My recent commitment to consistent blogging had me thinking over the weekend about messages that have been consistent in my life and the wisdom in them. With Mother's Day on Sunday, I had the pleasure of taking my parents out for dinner. Spending time with them brought one piece of advice to mind which I was fed every day growing up:

Ask a good question.

Leaving for school in the morning, my dad would tell me and both of my sisters to ask a good question. There were few days when I wasn't urged to come up with a quality query, and on occasion I was held accountable when asked at the dinner table what good question I had posed. I did not have an answer for that every day, and for a long time I thought this advice was merely applicable to school - not to mention, in my arrogance I thought I had all the answers. Why ask questions when I can answer them!? As is often the case with parental wisdom, I didn't come to truly appreciate the value of my dad's sage wisdom until much later.

When I first broke into the business world and found myself working with 30-year HR pros, I was willing to admit that I might not know everything and could learn by asking questions. Now that I am back to knowing everything about everything, I understand that not all situations merit the same response, and questions are still necessary to understand different people and organizations.

Too many times I see people who want to have all the answers, and who can blame them when our culture often tells us that we must have answers. I have observed this trait within myself at times and with friends; at work I hear about critical management decisions made at various organizations without all the answers, without the evidence to back up these decisions. It is really quite simple and obvious. Buck the trend, learn something new, ASK A GOOD QUESTION!