Inquiry Institute; Great results begin with great questions.

Create Breakthroughs with Q-Storming®

This description of Q-Storming® is one of the Question Thinking Tools in Marilee Adams’ book, Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work. (The book also has a whole chapter on Q-Storming.)

---

Q-Storming is akin to brainstorming. However, it is often more powerful than generative. Rather than seeking new answers and solutions, the goal of Q-Storming practice is to generate as many new questions as possible. This is because one can only get the best answers and solutions by asking the best questions first. Typically, questions open thinking, while answers often close down thinking. Q-Storming empowers collaborative, creative and strategic thinking. It is a tool for moving beyond limitations in perception and thinking and advancing to novel and extraordinary solutions and answers. It is most often used when breakthroughs are sought in decision making, problem solving, strategic planning, and innovation.

Q-Storming is based on three premises:  1) Great results begin with great questions, 2) Most any problem can be solved with enough of the right questions, and 3) The questions we ask ourselves often provide the most fruitful openings for new thinking and possibilities.

Q-Storming is typically done with a group or team, especially when exploring ideas and possibilities. It is also used in goal-oriented conversations between two people, for example, in coaching, leadership, management, or sales. Q-Storming can be done in person or virtually, with a global team or a coaching client in a different geographic location.

The facilitator focuses on developing a robust goal and eliciting assumptions about it prior to the question generation phase of Q-Storming. Typically, action plans will then be made or revised based on discoveries made during the Q-Storming session.

Question Guidelines

• Questions should be first-person singular or plural, using “I” and “we.” You want new questions to think with, not necessarily to ask someone else.
• Generate questions from Learner mindset and avoid Judger.
• Questions are mostly open-ended, not closed (“How can I?” rather than “Can I? and “How can we?” rather than “Can you?”)
• Invite courageous and provocative, as well as “silly” and “dumb” questions.

Note: Q-Storming is a powerful tool for creative thinking and you are welcome to experiment with it. However, mastery with facilitating Q-Storming session, especially with groups or communities facing complex or challenging issues, is best supported by professional training such as our Q-Storming Basics Teleseminar or our Question Thinking Certification.