warren berger | Macmillan's Books for the First-Year Experience

Bloomsbury
Paperback
272 pages • $17.00
ISBN: 9781632861054

The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas

Warren Berger

“Berger presents a simple three-part framework, the ‘Why-What If-How’ model, to guide effective inquiry . . . One closes Berger’s book newly conscious of the significance of smart questions.”

—The New York Times Book Review

Warren Berger shows that one of the most powerful forces for igniting change in business and in our daily lives is a simple, under-appreciated tool—one that has been available to us since childhood. Questioning—deeply, imaginatively, “beautifully”—can help us identify and solve problems, come up with game-changing ideas, and pursue fresh opportunities. So why are we often reluctant to ask “Why?” As Berger shows, the most creative, successful people tend to be expert questioners. They’ve mastered the art of inquiry, raising questions no one else is asking—and finding powerful answers. The author takes us inside red-hot businesses like Google, Netflix, IDEO, and Airbnb to show how questioning is baked into their organizational DNA. He also shares inspiring stories of artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, basement tinkerers, and social activists who changed their lives and the world around them—by starting with a “beautiful question.” A More Beautiful Question outlines a practical Why / What If / How system of inquiry that can guide you through the process of innovative questioning—helping you find imaginative, powerful answers to your own “beautiful questions.”

For more information, please visit www.amorebeautifulquestion.com.

Warren Berger, an expert on design thinking and innovation, is author of the acclaimed book Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Business and Your Life, which was named one of Business Week‘s “Best Innovation & Design Books of the Year.” Berger also writes for Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and was a longtime contributing editor at Wired magazine. He lives in New York.

A More Beautiful Question has been adopted for First-Year Experience programs at:

Bowling Green State University (OH); North Central College (IL); Quinnipiac University (CT); University of South Carolina

Bloomsbury
Paperback
288 pages • $18.00
ISBN: 9781632869562

The Powerful Questions That Will Help You Decide, Create, Connect, and Lead

Warren Berger

“Berger delves further into ‘beautiful questions,’ which are powerful tools that can transform people’s thinking . . . This practical work is designed to prompt action and get results.”

—Library Journal

When confronted with almost any demanding situation, the act of questioning can help guide us to smart decisions. By asking questions, we can analyze, learn, and move forward in the face of uncertainty. But “questionologist” Warren Berger says that the questions must be the right ones; the ones that cut to the heart of complexity or enable us to see an old problem in a fresh way. Drawn from the insights and expertise of psychologists, innovators, effective leaders, and some of the world’s foremost creative thinkers, he presents the essential questions readers need to make the best choices when it truly counts, with a particular focus in four key areas: decision-making, creativity, leadership, and relationships. The powerful questions in this book can help you: identify opportunities in your career or industry; generate fresh ideas in your own creative pursuits; check your biases so you can make better judgments and decisions; and do a better job of communicating and connecting with the people around you. In The Book of Beautiful Questions, Berger shares illuminating stories and compelling research on the power of inquiry.

Warren Berger, an expert on design thinking and innovation, is the author of The Book of Beautiful Questions and A More Beautiful Question—both published by Bloomsbury. Berger also writes for Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and was a longtime contributing editor at Wired magazine. He has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, ABC World News, many times on CNN, and as a frequently-used expert source on NPR’s All Things Considered. He lives in New York.

The Book of Beautiful Questions has been adopted for First-Year Experience programs at:

University of Vermont’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Learning Community