Finding what’s hidden in plain sight

Back in the 90s I was involved with about 100 other people in a project to develop a new voice mail system – software, hardware and firmware. The hardware was a completely new design, and the software was about 70% new. Along the way we stumbled into something that improved our end quality in a way that can reasonably be described as stunning. What we discovered was how to ask questions in a way that brought important things that “everyone knows” (and are effectively hidden in plain sight) to the attention of those who can do something about it.

The Incredible Power Of The Right Questions

The Incredible Power of Good Questions

There is incredible power in asking the right questions, and following the answers where they lead – especially when they lead to uncomfortable places.

As you probably remember, in March, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan resulting in a massive tsunami which damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Some of the most serious damage occurred because there was no power to cool the reactor.