• Who owns the process?
• Who has the power to change it?
• What are its objectives?
• What are the success metrics?
• Who are the customers of this process?
• Who gets to participate?
• What are the data or information inputs for this process?
• What analytical tools are used?
• What events and milestones drive this process?
• What kind of decisions does this process generate?
• What are the decision-making criteria?
• How are decisions communicated, and to whom?
• How does this process

… [ Read more ]

Subject: Process Questions

1. Is the structure right?
2. Is the business model sustainable?
3. Do you want to be in the business you are in?
4. Is executive success (and succession) in place?
5. Do you know your customers?
6. Are the costs right?
7. Is the product right?
8. Do you know your competition?
9. Is the balance sheet right?
10. Where are you on technology?

Author: John McCallum
Source: As the Economy Turns: 10 Questions for Executives
Subject: CEO / Executive Questions

Exit interviews provide insights you can use to keep others from leaving. Here’s what every manager should ask:

• If the CEO left unexpectedly today and you were put in charge, what are the first things you would change?
• What could have changed six months ago that would have prevented you from looking for a new job?
• If you weren’t looking, what factors tipped the scale when an

… [ Read more ]

Author: Scott Westcott
Source: Goodbye and Good Luck
Subject: Human Resources Questions

• What types of mistakes do customers tend to make while making this kind of decision? Make sure the decision process avoids these mistakes.
• What do customers most frequently overlook or not consider? Make sure the decision process brings these elements into consideration.
• What are the most difficult things for a customer to understand? Determine ways to communicate these elements precisely.
• What must a customer understand to reach a

… [ Read more ]

Subject: Sales Questions

These seven questions, taken together, indicate respondents’ perceptions of their workplaces’ diversity focus (WDF), which correlates highly with important workplace attitudes. Employees whose companies have lower WDF scores are less likely to feel satisfied with or loyal to their company—and they’re also less likely to stay with their employer—than employees whose companies have higher WDF scores.

• Am I aware of my company’s efforts to create

… [ Read more ]

Author: David C. Wilson
Source: When Equal Opportunity Knocks
Subject: Human Resources Questions

• Can you describe your company´s identity in a few words?
• Does your company´s identity match the key success factors for your business?
• Do you use your company´s identity as the basis for strategic decisions?
• Is your company´s identity integrated into its key processes?

Source: Return on Identity / Ulrich Pidun, Daniel Stelter / Boston Consulting Group (BCG), March 30, 2006

Subject: Management Questions

Traditional Measurement Needs
Financial

• Are we focusing on the right financial measures to judge the success of our company/divisions/units?
• How much of our value is reflected in our balance sheet? Do we have the right balance between financial and non-financial measures to address key intangible assets beyond the balance sheet?

Operational

• Do we have the right short-term operational measures in place to respond quickly when an activity central to

… [ Read more ]

Subject: Metrics Questions

Below is a sampling of the kinds of questions you should ask before you make a final decision to fire an employee.

1. Does the firing violate discrimination laws or other federal, state or local statutes?
2. Is the reason for firing in line with company policies and procedures?
3. Have any assurances, written or oral, been given to the employee about length of employment or job security?
4. Has the reason

… [ Read more ]

Author: Carol Orsag Madigan
Source: A Kinder
Subject: Human Resources Questions

For each “bad” action, ask the team:

• What choices could we have made to avoid the bad action?
• What choices did we make that should have been avoided?
• What misinterpretations of events, motivations, and actions did we make that led to the bad action?
• What were the correct interpretations?
• What do all these imply about what we should and shouldn´t do going forward?

For each “good” … [ Read more ]

Subject: Project Management Questions

Even the most seasoned sales veterans sometimes struggle to get more than a few questions into the process of general discovery before quickly trying to push products. To improve your success in this area, break those discovery questions down into four subcategories:

• Marketing questions: How do you go to market? How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors? What are your biggest competitive challenges?
• Operational questions:

… [ Read more ]

Subject: Sales Questions