Asking Questions

Robert Hodge coaches leaders, emerging leaders, and boards to their “preferred future” and just recently shared some interesting thoughts in a blog about how asking the right questions can help any organization innovate and gain new insights. In this blog, he concentrates his thoughts around Kelcie Miller-Anderson, an amazing young woman, scientist, researcher, and environmentalist, who recalls her infatuation with the question “Why?” Dandelions? Kelcie Miller-Anderson of Calgary, Ontario, was only 15 years old when she began to wonder why it was possible for dandelions to grow in places nothing else could. Seven years later, Kelcie’s questions have resulted in research that could...Read more …

This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. And I’m Pam Klein. When my friend Susan casually mentioned the Bible in a conversation, she was met with this response:  “The Bible?! I don’t like the Bible!!” This didn’t rattle Susan. Rather, she was interested in why the woman said what she did. “Can you describe what just went on inside of you when you heard the word ‘Bible’?” Susan’s question seemed to surprise the woman who answered: “When I was young, my uncle used the Bible as power over my family—he was so hateful....Read more …

Kay recalls a time when she was much, much younger. It was late and dark. But my dad kept driving toward our hotel. So while my sisters slept on either side of me in the back seat, and while my mom fought to stay awake up front to keep dad alert, four year-old me stood, my feet straddling the backseat middle floor bump and my hands gripping the front bench seat, talking and talking and talking. Finally, my dad told my mom to just go to sleep—all my chatter would keep him very much awake. I’ll never forget having my...Read more …

This is Walk the Way. Brought to you by Q Place. I’m Jeff Klein. Have you ever thought about actually doing the work of mission like Jesus did? Jesus approached people in a way that put the “ball in their court” by asking questions. Remember the story of the paralyzed man who’d spent every day of his 38 years by the pool? When Jesus comes upon him, he asks the man a surprising question: “Do you want to get well?” What?! Of course he does!!! Doesn’t he? Maybe. Maybe not. Think about it. If he gets well, he’ll have to...Read more …

Cheryl Bachelder is a passionate restaurant industry executive serving as the CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Ms. Bachelder has come to be known for her great, servant leadership—leadership that turned a struggling company around by shaping a work culture that emphasized serving others—both within the company as well as the customers it serves. In 2015, she wrote a book, “Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others,” chronicling the tenets of the Popeyes turnabout. But the book is not just a retelling of this success. Although a rather quick read, it’s a deep book of leadership wisdom that some readers have likened...Read more …

Becky Pippert, author of 11 books, including the ground-breaking book on evangelism, Out of the Saltshaker, describes an exchange she had with a fellow passenger in a recent blog: I recently had a lively conversation with a woman next to me on a flight. “Listen,” she said, “if I want to be a man on Monday and a woman on Wednesday—who cares? Gender identity is simply a matter of personal preference.” She said she believes in the essential goodness of human nature, so I asked how she’d describe the state of the world: “The world is clearly falling apart. It’s a mess!”  “But how is...Read more …

This is Walk the Way with Jeff Klein. It’s been said that curiosity is what keeps a conversation going. Listen to what the brilliant scientist Albert Einstein once said: “The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” That’s an interesting way to put it! When applying the idea of holy...Read more …

This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein.  And I’m Pam Klein. In light of recent events that have happened around the world and in our own country, people are once again asking a myriad of questions. So you say there’s a God? Is your God the same God as my God? Why does God allow evil and hate? How should I respond? Or these: Who do I need to be afraid of? Will violence ever stop? What does peace look like? In many ways, these questions aren’t new–they’ve been asked in countless ways, by...Read more …

“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging...Read more …

Here in the Northwest, experts and our government leaders have asked us to prepare for a major earthquake. Cities in my area were looking for citizens willing to get a resource called “Map Your Neighborhood” (MYN) into the hands of those who’d be willing to act. As I considered my work with Q Place, I saw this as an incredible opportunity, so I jumped at the chance. I’ve since been endorsed by Washington State Emergency Management to work with and through churches to help get this wonderful resource into many local neighborhoods! It may be “only” the earthquake now, but who knows...Read more …