Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work

Questions are at the core of how we listen, behave, think, and relate as individuals and organizations. Virtually everything we think and do is generated by questions. Questions push us into new territories. The future begins with our thinking, represented by the questions we ask ourselves.

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life shows readers how to consistently choose the questions that can lead them to success, both personally and professionally. This technique, called “QuestionsThinking,” stimulates innovation, accelerate productivity, and create more rewarding relationships.

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life is a personal growth fable that tells how a seasoned executive, Ben Knight, uses QuestionThinking to move into a higher leadership role and how the same methods of change help him and his wife, Grace, enrich their marriage.

Readers follow Ben as he first resists the lessons of the inquiring coach, assigned to him by his boss, Alexa Harte. Then Ben experiences breakthroughs both in his work with colleagues and in his marriage. The story of how Ben meets these challenges and ultimately succeeds is the perfect vehicle for revealing the exciting, practical new system of self-management and inquiry called QuestionThinking.

In addition to Ben’s experience, readers also learn about the powerful applications of QuestionThinking through the life experiences of secondary characters as they deal with real-life issues--from friendships to financial freedom--to which many of us can relate

"As a fellow champion of the power of questioning, I consider Marilee Adams to be one of the pioneers in this field. The storytelling format makes the book a breeze to read, while the workbook at the end shows how practical her work really is."
--Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question

"Marilee's writings are by far the most profound articulation of the power of the question that I've come across. It's true: we live in worlds our questions create."
--David L. Cooperrider, PhD, Professor, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University

"A must-read for every coach! It illuminates a deep truth--that the questions we ask ourselves shape our chances for success and satisfaction everywhere in our lives. Change Your Questions is both practical and transformational."
--Linda J. Page, PhD, founder and President, Adler International Learning, and coauthor with David Rock of Coaching with the Brain in Mind

"Our complex world demands that we ask different questions, but the power of habit throws us into the Judger Pit. Dr. Adams shows us how to get out of the Judger Pit and stay out--and how to improve our relationships, our work, and our lives with the different questions we ask."
--Jennifer Garvey Berger, PhD, coauthor of Simple Habits for Complex Times with Keith Johnston

"It's hard to describe Change Your Questions without using superlatives such as life-changing, remarkable, and mind-opening. There's a reason this book has been an international bestseller . . . It has awakened readers to a new model of thinking, a new understanding of collaboration and communication . . . applicable in all aspects of life . . . It can uplift not only you, the reader, but everyone around you."
--G. Shawn Hunter, author of Out Think and cofounder and President, MindScaling

"This groundbreaking work advances not only the way leaders think about leadership and coaching but how they approach life. It has opened doors for thousands of our Key Executive Leadership Program graduates, exposing them to a world of reflection, questioning, and professional and personal growth . . . transformational in every sense of the word!"
--Patrick S. Malone, PhD, Director, Key Executive Leadership Programs, Department of Public Administration and Policy, American University

"Question Thinking has led to a radical transformation in how our teams and leaders approach problems. It also made an immediate and sustained change in their behavior. In an organizational culture, the more that people can be taught these processes, the greater positive impact they can have on productivity and the bottom line."
--Carmella Granado, Senior Director, Organizational Effectiveness, Flextronics

"Change Your Questions is an easy, fun story with profound and transformational possibilities . . . elegant, well-designed tools offer practical help for creating lasting and meaningful outcomes in every aspect of health care."
--David W. Moen, MD, Board Chair, TeamMD

"This insightful approach to business and personal problem-solving is so powerful that it is surely destined to have a major impact in the business world."
--Kathy Leech, Executive Director, Corporate Brand and Advertising, Comcast

"A wonderful contribution to the world of Action Learning!"
--Bea Carson, PhD, cofounder and President, World Institute for Action Learning

"Change Your Questions provides an invaluable road map for helping you truly understand the best way to get to the core of the issues you face. A high-impact read for every human resource and leadership development professional."
--Steve Miranda, Managing Director, ILR School, Cornell University

"As a leadership coach and behavioral scientist, I know how essential it is for people to shift mindsets in order to change their behavior and their lives. Dr. Adams provides a simple and brilliant system for opening the mind so breakthroughs can occur."
--Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, author of The Discomfort Zone and Past President, International Coach Federation

"Question Thinking offers patients, families, and clinicians a new paradigm for patient and relationship-centered care. This simple yet profound framework of questions has the potential to transform health care."
--Cynda Hylton Rushton, PhD, RN, FAAN, Anne and George L. Bunting Professor of Clinical Ethics, Berman Institute of Bioethics and School of Nursing, and Professor of Nursing and Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University

"Change Your Questions resonates with me because it is not just about knowing the answers but knowing how to ask questions that can transform your life. Dr. Adams's methodology is foundational to everything I do with Appreciative Inquiry and SOAR--it aligns perfectly! Her Choice Map is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn the art of inquiry . . . The book contributes much to the fields of leadership and management . . . an easy and fun read with real-life examples and insightful wisdom to positively impact your life and the lives of those you lead."
--Jacqueline M. Stavros, PhD, Professor, Lawrence Technological University; creator of SOAR; and coeditor of The Appreciative Inquiry Handbook with David L. Cooperrider and Diana Kaplin Whitney

"This book is an invitation to success for individuals and organizations . . . a surprisingly simple practice to move away from judgments that prevent success and toward learning that propels us to our goals . . . practical guidelines for learning organizations."
--Victoria J. Marsick, PhD, coauthor of Sculpting the Learning Organization and Professor of Adult Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

"Change Your Questions is the rare book that I use almost every day. I recently asked Learner questions to quickly transform a delicate organizational situation that for a whole year had seemed intractable . . . The book changes paradigms, organizations, and lives. It's a classic!"
--John McAuley, PhD, President and CEO, The Leadership Studio at Muskoka Woods

"Marilee's work has been a key resource to the World Cafe since its inception. Essential reading for those committed to their own success in conversations that matter."
--Juanita Brown, cofounder of The World Cafe and coauthor of The World Cafe

"The response to Change Your Questions has been overwhelmingly positive. We've shared it across our leadership teams, and we're seeing how it's shifting conversations and having a powerful impact for ourselves and our leaders."
--Marnie Escaf, Senior Vice President, University Health Network, and Executive Lead, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Petrina McGrath, Vice President, People, Practice and Quality, Saskatoon Health Region

"If you want to master the art of coaching, you have to master asking great questions. The fastest way to crack open any situation is to use the surgical precision of a smart question. There is no question that Marilee Adams's Change Your Questions is your go-to resource!"
--David Goldsmith, President, Conversant

"Dr. Adams's writings and her Question Thinking work have contributed significantly to our Kent State Leadership Development Program, which received a Leadership 500 Excellence Award among educational institutions. Our colleagues report many 'lightbulb moments' as a result of Change Your Questions and Dr. Adams's superb teaching skills. Question Thinking has totally changed the types of conversations our leaders have and has also led to measurable results in terms of their career trajectories."
--Robert M. Hall, Director, Training and Organizational Development, Kent State University

"Marilee demonstrates why Question Thinking is absolutely essential to organizational success . . . and how easily it can be acquired."
--Beverly Kaye, PhD, coauthor of Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss

"With clarity and accessibility, Dr. Adams models a process whereby we can intentionally change our way of internal inquiry. Imagine being in conscious charge of our own thoughts! A wonderful tool for coaches, leaders, and all helping professionals. "
--Pamela Richarde, MA, Master Certified Coach, Past President, International Coach Federation

"This fable is destined to be a classic. Buy this book and read it tonight. Your life will never be the same!"
--Stewart Levine, author of The Book of Agreement and Getting to Resolution

"I really love this book--and it's one of the most practical I've ever read. The greatest thing is that it's not a 'one and done' kind of book. You'll find yourself going back to it again and again. And you'll definitely find yourself sharing it with friends and colleagues. I know I have."
--Tracy Davidson, Anchor and Consumer Reporter, NBC 10 News Philadelphia

"This is a must-read for any leader who wants to ask empowering questions--those that inspire, motivate, and produce positive change . . . The book can truly change your personal and professional life."
--Tara Rodas, Manager of Employee Development, Strategic Learning Services Division, Joint Mission Support Center, United States Postal Inspection Service and Office Inspector General

"While curiosity and acute antennae are essential attributes of great leaders, Dr. Adams goes further than this . . . shows how to use questions to illuminate choices . . . and she's a terrific presenter."
--Liz Barron, Senior Director, Executive Education, Smith School of Business, University of Maryland

"Marilee is smarter than anyone I know about asking the questions that really matter."
--Lillian Brown, author of Your Public Best