How To Make Big Bets That Will Make You Rich (3 Questions To Ask Yourself)
In a Nutshell
Three questions filter out emotional busywork and force decisions based on measurable business impact: "What problem are you solving?" exposes whether an action is tied to a real problem; "What would it take?" replaces yes/no answers with a concrete list of resources and trade-offs; "What do you want to have happen?" demands a defined outcome and evidence that the result will move the business forward. When the answers show the proposed effort won’t beat the returns from existing high-leverage activities, the default choice is to do nothing.
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The speaker presents three key questions used when making business decisions to maximize returns. These questions serve as thinking frameworks for evaluating actions and proposals.
When someone proposes an action or seeks approval, this is the first question asked. The question reveals that many proposals stem from emotional discomfort rather than actual business problems. People often suggest solutions like employee engagement programs without identifying specific issues such as retention or talent attraction problems.
Many well-intentioned individuals take action on things they know how to do when confronted with problems they don't know how to solve. This lack of focus represents intellectual laziness—people avoid staying with difficult problems they cannot solve and instead choose solvable distractions that make them feel competent, even when these actions make no meaningful difference to the business.
The question serves to evaluate the thinking diligence of the person proposing the action, determining whether they have thoroughly considered the actual problem before suggesting solutions.
When requesting action from others, this question replaces statements and assumes success. Previously asking "Can we?" or "Could we?" often resulted in receiving "no" responses based on incomplete context about the business or long-term plans, with others making decisions without full information.
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