"Being in search of a beautiful question can lead to a new sense of purpose and direction. A beautiful question is one that challenges assumptions, considers new possibilities, and serves as a catalyst for action and change. Crafting and engaging with such beautiful questions is like an art. Like other art forms, it takes practice, and requires learning from practice. When practiced well, artful inquiry can lead to transformative learning and innovative change".
Southern, N. (2015) Framing Inquiry, in G. R. Bushe &. R. J Marshak (Eds) Dialogic Organizational Development (p. 271)
Those beautiful words you hear in the introduction are from Nancy Southern, reflecting what it takes to frame effective inquiry, based on the insights from Warren Berger's 2014 book A Beautiful Question.
Inspired by that, this episode is a wonderful combination for me. A past guest, who is curious, humble, and super interesting, combined with no structure to the podcast episode whatsoever apart from curious questions. You'll remember Ron Gantt from episode 146. Ron and I wanted to catch up, and this is what we talked about. For some of you, knowing the podcast topic and how the guest fits the topic is important for a podcast to be worth listening to. Sometimes, as Southern and Berger hint at, not knowing and trying to ask better more beautiful questions is a wonderful and productive way to learn.
I hope you enjoy this conversation with Ron Gantt, even if none of us know where it's heading until we get there.
Here's Ron: