So here’s a question:
Is your thinking big enough? Or is it strangling the life out of your dreams, or your business?
Last week I read Chapter 2 of the book “The Choice”. The author Eliyahu M. Goldratt, best known for his book “Theory of Constraints“, tells a story of a $5-billion apparel manufacturer that learned to think big – unconventionally.
Goldratt was sitting in a room with 20+ mid-level managers from this company. He posed the question…“By how much do you think you can increase your net profit…let’s say, five years from now?”
After much debate, the director of finance spoke up – “In five years we can almost double our net profit to one billion dollars per year.”
Rather than asking how they would do it, Goldratt replied with a question – “in five years can you reach a four-billion-dollar net profit year?”
Utterly Unrealistic, everyone agreed!
…everyone but Goldratt.
Through a series of questions, Goldratt challenged the room of managers to think with ‘uncommon sense’. He led them through a process of abandoning illusions and he shed light on a culture of camouflaging painful problems, accepting them as “just the way things are”.
Surprisingly…
By the end of the meeting the head of finance was quoted saying “Reaching four billion dollars net profit per year is starting to look conservative”.
Kicking Constraints to The Curb
It’s stimulating to wonder what explosive growth or success you’re capable of.
What new level of achievement might you find on your horizon, just by asking the right questions?
Brad Fallon, co-founder of Stompernet.com, says:
“The real constraint is almost always time, not money…Breakthrough results are almost always blocked by false assumptions. It’s what you ask, not say, that counts, and what you’re not asking makes all the difference.”
So with that, I want to leave you with 3 questions to ponder. By the way, these questions are from Ken Fisher, Forbes Columnist and bestselling author.
The Only 3 Questions That Count
- What do I believe to be true that isn’t?
- What can I fathom that others find unfathomable?
- What is my brain doing to trip me up now?
And yes, I openly admit that I swiped 95% of the content in this article from other authors. 
Dream Big. Ask More Questions.
