Running a business is difficult. Managing everything is particularly difficult at the moment. None of us have ever experienced such a global pandemic, and its effects have created remarkable challenges. One of these challenges is leading your business, team, or family through times that can only be described as very uncertain times.
Here’s the thing: starting a business – or anything really – is fraught with uncertainty. They don’t know when to start, where to end up. You have an idea, and hopefully a plan, but so many unforeseen circumstances and variables come into play that it would be silly to think you have all the answers.
This can be a difficult finding for leaders who are used to being responsible for making sure everything is figured out. This is important, however, as it can directly affect whether your business is more than just an idea.
Fortunately, Bill Gates has a suggestion. Last month, Gates wrote a blog post sharing two questions every leader should ask.
Since I was a teenager, I’ve approached every big new problem the same way: starting with two questions. I used this technique at Microsoft and I still use it today … Here it is: Who did a good job of dealing with this problem? And what can we learn from them?
I think it’s reasonable to acknowledge that Bill Gates found some things out. The company he founded, Microsoft, is one of the three most valuable in the world. His foundation has donated billions to public health research, including polio eradication and funding of vaccines for Covid-19. You don’t usually see him as someone to look elsewhere for answers, but he does. More importantly, he’s not afraid to say he does.
This is perhaps the greatest indicator of the quality of a person’s leadership – their willingness to ask these two questions. Here’s why I think they’re so powerful:
First of all, you need to confirm that you haven’t figured everything out. That’s okay because let’s face it, you don’t. Regardless of what you’re building, there’s a good chance someone else has information that would be helpful to you. There’s a good chance someone else has had some success in this field, and the smartest thing you can do is find out who they are.
Second, ask yourself what they did that you can learn from. This is even more difficult at times for a leader, but more important as it gives you the opportunity to get the most out of what has already been achieved and improve. Instead of inventing something, you can devote your resources to innovating and refining what has already worked and making it your own.
However, if you make it a habit of asking these two questions you will become a better guide. This is because the two most important aspects of leadership are setting the direction and influencing people to work in that direction. These two questions will make you better in both areas as you will have a better understanding of which direction you have the best chance of success and what information and experience you will need to get there.
The opinions expressed by Inc.com columnists here are their own, not those of Inc.com.
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