This question was shared with me by the former head of a multi-national engineering firm. The way that he framed it was this. “Say that we are sitting right here, at this conference table, one year from now – and we have failed. Why did we fail?
The power in this question is that: (1) it evokes fear without the immediate consequence which sharpens focus; (2) it triggers visualization of an outcome that is presumably avoidable; and (3) it validates doubt that counters group-think.[1] When you answer this question honestly – it helps you to be objective in your assessments and to prioritize risk.
[1] See Daniel Kahneman, who refers to this practice as a “pre-mortem” in his well known work Thinking Fast and Slow.
