Asking the Right Questions free essay sample

Leadership and Direction Asking the Right Questions John Wrzesinski Org 300 – Applying Leadership Principles Colorado State University – Global Campus Dr. Charlotte Chase December 29, 2012 In order to have a discussion about the importance of asking questions in the planning process, it is important to look at the overall impact asking questions has in the learning process itself. The early philosopher Socrates developed a technique of asking questions as a learning method that is still used today, it is called The Socratic Method. Simply explained, â€Å"This method the Socratic Method is named after Greek philosopher Socrates, who taught students by asking question after question, seeking to expose contradictions in the students’ thoughts and ideas to then guide them to arrive at a solid, tenable conclusion. The principle underlying the Socratic Method is that students learn through the use of critical thinking, reasoning, and logic, finding holes in their own theories and then patching them up. We will write a custom essay sample on Asking the Right Questions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (Fabio, 2012) The underlying truth here is that to gain understanding in any situation, you must first ask questions. If you do not ask questions, you do not get answers. Without answers you cannot do any successful planning, It is important that planning begins by thinking and â€Å"Thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. Questions define tasks, express problems and delineate issues. Answers on the other hand, often signal a full stop in thought. Only when an answer generates a further question does thought continue its life as such. † (The critical thinking, 2011) If you embrace the concept that successful planning must include asking questions, the next logical step is to identify what questions need to be asked. Questions such as: â€Å"Why do we need to do anything at all? † and â€Å"What are we trying to accomplish? † are critical initial questions. If these questions are not asked and answered, we can find ourselves engaged in a project that is not necessary and does not have an end in mind. In one model of planning, the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) method; these questions and others are asked in the planning stage. Along with â€Å"why are we doing this? we need to ask ourselves, â€Å"Who is going to do this? What steps or tasks are necessary for completion? When and where are we going to do this and what happens if we don’t? † (Clark, 2010) The answers to these questions provide a framework to successful planning providing common ground and agreement for all parties to work from. Asking these questions in t he planning stage also provides for â€Å"buy in† from the parties that will be responsible for the success of the project. Buy-in has become recognized as a necessary ingredient for successful project implementation. This is well stated in the following comment, â€Å"People will only do what they are comfortable with, to the level they agree with what theyre being told, or the level they understand what theyve heard. Its quite impractical to assume that others will change because theyre told to. † (Morgen, 2010) In order to ensure that your project is successful, we can use the â€Å"check phase† as outlined in the PDCA model. The â€Å"check phase† includes three separate processes: standards (are we meeting the standard we set out to achieve? , performance (is it working the way we intended? ), and adjustment (what do we need to change to accomplish the first two? ). (Clark, 2010). Following this model allows you to measure the success of the project against your intentions. It becomes very clear that in order to identify what you are trying to accomplish, how you intend on accomplishing it, and whether you have accomplished what you set out to do, you must ask questions. References Fabio, M. (2012). About. com. Retrieved from http://lawschool. about. com/od/lawschoolculture/a/socraticmethod. tml Clark, D. (2010, April 2). Leadership and direction. Retrieved from http://www. nwlink. com/~donclark/leader/leaddir. html (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/socrates Morgen, S. (2010). Buy-in: What is it? and why is it important?. Retrieved from http://www. businessperform. com/articles/change-management/buy-in_to_change. html The critical thinking community. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. criticalthinking. org/pages/the-role-of-questions-in-teaching-thinking-and-learning/524[pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]

Starting A Copywriting Business

Starting A Copywriting Business Starting A Copywriting Business Starting A Copywriting Business By Ali Hale This is a guest article by Andy MacDonald. Today companies are realizing that cleverly written copy can seriously affect the responsiveness to their ads and marketing collateral. Online and offline content has to be designed in a cleverly written manner to induce the reader to purchase the business’s products or services, or otherwise do what the advertiser wants them to do. If you have excellent writing skills and have copywriting experience, this could be the ideal business venture for you. To start this type of business, you would need excellent writing skills and past experience with writing creative advertising copy. So let’s take a look at a few key areas involved in starting your own copywriting business. Since you are providing a service that has no inventory, your initial costs will be minimal. You will have to pay for the design, development, and hosting of your Web site. You will have to invest in an appropriate computer, software and a printer. Other costs that you will incur are associated with promoting your copywriting service online and offline. The cost to start this type of business will generally range from $4,000 to $10,000. (Note from the editor: I believe you could start operating with even less, perhaps $100. Setup a domain name with a free and clean WordPress theme and you are ready to go.) If you were starting this venture a home-based business you could run the business single handedly for as long as is necessary; however if you wanted to start this as a full-time business all you would need to get going is one full time employee. If your business requests exceed what you’re capable of handling, you might consider hiring an additional employee as and when required. This business has strong international potential, and with the presence of the Internet, its the kind of business which can be run from anywhere in the world. If you were fluent in other languages you could even advertise for copywriting jobs in other countries. This of course depends on your level of knowledge with the foreign languages and cultures. It is important to remember that if you are writing copy for a company from another culture, you should understand the culture for which you are writing the copy. In many instances advertising firms have designed and implemented a marketing campaign before understanding what the culture was all about. This has resulted in offending millions of individuals with advertisements that offend the home country’s culture. If you decide to take on any international projects, make sure you do your research first before you write your advertising copy. One bad experience could seriously hinder the future of your copywriting business. With the internet playing an ever-increasingly role in everyday life, there are now many ways you can advertise and promote your new business on and offline. Here are a few tips on where you should be promoting this type of business. Participate in newsgroups and discussion forums related to marketing and advertising with a cleverly designed signature file. Participating in advertising and marketing-related mailing lists would enable you to display your expertise while directing traffic to your Web site. Develop links from as many advertising, marketing, and business-service-related Web sites, meta-indexes, and directories as possible. Use caution with your link trading strategies though! Participate in marketing related e-zines through contribution of appropriate articles that feature your expertise and knowledge of your craft. And finally, a few tips on where you could earn additional income with this type of business; you might want to consider offering graphic design services to your clients. Since this would complement your copywriting service, you would be able to develop extensive promotional pieces for your clients. Another option is to offer ghost-writing services, press release services, advertising copy, marketing copy and any number of other related topics. Copywriting is now big business both on and off the internet. Advertisers are increasingly looking to skilled copywriters to craft their promotional copy, trying to gain every edge over their competitor. A highly skilled copywriter can earn thousands of dollars per month if he has the time and skills to dedicate to such a venture. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Words with More Than One SpellingDriver License vs. Driver’s LicenseDouble Possessive