your question? What will this accomplish? Why did I do that? Why didn’t I? Where are we headed? Really? What do we want? Why do we want that? Does it matter? To whom? Or is it who? Ok, it’s still exhausting, but in a good and addicting way, like a really hard yoga class. Thank you, Yogi Alan.

Things I am grateful for today – having the freedom to stay home with my girls on parent teacher conference days, living in Santa Fe, my yoga teacher, jalepeno hummus, my husband.