The Questioning Mindset Part-1

Design Squiggle
2 min readDec 1, 2018

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Don’t know where to start? Start with the basics — crack your 5W and 1H.

To us, an entrepreneur is versatile opportunity spotter and creative problem solver. They say that any successful entrepreneur is also an Innovator — and across the globe, innovators share few similar traits like observing, questioning, experimenting, associating and networking (this is explored in depth in the book The Innovators DNA). Today though, we are going to explore the questioning mindset. Writers are often times hit with writers' block; similarly, entrepreneurs who want to do something new or different face the innovator's block. Like everything else in our life, innovation makes progress after we crack the basics.

So what are the questions that we can start with when you are?

- Creating a new business

- Addressing a new opportunity or challenge

- Solving a pertinent problem

- Developing new products and services

Start with applying the 5 W and 1 H (derived from Kaizen roots) for your customer or end user. Most times entrepreneurs and innovators alike start with explaining the idea. But the secret is to dig deep and figure out the reason this idea has to exist in the first place. The below set of questions should help get you started on that path,

WHO — Who is using/going to use this product or service?

WHAT — What do they want your product or service for?

HOW — How do they get the work done today?

WHEN — When do they find the need for this product or service?

WHERE — Where do they need your product or service to help them?

WHY — Why do they need your product or service?

The above questions will prove if we need our business to exist in this market. Try to answer these questions before you get started on solving any amazing or complicated problems that exist in this world today. So are you geared up to get started?

Let us know your experience of trying to answer these questions. See you soon.

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