BCG has identified four aspects of innovation culture on which companies often focus: what successes you celebrate, how you create, how you lead, and how you team. Importantly, these aspects either add—or destroy—value, depending on how your teams work together. Each aspect, when framed as a question, can help you determine what route to pursue to bolster your company’s innovation culture.

1. What do you celebrate? What

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Authors: David Blanchard, Deborah Lovich, Hannah Lu Schmitt, Johann D. Harnoss, Justin Manly, Robert Werner
Source: “An Innovation Culture That Gets Results”
Original Publication: Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Subjects: Innovation Questions, Organization Questions

Top performers understand that while a company can pursue outstanding holistic performance, it still must develop its reinvention muscles to respond effectively in times of uncertainty. The opposite is also true: an organization can push to reinvent itself, but if it doesn’t deliver financial results, the transformation won’t be sustainable.

After committing to a transformation, the executive team should ask questions in ten categories about the … [ Read more ]

Authors: Cesar Okajima, Fábio Stul, José Pimenta da Gama, Sara Pliego
Source: “How bold is your business transformation? A new way to measure progress”
Original Publication: McKinsey Quarterly
Subject: Change Management Questions

• How many customers does your firm have? How many customers do you really have?
• How do these customers differ in terms of their value to the firm? For example, how many one-time buyers did you have last year? How many customers accounted for half of your revenue last year?
• How many customers who bought your products last year can be expected to buy from you this year?
• What

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Authors: Bruce Hardie, Michael Ross, Peter Fader
Source: “What Do You Really Know About Your Customer Base?”
Original Publication: Knowledge@Wharton
Subject: Customer Questions

Capital markets

• What has driven our historic shareholder returns over various time horizons?
• How does our valuation stack up to peers’ today, and why?
• What are the highest-impact levers to change our valuation (growth, margin improvement rates, etcetera)?

Strategy

Are we in the right businesses, geographies, sectors, product lines, and customer segments?

How can we strengthen our competitive advantage in these chosen areas?

What are our highest-potential M&A, partnership, and divestment opportunities?

Commercial

• What

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Authors: Carolyn Dewar, Kurt Strovink, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra
Source: “Staying ahead: How the best CEOs continually improve performance”
Original Publication: McKinsey Quarterly
Subjects: Management Questions, Strategy Questions

1. What are the greatest opportunities we haven’t yet capitalized on? 
2. What are the greatest threats that could end this storied franchise if not addressed? 
3. What is the one thing I could do to screw it up?
4. What do you hope will change? 
5. What should not change? 
6. What aren’t people telling me that I need to know? 
7. What am I not hearing that I should be hearing?

Authors: Carolyn Dewar, Kurt Strovink, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra
Source: “Starting strong: Making your CEO transition a catalyst for renewal”
Original Publication: McKinsey Quarterly
Subjects: Corporate Governance Questions, Leadership Questions

Use these eight questions to guide your search for a new board leader.

1. Are we aligned on the qualities we’re looking for? Boards should be searching for someone who can maintain a collegial yet objective relationship with the CEO that is built on trust; with relevant strategic experience to help guide the company in the right direction; and with the courage to challenge management and the

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Authors: Dennis Carey, Joseph E. Griesedieck, Michael Useem, Ram Charan
Source: “Choosing a New Board Leader: Eight Questions”
Original Publication: Knowledge@Wharton
Subject: Corporate Governance Questions

Reflective recognition gives you, the leader, a window into what matters most to another person while at the same time, helping employees get to present their own progress and accomplishments. What’s more? When employees stop and reflect on their own achievements, how they’ve tackled challenges, and how they’ve made progress, it is great for engagement, too. The first step is to empower your employees to … [ Read more ]

Author: Christopher Littlefield
Source: “A Better Way to Recognize Your Employees”
Original Publication: Harvard Business Review (HBR)
Subjects: Human Resources Questions, Management Questions

1. Why now?
2. Is this a reversible or an irreversible decision?
3. If irreversible, what makes it so? Can I break it down into multiple smaller decisions, some of which may be reversible?
4. What factors won’t change in 10 years? How much of our plan is optimizing for durable traits versus betting on new trends and traits that will change?
5. How do we know we are succeeding in our goal?
6. What are

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Author: Kintan Brahmbhatt
Source: “35 Impactful Questions Managers Should Ask Themselves Regularly”
Original Publication: First Round Review
Subject: Decision Making Questions

Questions For Gauging Team Morale

1. Who haven’t I heard from?
2. How well do I know my team members? How well do they know each other?
3. Have I made a difference to each member of my team this week? (related: Have I checked in with each employee this week to see how they’re doing?)
4. Have I expressed gratitude to every single person on my team recently?
5. Is anyone a flight risk?

… [ Read more ]

Source: “35 Impactful Questions Managers Should Ask Themselves Regularly”
Original Publication: First Round Review
Subject: Management Questions

Before asking questions as a manager, it’s critical to know what motivates employees to stay with an organization and why. Gallup research shows 12 needs managers can meet to improve employee engagement, including:

• Prioritizing employee development
• Facilitating a sense of purpose
• Caring about employees
• Considering employee opinions
• Focusing on employee strengths

These five measures map closely with research recently published by HBR on [ Read more ]

Author: Susan Peppercorn
Source: “5 Questions Every Manager Needs to Ask Their Direct Reports”
Original Publication: Harvard Business Review (HBR)
Subject: Human Resources Questions