Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 7 Powerful Tools for Life and Work (Paperback)

~ (Author), Marshall Goldsmith (Foreword) "A rosewood paperweight on my desk bears a sterling silver plaque declaring: Great results begin with great questions..." (more)
Key Phrases: change your questions, judger pit, choice process, Change Your Life, Choice Map, New Eyes (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Questioning" is a skill rarely taught in school, but doing it well - that is, asking the right questions of the right people - can radically transform attitudes, actions, and results. Change Your Questions, Change Your Life provides easy-to-learn tools that can make a significant and immediate difference in people's business and personal lives. Written as an engaging fable, it inspires readers to take charge of their thinking in order to accomplish goals, improve relationships, advance careers, investigate new territories, and in general gain greater life satisfaction. This book explains how to "be your own coach," outlines the author's QuestionThinking Model, and lists the top 12 questions for change. Real-world examples provide practical models for applying the principles in a variety of situations, while a Choice Map is a useful visual tool that demonstrates that everyone has a choice in every situation, even if it is not immediately apparent.

About the Author

Marilee G. Adams, Ph.D. is co-founder and President of The Center for Inquiring Leadership, a consultancy and knowledge center for leadership, team, and organizational effectiveness.

Dr. Adams’ professional career spans over twenty-five years including individual and organizational consulting and training and private psychotherapy practice and seminars to individuals, groups, couples, and families. She is the originator of QuestionThinking, an inquiry and self-management methodology for transforming thinking, action, and results through intentional and skillful question asking.

Dr. Adams’ QuestionThinking tools and teachings have unique appeal to leaders in both Fortune 500 companies and the Federal Government, from Lockheed Martin and Johnson & Johnson, to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and NASA.

Through her writing, speaking, and consulting, she has reached thousands of individuals, families, executives, and teams. Her presentations on the art of QuestionThinking and Inquiring Leadership have been applauded by educational bodies such as the Organizational Development Network, the Society for Human Resource Managers, the American Society of Training and Development, The Wharton School of Business, and numerous corporations and non-profits.

Marilee’s first book, The Art of the Question: A Guide to Short-Term Question-Centered Therapy (John Wiley & Sons, 1998), is in its sixth printing.

Dr. Adams earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, CA and her Masters’ Degree in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University, with an emphasis on group systems. She has extensive advanced training in Gestalt therapy, family therapy, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. She did coaching training at the Institute for Life Coach Training, where she is now a faculty member, and she guest lectures at Columbia University Teachers College and the Adler School of Coaching.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1 edition (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576752410
• ISBN-13: 978-1576752418
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #335,857 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Relatively good work, but there are other much better books!, May 16, 2005

By	Lee Say Keng "KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURER/TECHNOLOGY... (Singapore) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book is essentially a simplified version of the author's earlier scholarly work, The Art of the Question, (under her maiden name), which is primarily written from a psycho-therapeutic perspective. The latter book expounds all the core concepts found in the new book. In this respect, there isn't anything new or exciting to offer. If you have already read the author's earlier book, then you don't have to waste money in getting this book.

However, if you are looking for a much broader perspective & also deeper & systematic treatment on the art & discipline of questioning, I reckon the following books will give readers more value for money:

for the business professional:
- Smart Questions, by Gerald Nadler;
- Asking Just Right Business Questions (especially, if you are planning to start your own business);
- Key Management Questions, by Tom Lambert (if you want to improve your managerial analysis);
- 78 Important Questions Every Leader Should Ask & Answer, by Chris Clarke-Epstein (if you want to sharpen your managerial skills);
- Leading with Questions, by Michael Marquardt (if you want to refine your strategic leadership skills);

for the layman as well as business professional:
- Questions that Work, Andrew Finlayson;
- Dorothy Leeds' Smart Questions is also worth exploring;

for those working in the academic arena, please get hold of Jamie McKenzie's books on the Questioning Technology (as the author calls it); a series of educational instruction books by Nancy Johnson (e.g. Questioning Makes the Difference) is worth exploring too!

In fairness to the author, & if you are basically a beginner, the current book still gives quite an excellent & yet simple introduction to the subject. However, readers will have to contend with her storytelling approach, which I find somewhat taxing & boring. The author's unique model, 'QuestionThinking', encompassing seven simple exploration tools, & her 'Top Twelve Questions for Change,' on the other hand, are still worth exploring.

On the whole, it is relatively good work by the author, but there are other much better books as I have illustrated above.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Ticking Time Bomb of Influence, September 16, 2005

By	John Mcauley "Johhny McA" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the metaphor may not be palatable - "A Ticking Time Bomb" - I have to say, it is exactly the right way to think about Dr Adams book. You read it, wander off, not realizing you just triggered the device and boom!, it goes off in your head. Sometimes it takes a jolt to move us to higher and safer ground.



Many books attempt to help us move into a more "hopeful and possible" state of mind. However, having read dozens of such books, very few are able to be grasped and remembered. Usually complex and focused on organizational theory, they offer little for the "average Joe" to implement. The power of this book can rapidly move the "average Joe" to a new height of effectiveness and position of power (so to speak). In an instant, one will move to effective behavior, sure to be noted and applauded by all - maybe even your Boss!



Well done Dr. Adams. You have made a very valuable and strategic contribution to the world of personal leadership that's sure to make our lives, families, and organizations, places of health and progress.



I actually applied the lessons in a very delicate organizational situation and the "switching question" saw a group of individuals move rapidly through, in a few hours, that which they have failed to do in almost a whole year.



Read it, lend it, discuss it and apply it. This one is going on my website www.leadingbooks.com

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new perspective of looking at things, March 28, 2005

By	Safiya Ahmed Mohammed (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews

This book is a self-help book that offers a new perspective of looking at situations/dilemmas or any other issue. It uses 'Questions' as a way of making your attitude change from Judger (subjective) to Learner (objective). The idea of the book is told through a story with the lead character of Ben, who'd resist at first the changes, but eventually change to becoming an Inquiring person/leader.

Positive points of the books (+ve):
1- Introduces new concept of 'Question Thinking' as a tool to look at everyday life issues and solve them.
2- Key points are highlighted and printed in big bold letters making it easier to remember the concepts.
3- The book is told as a story using mainly dialogue between the characters. This offers an insight into how the character of Ben (Lead character) transforms into a wonderful Leader for his team.
4- I've read for few women who've written great books. The author is at the top of the list. I think I'll enjoy meeting her.
5- The more you apply the tools, I believe, the more you're life will be changed for the better. I'll adopt them starting now.
6- At the end of the book is a 'Workbook' chapter explaining key concepts, which makes it easier for reference.
7- The 'Question Thinking' tools have been applied well to demonstrate how useful they can be at work, firing up creativity, improving relationships, most important of all : seeing yourself in a new perspective and respectively, changing to the better.

Negative points of the book (-ve):
(None)