Power Questions | Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others | Book Review

Summary:

Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas’ book is a terrific reference book every Academy Leadership affiliate should have and personally organize for effective and frequent usage. POWER QUESTIONS is a catalog of stories, each answering a question based on an author experience. The central emphasis is on listening to others after one has asked a powerful question.

Applications to Academy Leadership: 

Each of the stories, and corresponding questions, relates to either the Academy Leadership affiliate sales experience, Boot Camp or Leadership Development Program modules, general facilitation, or any combination thereof. At the end of each story, suggestions for the use of each question are offered. End of story pages and application may be mapped as follows:

       Page                   Academy Leadership Affiliate Application

         11                                Sales
         16                                Sales
         22                                Sales
         25                                MLC
         31                                Facilitation
         36                                Sales
         41                                Sales
         46                                Motivation|E2L
         51                                Coaching|Sales|Motivation
         57                                Motivation
         62                                Sales
         67                                Sales
         72                                Goals
         76                                Coaching
         82                                Communications|Meetings
         86                                Coaching|Sales
         90                                Time Management|Coaching
         95                                Coaching|Mentoring
         102                              Goals|Coaching|Mentoring
         107                              MLC
         113                              Coaching
         119                              Sales|Coaching
         126                              Communications
         129                              Coaching
         134                              Coaching
         139                              Sales|Coaching|Mentoring
         144                              Meetings|Goals
         148                              Coaching|Mentoring
         152                              Coaching|Mentoring
         157                              Goals|Coaching
         164                             MLC|E2L
         168                              Time Management|Goals|Coaching
         174                              Goals

These are subjective reviewer observations; each of us may emphasize personal application differently. In this particular application mapping coaching appears fifteen times, sales eleven times, goals six times, mentoring five times, motivation and My Leader’s Compass three times, Energize2Lead™, time management, communications and meetings two times, and one instance of facilitation.

Pages 41 and 164 are emphasized for use of a question to restart an engagement, and for the summary of Peter Drucker’s Five Questions In Your Personal Life, respectively. Each of these suggestions is especially powerful and worth reflection.

Additional Thoughts | 293 More Power Questions:

On page 185, 293 additional questions are grouped into nine categories. Two categories of particular relevance are the first Win New Business and the third Coaching and Mentoring Others. The Discussing a Proposal portion of category one, questions 53-66 (narrative on page 189); and Coach and Mentor Others (narrative on page 194) questions 142-168 are particularly good. It may be worthwhile to re-read pages 194 and 195 prior to coaching sessions, extracting relevant questions for each particular session.