Questions for business. how to build a successful business? Are you the smartest? What questions successful entrepreneurs ask in an interview What are the main questions an entrepreneur solves

What is the value of your offer?

If you can't explain in simple three sentences why people want your product, you don't have a value proposition, and therefore you don't have a business. Dot.

Will there be demand for your product?

The Seinfeld character was convinced that his key to wealth was to create a bra. He has not done any research to confirm that there is a demand for his product. Don't think you can create demand where there was none at all. Don't sell another men's bra.

What makes your product different from competitors?

Starbucks led people to believe they needed a $4 caffeinated concoction, and Louis Vuitton convinced them to shell out $1,500 for denim handbags. But it's not just marketing. If you want to succeed in business, you need to offer tangible value that others don't. For example, the lowest possible prices (Wal-Mart), original design (Apple), exceptional convenience (FedEx). Find what is the advantage of your product, and hit that point.

Is your business scaling?

The difference between modest wealth and obscene wealth lies in scale. It's good when you spend less and less on the release of each next product. Take software for example. Once Microsoft has paid to develop the code, the marginal cost of releasing each additional copy of Windows is negligible. Some models don't scale. For example, in the service sector, where, along with income, the need for personnel is growing.

How personally committed are you to your work?

You have a family and two children. Are you ready to work 100 hours a week for the next two years to grow your startup? If you want to own everything, be prepared to sacrifice everything - at least to begin with.

What is your strength?

Google builds powerful search algorithms, Steinway does wonders with wood, Cisco sniffs around and buys promising new technologies. Realize what you're good at and stick with it. An obvious remark, but a lot of ardent entrepreneurs got burned by this. There are so many possibilities in the world.

What is your weakness?

Know what you are good at and what is bad. For example, Apple does not make cameras for the iPhone, but buys them on the side. Countless online stores outsource websites and payment systems to third-party developers. Wasting resources to get mediocre results is suicide. Do what you can and find reliable partners to handle everything else.

How much will your clients pay?

Why do people pay twice as much for Vanish as they do for generic bleach? Setting an upper limit on the price a customer is willing to pay for a product, whether it's an iPhone or a bottle of bleach, is one of the most powerful levers for profit. Consultants are paid a lot of money to help determine the right price.

What power do your customers have?

What happens if you sell rubber scrapers to the only window cleaning company in town? If the customer asks for big discounts, your business will end. It is better to expand your customer base in advance.

What power do your suppliers have?

The fewer suppliers you have, the more power they have. Making antique clocks from knotty pine might seem like a great idea, but what if you only have one source of knotty wood? Answer: you have to pay. On the other hand, beware of hungry suppliers who are ready to work very cheaply - they often do not monitor quality.

How to sell a product?

Dell Computer sells its computers directly. General Motors and Coca-Cola rely on distributors. Clothing companies such as Ralph Lauren use both internal and external distribution channels. And Apple is opening branded stores. Whatever sales method you choose, make sure it aligns with your overall business strategy.

How should you promote your product?

Telling everyone about your company and not going broke is not an easy task. In the mid-1990s, America Online spent so much money distributing demos of its software that it had to hide those costs on the balance sheet. Later, this accounting technique was banned and millions of accounting profits disappeared.

What is the threat of new players entering the market?

If you can make money in your sector of the market, competition will definitely appear. If not a direct competitor (think of what Microsoft did to Netscape), then another technology could pull the rug out from under your feet (look what digital photography did to Kodak). Long before that happens, build barriers to new entrants - get a patent, get a long lease, build a loyal consumer base.

How will you protect your intellectual property?

A small addition to the previous point. Let's say you've invented a car that can reach speeds of up to 240 km/h on solar power alone. A few months later, five smart competitors have taken apart your model and are now bringing their own versions to market. Before showing samples to the public, issue a temporary patent. It will protect your idea for a year while you refine the details.

What initial capital do you need?

Any investor investing in early stage companies and any small business consultant will tell you that most startups fail due to lack of capital. While there are no hard and fast rules, "double your initial estimate of the required capital," says Jim Pack, head of dental software developer Curve Dental.

How will you finance your business?

You have a choice: a rich aunt, credit cards (dangerous), an angel investor, venture capital (if you're serious), a bank loan (good luck finding it), and the most expensive way is to issue shares. Be careful: selling shares leads to dilution of capital, loss of control and management difficulties. In general, improve your business if you can. And finally, do not forget to correlate the timing of the receipt of money from your assets and the timing of the payment of liabilities. The mismatch can be painful.

How much money do you need to get through the first few years?

For those who overslept the previous paragraph: watch the money. Plenty of entrepreneurs brag about financial growth projections, but their pockets are empty before good times are on the horizon. (Remember the bankrupt dot-coms?) Be patient with Aeron chairs and Macs until you make more than you spend.

What are your financial projections?

Movement is not possible if you do not have a destination. Two important milestones are 1) operating ROI - when your business makes more money than it spends in a given period, and 2) investment ROI - when you finally recoup your initial investment (adjusted for inflation). Financial projections must be justified. Draw a too optimistic picture - and experienced investors will run away from you. And you will run out of money.

How to make your assistants happy?

What is American Idol without Simon Cowell? Soon we will all know, but many people think that the show will not be what it used to be. If you happen to find a great talent, try to keep it. Salary is just part of the equation.

What is your end goal?

Want to dump your business to the first person you meet with money? So did the owners of MySpace, but not Facebook. Different goals require different strategies. Always remember what you are aiming for.

Finkelstein points out that successful CEOs usually look at three things in a candidate: the level of intelligence (but not his IQ), sociality, and emotional attachment.

So, the head of Oracle Larry Ellison during the interview always asks the question "Are you the smartest person you know?". If the candidate answers in the negative, Allison asks to talk about who the interlocutor considers smarter. The founder of Oracle then says goodbye to the candidate and contacts the person in question.

Tesla founder Elon Musk likes to ask small logical problems: “You are standing on the surface of the Earth. Then go south one mile, then west one mile, and then north one mile. As a result, you ended up in the same place where you started your journey. Where are you?". According to Business Insider, the problem has several correct answers. One of them is the North Pole: due to the shape of the planet, a person will move along curves and, as a result, will be at the beginning of the route.

Musk often asks how a candidate has dealt with a problem in the past: “What problems have you faced in your career and how did you solve them?” The entrepreneur then looks into the details to see if the interlocutor was really involved in the story being told or if he is simply taking credit for someone else's accomplishments. Deep knowledge of the details of the work done shows the degree of involvement of the candidate to the story, Musk believes.

Google HR director Lazlo Bock has a similar strategy. He is usually interested in examples from the candidate's experience in solving complex analytical problems.

Engineer Jeff Nelson recalls an interview with Elon Musk in 1999 when Musk was running X Commerce finance, which was later acquired by PayPal. Then the entrepreneur asked him just two questions before offering him a job: “What do you want to do in five years?” and “What questions do you have for me?”.

Nelson replied that he would like to have more managerial tasks in the future, and asked Musk what risks his business model poses. The entrepreneur spoke about the company's dependence on market growth. Later, Nelson received an offer, which he nevertheless decided to refuse.

Finkelstein writes that the refusal does not spoil the relationship between the candidate and the leader. Most often, a justified refusal shows that the interlocutor knows how to evaluate his capabilities and qualities.

As an example, the author of the book talks about the interview of James Green with Steven Jobs. In 1997, the founder of Apple and Pixar invited the future head of the search company Magnetic Green to his home in Palo Alto. According to his recollections, the meeting was not like an interview, but more like a conversation.

Jobs wanted Green to be the link between Disney and Pixar. After the founder of Apple described what tasks would be solved in a new position, Green refused. “All my life, Jobs was an idol for me, but I told him that I would not recommend such a job to anyone. You can't be an intermediary."

Then Jobs offered a job as a marketer in Pixar's short films department. Green agreed. After working in his new position for a week, Green realized that his responsibilities included exactly what Jobs had originally proposed - to be an intermediary between Pixar and Disney.

As Filkenstein points out, successful CEOs of large companies typically don't have lengthy interviews with candidates and only ask a few questions.

So, for example, British entrepreneur and founder of Virgin holding Richard Branson usually asks what the candidate did not indicate in the resume.

Investor Peter Thiel's favorite question: "Tell me about what you think is true, but what no one agrees with?". According to Thiel, such a formulation helps to test the candidate's originality of thinking and his self-confidence.

Zappos founder Tony Shay, a holacracy practitioner, asks all candidates, "On a scale of one to ten, how weird are you?" Shay then asks the candidate to rate their luck.

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Questions p entrepreneurship a

1. Formsbusiness organizations

Of great importance is choice of business form, first of all, the choice between individual and collective entrepreneurship. By choosing an individual form, the entrepreneur acts at his own peril and risk. In case of failure, the owner bears full responsibility for the obligations of the enterprise and pays with his own funds, his property.

Having made a choice in favor of the collective form, the entrepreneur shares responsibility with partners in the enterprise. This form allows you to reduce the risk, attract additional resources.

Entrepreneurial activity -- initiative independent activity of legal entities or citizens aimed at making a profit.

The subjects of entrepreneurial activity in the Republic of Kazakhstan may be citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan; citizens of foreign countries; association or groups of citizens (collective entrepreneurs).

The status of an entrepreneur is acquired after the state registration of a legal or natural person. Entrepreneurial activity cannot be carried out without registration.

The rights, obligations, responsibilities and guarantees of entrepreneurs are regulated by the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan. For example, the following are guaranteed: the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities, create enterprises, acquire property necessary for their activities; equal right of access of all subjects to the market, to material, labor, information and natural resources; equal conditions for the activities of enterprises, regardless of the type of ownership and organizational and legal forms; free choice of the sphere of entrepreneurship within the established limits; prevention of unfair competition of entrepreneurs and monopoly position in the market of individual producers.

An important factor in managing a new venture is the ability to identify areas of the most effective I use of their powers and abilities. As a new enterprise grows and develops, the roles of the entrepreneurs at its founding and the relationship between them change. At the same time, not every entrepreneur notices the need for change and, most importantly, not everyone knows what exactly needs to be done in a changed environment. Under these conditions, the entrepreneur - the founder of the company - asks himself the questions: "What is most consistent with my abilities and inclinations?", "In what way can I show myself in the best way?", "In what areas of the enterprise's activity can I bring the greatest benefit? ". Only after thinking through the answers to these and similar questions, the entrepreneur can make an appropriate decision.

2. Organization of the enterprise

The main form of business organization is the enterprise.

Company how an economic entity or person operates in a market economy, is engaged in the production, sale of goods and services in order to obtain and maximize profits. under production in a market economy, any kind of activity that generates income, regardless of whether they occur in the sphere of material production or in the service sector, is meant.

An enterprise is a property-separated economic unit organized to achieve some economic goal. As an economic unit, an enterprise:

Makes decisions independently;

Really uses the factors of production for the manufacture and sale of products;

Strives to generate income and achieve other goals.

The enterprise is a commercial organization, i.e. an organization aimed at making a profit. This enterprise differs significantly from non-profit organizations, i.e. organizations that do not pursue the goal of making a profit. Usually these include charitable and other foundations, associations, public associations, religious organizations, etc.

3 . Concept, typesand classification of legal entities

legal entity is an organization that has separate property in ownership, economic management or operational management, is liable for its obligations with this property, can acquire or exercise property and personal non-property rights on its own behalf, bear obligations, be a plaintiff and answer in court.

A legal entity is characterized by the following main features:

Property isolation, i.e. the presence of an independent balance sheet for commercial organizations or an independent estimate for non-profit organizations. The property belongs to a legal entity by the right of ownership or is in its economic or operational management;

Independent property liability, i.e. liability for its obligations with separate property;

Independent performance in civil circulation on their own behalf, the ability to conclude civil law contracts (purchase and sale, supply, transportation, loan, lease, contract, etc.) or otherwise acquire rights and incur obligations;

Organizational unity, i.e. the presence of an appropriate stable structure, enshrined in the constituent documents.

The concept of "business" is closely related to the concept of "entrepreneurship". Business (business, commercial activity) - the performance of commercial operations for the production, exchange, sale of goods and services, the result of which may be profit or loss. Business is a broader concept than entrepreneurial activity, since business is the performance of any, including one-time, commercial transactions in any field of activity.

4. Business planningfidelity

Important step- attraction of financial resources. Own funds from an entrepreneur to start and develop a business, as a rule, are not enough. The shortage of funds can be overcome by issuing shares, that is, by partially transferring the rights to participate in the capital and profits of the enterprise; issuing its own debt obligations and, finally, obtaining loans from commercial banks. Here, the enterprise enters into relationships with legal entities and individuals who purchase its shares or debt obligations, as well as with commercial banks. Bank loans are divided into short-term, medium-term and long-term. The specifics of the transition period to the market in our country has led to the fact that the greatest interest for both parties - both the enterprise and the bank - are short-term loans that are issued by banks, as a rule, for 30, 60 and 90 days, i.e. up to three months.

The provision of loans by banks to enterprises is often accompanied by various types of insurance operations. Buildings, stocks of material values, etc. may be subject to insurance. In this case, enterprises enter into business relationships with insurance companies.

By issuing shares, bonds, other securities or by acquiring them, enterprises turn to the stock market - the securities market. The list of organizations with which before. acceptance enter into a relationship here, is large enough. First of all, these are various stock exchanges, financial institutions, investment funds, individual investors, etc.

Next step -- formation of the production base. The entrepreneur will have to purchase or rent production and storage facilities, equipment, machine tools, tools, purchase raw materials and materials, semi-finished products, components, and attract labor. The enterprise enters into relations with equipment manufacturers, suppliers of raw materials and materials, with intermediary firms. The need for workers can be met through personal selection, at the labor exchange, through advertisements in the press and in other ways.

5. P control system

As the development and successful operation of an important component of the new enterprise is creation of a top management level or a special management group. Such a link or group should begin with an analysis of the characteristics of the production and economic activities of its enterprise, identify specific areas on which the survival and well-being of the enterprise depends, and determine goals and objectives for each area. The head of the enterprise, long before his unity of command reaches a critical point, which may be followed by a decline in the activity of the enterprise, must begin to learn how to interact with his colleagues, trust them, while not reducing the exactingness. The leader must be a leader, not a "star".

6. Financing nentrepreneurial activity

When creating a new enterprise, one must be prepared for the fact that the products or services of this enterprise can find completely new consumers in “unplanned” markets. It is necessary to overcome the traditionally entrepreneurial stereotype of thinking. And if a company that has launched a product for a specific purpose suddenly finds that this product is of completely unexpected interest among many consumers, then it should analyze the seriousness and possibilities of such interest.

If isolation from the market is a "disease" of new enterprises in the early stages of their existence, then the financial factor, or rather, the wrong financial policy, becomes a serious threat to such enterprises at the subsequent stage of their development. The problem is that young entrepreneurs, organizing a new enterprise, first of all strive to get high profits. However, at the beginning of the activity, first of all, attention should be paid to finding sources of financing for development and accelerated growth, regulation of activities, and cash flow. A new enterprise can develop normally only if its activities are provided with additional capital, that is, in entrepreneurship one cannot do without financial management.

7. Organization and paymentta labor, personnel management

In the labor market, wages are considered as the price of labor or as the price of labor services provided by an employee to an employer. The role of this factor can be correctly assessed only in view of its fundamental differences from other factors of production, such as land or capital. Its key features include, for example, the ability to change in the process of labor itself, that is, in the process of applying this factor. So, the qualification of an employee can be acquired, changed and improved not only before he enters the labor market, but also during his stay here, during the period of employment; the value of labor services may rise with experience, and so on. Most other workers were willing to dramatically increase their own productivity in response to a corresponding increase in wages. The labor force of a hired worker is, as a rule, ledand The rank is variable: in the process of its application, it can be used with different results, with different effects. Thus, the individual labor productivity of an employee is not a constant, predetermined value. As a rule, it is to some extent elastic regarding the situation on the domestic labor market and, especially, regarding wages. It is this circumstance that makes wages at the enterprise an important factor in its efficiency. Of course, not only the change in earnings is a way to motivate labor productivity, but from the standpoint of purely market relations, it is the most important of these ways. On the other hand, the growth of labor productivity, in turn, creates the prerequisites, the material basis for a further increase in wages. Salary. Wages are usually directly linked to skills, abilities, working conditions, health risks, and so on. Job analysis provides an initial basis for comparison and appropriate pay of workers.

8. Process planproduction and sale of products

When conducting such an analysis, it is necessary to take into account at what stage of the life cycle a particular type of product is located: development, market launch, market conquest, maturity, decline.

When analyzing product sales markets, one should also study the performance of competitors, the production technology they use, product quality, their development strategy and pricing policy. This will allow the company to more reasonably and optimally predict its activities and choose the most effective ways to expand its own niche in the market.

9. Analysis and evaluationentrepreneurial activity

In the economic literature, the analysis of economic activity is classified according to various criteria:

· by industry - the analysis is divided into industry, taking into account the specifics of a particular industry and intersectoral, which is the theoretical basis for analysis for all sectors of the national economy;

· on a temporary basis - the analysis is divided into preliminary, which is carried out before the implementation of business operations and subsequent, used to monitor the implementation of the plan and evaluate the performance of the enterprise. In turn, the subsequent one is divided into operational - carried out immediately after the improvement of business operations for short periods of time (shift, day, decade) and final - analysis for the reporting period of time (month, quarter, year) to study the comprehensive activities of the enterprise;

· on a spatial basis - on-farm, studying the activities of only the enterprise under study and its divisions, and inter-farm - the results of the activities of several enterprises are compared.

In turn, on-farm analysis is subdivided according to management objects into:

· technical and economic, which takes into account the interaction of technical and economic processes;

financial and economic, paying attention to financial results: the efficiency of capital use, increase in the amount of profit, increase in profitability, improve the solvency of the enterprise;

Auditing (accounting) in order to assess the financial condition of the enterprise;

socio-economic, taking into account the relationship of social and economic processes and their influence on each other;

· economic-statistical is used to study social phenomena at the levels of management of an enterprise, industry, region;

· economic-ecological studies the interaction of ecological and economic processes;

· marketing for the development of tactics and strategies of marketing activities: the study of raw materials markets and sales of finished products, supply and demand, the formation of pricing policy.

According to the user's subjects, there are internal analysis (for the needs of operational and long-term management of the enterprise) and external analysis (carried out on the basis of financial and statistical reporting by economic management bodies, banks, financial authorities, investors).

According to the scope of the studied objects, the analysis is divided into continuous (study of all objects) and selective (examination of only some objects).

10. Development of a feasibility study and business plan

The business plan provides for the solution of the following strategic and tactical tasks:

· organizational, managerial and financial and economic assessment of the state of the enterprise;

Identification of potential business opportunities, analysis of its strengths and weaknesses;

Formation of investment goals for the planned period.

The need for a business plan arises when solving such urgent problems as:

preparation of applications for existing and newly established firms for loans;

· substantiation of proposals for the privatization of state-owned enterprises;

· opening a new business, determining the profile of the future company and the main directions of its commercial activity;

re-profiling of an existing company, selection of new types of directions and ways of doing business;

· drafting prospectuses for securities issues;

· Entering the foreign market and attracting foreign investment.

Customers of business plans are legal entities and individuals engaged in entrepreneurial and investment activities, the conditions and results of which are analyzed and forecasted in the business plan.

There are four types of business plans in Kazakhstan:

internal business plan;

business plan for obtaining loans;

business plan to attract investors;

business plan for financial recovery.

Business plan- a prospective document, designed for 3-5 years ahead. For the first and second years, the main indicators are recommended to be broken down quarterly, and if possible, even monthly.

11. Ways and methods to reduce risk in the activities of an entrepreneur

Small ventures, usually of small size, are concerned with developing scientific ideas and turning them into new technologies and products. In this they differ from the usual forms of small and medium-sized businesses. The main scope of the risk business is the latest fast-growing science-intensive industries: electronics, computer science, chemistry (new materials), new communications, bioengineering.

A risky enterprise as a form of management in the innovation flow plays an important role as a link between fundamental research and mass production of a new product by industry. In this "bundle" the leading role in basic research belongs to large advanced firms that have significant financial, material and human resources to organize long-term projects with a high degree of risk and uncertainty of commercial results. At the same time, small entrepreneurial firms play a central role in the development of new products and in enhancing the innovation activity of existing firms. Risky enterprises bring scientific discoveries to industrial technology and transfer the results to large firms that organize mass production based on new methods.

The risky business did not get its name by accident. It is distinguished by instability, unreliability of position. The "mortality" of risky organizations is very high. And only a few have turned into large producers of high technologies, like Xerox, Intel, Apple Computer, etc. However, the return of the surviving firms is so great both in terms of profit and in terms of improving production, which makes this practice worthwhile.

12. Types and forms of loans provided to an entrepreneur

Lending is a fairly common form of financing investment projects in world practice. However, in our country, lending to long-term projects has not yet received proper development.

The positive features of loans as sources of funds for investment projects are:

a significant amount of funds;

External control over the use of the provided resources. The negative features of bank lending to projects are:

loss of part of the profit due to the need to pay interest on the loan;

the need to provide collateral or guarantees;

· increase in the degree of risk due to untimely repayment of the loan.

13. State supportentrepreneurial activity

The Law “On Private Entrepreneurship” had a certain impact on the development of small business in Kazakhstan. State support for small business was recognized as one of the most important areas of economic reform, contributing to the development of competition, filling the consumer market with goods and services, creating new jobs, and forming a wide layer of owners and entrepreneurs.

The law determined main priorities small business development:

Production and processing of agricultural products;

Production of food, industrial goods, consumer goods, medicines and medical equipment;

Provision of industrial, communal and household services;

Construction of housing, industrial and social facilities;

Innovative activity.

Tax incentives were provided for small enterprises operating in priority areas, including: exemption from taxation of the amount of net income accumulated over a certain period of time and used to develop their own production;

Establishment of preferential tax rates on the net income of small enterprises in the third and fourth years of operation from the moment of their registration.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Each of the millionaires present shared the questions that he constantly asks himself, his subordinates, friends and children. Yanik Silver shared his main question: “What can I do so that the value that a person will receive from my information product is at least ten times more than the price for the product?”

Questions I shared: “What does it take to make my business twice as big as it is now?” and “Why isn’t the business now twice as big as it could be?” These are the questions that make every entrepreneur think.

SOURCE OF CREATIVE IDEAS

To succeed in life and business, we need mentors. You can identify a good mentor by knowing what questions they ask. If the mentor does not ask questions, but tells you what to do and how, then your brains do not work. You turn into a robot that follows instructions.

Successful business people ask themselves questions all the time. They understand that in order to create something of value, you need to find creative extraordinary solutions, and not look at others in order to take something from them.

Think about it: how do you stimulate your brain to come up with creative solutions? What questions do you ask yourself, employees, friends and loved ones every day? Write please. It is important for me to know your opinion!

Lee Buchanan is the Editor-in-Chief of Inc. and former Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Business Review.

The right questions keep you from being passive. They require reflection and then action. Good questions open up new ideas and possibilities for you.

To compile this list of provocative questions for entrepreneurs and executives, we interviewed businessmen and management gurus, worked through blogs and favorite business books. We tried to find the original source, but somewhere the authorship can be disputed. We hope these questions will keep your mind sharp!

1. How can we become a company that will squeeze us out of the market? — Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group
2. Are we adequate? Will we be adequate in five and ten years? — Debra Kay, innovation consultant and writer
3. If energy were free, what would we do differently? — Tony Shay, CEO of Zappos (He has other questions: "What if storage was free? Or labor cost half as much or twice as much?")
4. What is it like working for me? — Robert Sutton Professor of Management at Stanford University
5. If we weren't in this market, would we be entering it today? And if not, what to do about it? — Peter Drucker, writer and consultant
6. What trophy would we like to attach to our robes? — Marcy Massoura, Marketing and Brand Strategy Director at MSL Group. She explains: “Different businesses define success differently. What is most important to you – growth, profitability, stability?”
7. Do we have bad profits? — Jonathan Byrnes, professor at MIT. He explains, “Some investments seem attractive, but they take capital and attention away from the core business.”
8. What indicators are we not counting yet? — Chip Conley, Founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality and Director of Hospitality at Airbnb
9. What are the smallest changes in the last few months that have brought a big positive result? And thanks to what? — Robert Cialdini, writer and professor of marketing at the University of Arizona
10. Do we pay enough attention to the partners on whom the success of our company depends? — Ron Adner, Tuck Business School Professor
11. What is stopping me from making changes that will make me a more effective leader? — Marshall Goldsmith, coach and business bestselling author
12. What are the consequences of this decision in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years? — Susie Welch, entrepreneur and writer
13. Do I always make eye contact with people? — Tom Peters, management guru
14. What is the smallest part of this problem that we can successfully solve? — Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator
15. Do we have time to change along with the world around us? — Gary Hamel, writer and management guru
16. If no one ever knew about my achievements, would I lead differently and how? — Adam Grant, Wharton Business School Professor
17. Which customers are unable to enter our market due to lack of skills, money or easy access to solutions? — Clayton Christensen, professor at Harvard Business School and co-founder of Innosight
18. Who uses our product in ways we don't expect? — Kevin Coyne and Sean Coyne, writers and strategy consultants
19. How likely is it that a client would recommend our company to a friend or colleague? — Andrew Taylor, head of Enterprise Holdings
20. Is this question subject to analysis or intuition? — Tom Davenport, professor at Babson College
21. Which of our leaders recently spoke to a client? — James Champi, management expert
22. Have my employees been successful today? — Teresa Amabile, professor at Harvard Business School
23. What word would we like to plant in the minds of our customers, employees and partners? — Matthew May, Innovation Expert
24. What do we need to stop doing? — Peter Drucker, management guru
25. What are the gaps in my knowledge and experience? — Charles Handy, writer and management guru
26. What am I trying to prove to myself and how can this undermine my success and the success of my business? — Bob Rosen, coach and writer
27. If I was put out on the street and another leader was hired, what would he do? — Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel. In 1985, Grove raised this issue with Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, and as a result, they abandoned memory production and relied on microprocessors.
28. If I had to leave my organization for a year, and the only thing I could pass on to employees was one paragraph of text, what would I write? — Pat Lencioni, founder of The Table Group
29. Who was our company at the height of its success? — Keith Yamashita, founder of SYPartners
30. What are we ready to stand for and what are we against? — Scott Goodson, co-founder of StrawberryFrog
31. Is there any reason to believe the complete opposite of what I am thinking now? — Chip and Dan Heath, professors at Stanford and Duke University
32. Do we underestimate the complex buyer journey? — Matt Dixon, director of research at CEB. He explains: "Companies often don't realize how customers get to them and how many channels of communication fail them."
33. How many of our strongest employees would like to work in the company in 3 years? How many will leave us for a 10% pay raise? — Jonathan Rosenberg, Google Executive Consultant
34. What did we not understand when we hired our worst employee? — Alberto Perlman, CEO of Zumba Fitness
35. Do we have the right people on board? — Jim Collins, management guru
36. Under what conditions will this option be the best possible? — Roger Martin, professor at the Rotman School of Business
37. How do I fail - every time the same way or differently? — David Kelly, founder of IDEO
38. When information becomes ubiquitous, when everyone is in contact with everyone, when computing resources are endless, and when the incredible starts to happen, what will become of our business? — Jonathan Rosenberg
39. Are we rewarding and promoting the people who help us the most to build a great product strong enough? — Jonathan Rosenberg
40. What is our biggest and audacious goal? — Jim Collins
41. Does our strategy really drive our strategy? Or does it all come down to how we allocate resources? — Mark Johnson, co-founder of Innosight. “You may have a strategic plan,” explains Johnson, “but your employees keep it from happening every day.”
42. How does your personal way of thinking and the way you process information affect the culture of the organization? — Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman's Community of Businesses. “Do they match? Maybe you dream of working together, but you yourself think alone? Want to create a “flat” organization but think hierarchically?”
43. Why don't our clients like us? — James Champi
44. How can we become more technologically advanced but stay connected to people? — James Champi
45. What do we need to start doing? — Jack Bergstrand, CEO Brand Velocity
46. Which of my colleagues do I trust and why? — Charles Handy
47. Am I satisfied with my current role? And if not, what is missing? — Charles Handy
48. Do I leave 50% of my time unplanned? — Dov Froman, developer, manager, writer. 50%, of course, is a convention, but Froman insists that you need to leave enough free time in your schedule to have time to comprehend what is happening.
49. What would I recommend to my friend if he faced such a dilemma? — Chip and Dan Hits
50. What crime should a potential new employee commit that will not only prevent us from hiring him, but at the same time show that he could suit us? — Pat Lencioni. Explanation: “Crime is a metaphor. It's about values. An idealistic organization may hire a person who has previously been punished for his beliefs or for reporting something unpleasant. And a competitive organization may hire a person who has previously been punished for arrogance or a difficult character.
51. If my grandmother became our client, would I advise her to buy what we sell? — Dan Pink, writer
52. If our company quit the game tomorrow, would it upset anyone who is not getting paid here? — Dan Pink
53. Is there something I believe in but almost no one agrees with? — Peter Thiel, entrepreneur, investor
54. Am I too keen on investing in capital at the expense of investing in people? — Tom Peters
55. Do we have enough weird clients to push us to the limit? — Tom Peters
56. Who do we want to take out of the game and why? — Brad Feld, Managing Director of Foundry Group
57. What will happen in this company when people start making mistakes? — Robert Sutton and Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford professors
58. How to motivate dishwashers? — Bill Kina, casino design consultant. According to him, the only correct answer is “If they are overloaded, I will roll up my sleeves and stand at the sink next to them.” And ask yourself at the same time: does our company care about the motivation of dishwashers?
59. Do our employees have the opportunity to perform at their best every day? — Marcus Buckingham, consultant and writer
60. Where is our petri dish? — Tim Ogilvie, CEO Peer Insight
61. For which Microsoft is our product Altair Basic? — Paul Graham
62. Do we say “no” to our clients for no good reason? — Matt Dixon
63. What if we turn for new ideas not to current acquaintances, but to those people whom we knew before? And who could it be? — Adam Grant
64. Do I see more potential in people than they see in themselves? — Adam Grant
65. Do I bet on improvements and higher incomes, or on cheapness and low cost? — Michael Raynor, director of Deloitte Services LP
66. What kind of clients would we like to have - knowledgeable and informed or poorly informed? — Don Peppers, co-founder of Peppers and Rogers Group
67. What are we challenging (as the Mac challenged the PC or Dove, the beauty myth)? — Mark Barden and Adam Morgan, founders of eatbigfish
68. How can we change the product selection criteria in our favor (how did Virgin America bring style back to air travel)? — Mark Barden and Adam Morgan
69. What have we done (or could have done) over the past year to enhance the perception of our company and brand as ethical and honest? — Robert Cialdini
70. For whom are we creating value? — Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, founders of The RBL Group
71. Why should people listen to us? — Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood
72. How would our PR, marketing and SMM change if we did everything ourselves, and did not involve agencies? — Guy Kawasaki, founder of Garage Technology Ventures and Alltop
73. What was our last experiment? — Scott Berkin, writer
74. Who are our customers - fans of Pepsi or Coke? — Marcy Massour. This, of course, is a conditional and symbolic question: it's just that today companies can know much more about their customers than before.
75. What is the best alternative to this agreement? — Roger Fisher and William Ury, Negotiation Experts
76. What is the best development scheme in the post-industrial era if purely administrative and hierarchical approaches do not work? — Tracy Fenton, Worldblu CEO
77. Are there four people whose careers I have helped? Who are they? — Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson
78. How can we get away from the stereotype? — Shane Snow, co-founder of Contently
79. Whom (what department, what age group or other group) do we stop hearing in our company, and how to amplify their voices to energize the business? — Jane Hyun and Audrey Lee, partners of Hyun & Associates
80. If we take all the projects that we stopped, which ones would we like to be able to continue, and which ones should we stop even earlier? — Ron Adner
81. Do I bounce back quickly enough after setbacks? — Bob Rosen
82. Whom, in our opinion, does the world want us to be? — Geoffrey Moore, management guru and organization researcher
83. How can we build a startup that will live 100 years? — Phil Libin, CEO Evernote
84. What is the one thing we are doing successfully today that can block new growth opportunities for us? — Scott Anthony, Managing Partner, Innosight
85. If I could go back five years, what would my decision be different? Which of the decisions I make now will I regret five years from now? — Pat Lencioni
86. What stupid rule would we most like to get rid of? — Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink
87. What megatrends could make our business pointless? — Michael Cusumano, professor at MIT
88. What important information for our organization do our managers ignore? — Max Beizerman, professor at Harvard Business School
89. What have we done to protect our business from competitors? — Tom Stemberg, Managing Partner, Highland Venture Capital
90. If I had to rebuild my organization without traditional competitive advantages (supertech, breakthrough research, innovative supply chain, etc.), how would our people need to work and act to achieve the necessary success? — Jesse Sostrin, founder of Sostrin Consulting
91. What rules and assumptions does our industry follow? What if it's the other way around? — Phil McKinney, Innovation Expert
92. Will our decisions today help our planet and its inhabitants tomorrow? — Kevin Cleary, President of Clif Bar
93. What are our ideas about human motivation, and how does our approach to wages correspond to them? — Dan Ariely, professor at Duke University
94. How do we encourage people to take responsibility and control? — Dan Ariely
95. How do we want our clients to be? — Michael Schrage, professor at MIT
96. How can I keep inspired? — Paul Bennett, Creative Director, IDEO
97. Do I know what I'm doing? And who will I turn to if I don't know? — Erin Pooley, journalist
98. Do they use it? — Howard Talman, CEO 1871
99. What is our question? — Dev Patnaik, CEO of Jump Associates
100. How is business going? Why? — Thomas Stewart, Executive Director, National Center for the Middle Market

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