Inquiry is the root of basically everything we do as analysts. Better Questions -> Better Results
- Note: the following article was originally posted on Linked In on 30 Sep 2025
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
— Albert Einstein
At Pelorus, we’ve spent the past several weeks beginning to uncover themes we believe lie at the very heart of analysis: questions. Not just the easy ones, but the kinds of questions that challenge assumptions, uncover blind spots, and open the door to better decisions.
What we’ve found is that inquiry is both a mindset and a skillset. It can be practiced, refined, and sharpened. And for analysts, leaders, and decision-makers alike, the quality of our questions often determines the quality of our outcomes.
🔎 Curiosity as a Professional Skill
We often treat curiosity as a personality trait—something some people “just have.” But research suggests it can be cultivated into a professional superpower.
In their 2015 book Superforecasting, Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner found that the most accurate forecasters weren’t narrow specialists, but generalists with wide-ranging curiosity. They drew from history, politics, psychology, statistics—whatever helped them build a richer picture.
Note: There are many, many more valuable lessons about forecasting in the book—this is just one.
Psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman’s work helps explain why this matters: our brains make connections through associative networks. The broader your knowledge, the more likely you are to spot relationships others miss. You can draw from seemingly unrelated domains and fuse ideas together to generate insights that weren’t previously visible.
Of course, expertise still matters. Some problems—designing a bridge, diagnosing an illness, cracking a cipher—require deep, domain-specific knowledge. But requiring expertise is not the same as requiring only one kind of expertise.
Construction borrows from natural structures. Medicine relies heavily on technology. The mathematics of encryption appears throughout nature. Broad curiosity increases the chance of spotting analogies, making connections, and finding solutions that specialists might overlook.
Curiosity isn’t a distraction.
It’s raw material for better questions, sharper insights, and ultimately, better analysis.
1. The 5 Whys — Dig Past Symptoms
Keep peeling back the layers until you reach the underlying cause.
Example:
- Our delivery was late. Why? → The truck broke down.
- Why? → It got a flat tire.
- Why? → The tread was low.
- Why? → No one inspected it.
- Why? → There is no procedure in place.
2. Change the Frame — Test Your Assumptions
Reframe the question to stress-test your thinking.
Example:
We think we have a good marketing plan. Will it still work if:
- The budget is cut in half?
- It launches in a different location?
- The economy slumps?
- A competitor launches first?
- The timeline is lengthened?
3. Seek Falsification — What Would Break It?
Don’t just ask how your idea could succeed—ask what could cause it to fail.
Example:
Market research suggests an upcoming event will be successful.
What could derail it?
- Bad weather
- Poor advertising
- A competing event
- A local emergency
- An international pandemic
4. Open vs. Closed Questions — A Spectrum, Not a Binary
Questions exist along a spectrum. Mix them intentionally, depending on your goal.
Meal Planning
- Open: “What meal options would best serve our attendees?”
- Structured: “Should we provide a full meal or light snacks?”
- Closed: “Should the conference provide lunch—yes or no?”
Retirement Planning
- Open: “How might your risk profile impact your retirement planning?”
- Structured: “Do you prefer an aggressive or conservative asset allocation?”
- Closed: “Are you investing for retirement?”
Project Management
- Open: “What would success for this project look like?”
- Structured: “Is this deadline firm, or can it be extended if needed?”
- Closed: “Is the deadline firm?”
5. Borrow Perspectives — Think Like an Outsider
Takeaway: Imagine how others—a scientist, teacher, coach, or customer—would approach the problem.
🚀 Questions as a Quest
Questions don’t just transfer information—they shape how we see problems and solutions. They help us:
- Scrub away assumptions and bias
- Spot hidden connections across domains
- Navigate complex challenges
- Stay aligned with our purpose—our North Star
And the more we ask, the sharper we get. Like any skill, inquiry strengthens with practice.
So I’ll leave you with this:
👉 What’s the best question you’ve asked this year?
👉 And what’s one you wish you had asked?
