"Power Questions" Book

Click here for more contests & giveaways!



Prize: One winner will get "Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others"
Exceptions: 13 and up to enter; US residents only
Number of winners allowed: 1
Ends: Saturday March 3rd 2012

Enter here to win "Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others."

The Year of the Question: Five Questions They Should Have Asked in 2011 and Five More They MUST Ask in 2012

Our biggest screw-ups happen not because we follow the wrong advice, but because we fail to ask the right questions. Andrew Sobel identifies five questions 2011's most notorious headline makers should have asked and five more this year's contenders should keep firmly in mind.

By all accounts 2011 was a doozy of a year. Business leaders and celebrities alike bet the proverbial farm and lost it, in spectacular fashion. Politicians displayed similar poor judgment (not to mention body parts best left covered) to a disgusted electorate. Throngs of ordinary citizens came together to make a defiant stand (yet failed to mention what their actual solution was). It seems clear that many confused Americans could use a good instruction manual to help them make better decisions, right?

Wrong, says Andrew Sobel. It's not that they failed to get the right answers it's that they failed to ask the right questions.


"Most human beings harbor a huge misconception," says Sobel, author (along with coauthor Jerold Panas) of Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others (Wiley, February 2012, ISBN: 978-11181196-3-1, $22.95). It goes like this: If we could just get some straight answers, we'd know the right decisions to make. The real truth is different: If we just asked the right questions, we'd understand what the real issues are, and the answers would come quite easily. We'd then know what to doâ and what NOT to do."

Good questions cut to the heart of the issue, explains Sobel. They help us connect and engage with others in meaningful ways. They reframe the problems we're facing. And perhaps most important of all, they show us the potential consequences of our actions. (They're the most basic form of looking before you leap.)

Questions are almost always more powerful and provocative than statements or direct advice which most people don't take anyway," he says. That's because they help us arrive at our own answers. We're more likely to embrace the answers we arrive at on our own than those someone else dictates to us.

While Sobel ostensibly wrote his book to help business leaders ask the kinds of questions that win clients and forge strong relationships, he says its central truth pertains to everyone.

"The larger-than-life missteps that play out in the media illustrate what happens when we don't humbly and thoughtfully ask ourselves the right questions," he says. We can all learn from the mistakes of others."

Through that lens, Sobel looks back at the year behind and forward to the year ahead.



OFFICIAL RULES
Eligibility/Availability This sweepstakes is void where prohibited by applicable law. The sweepstakes is open and offered only to legal residents of the United States age 13 or older. Residents of Canada are eligible to enter ONLY when specified in the sweepstakes "Exceptions", located below the featured image (void in Quebec). Winners may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility as a condition to the delivery of the applicable prize. Employees and their immediate families/household members of Starpulse.com and their respective parent companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries are not eligible to enter the sweepstakes. How to Enter No purchase necessary. To enter, submit all required information on the entry form. All entries must include the entrant's name, age, a valid email address and shipping address (no P.O. Boxes) for any potential prize shipments. The first and last name provided by online entrants will be the identity of the entrant and, if selected for a prize, the identity of the winner. We reserve the right to disqualify any entries that we believe in good faith has been generated by a so-called spam or automated e-mail program or via scripts and automated submission. By participating, all entrants agree to abide by these rules. Prizes Prizes are specified on the entry page. Entries and prizes are nontransferable. No substitutions are permitted, except that sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for the grand prize. Winners shall be responsible and liable for any federal, state, and local taxes on the value of their prize. Selection A random drawing will take place within 10 days of the end of the sweepstakes. The number of eligible entrants will determine odds of winning. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting the entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the email account is registered. The decisions of Starpulse.com are final and binding in all matters relating to this sweepstakes. Winner will be notified by email and/or telephone, as determined by Starpulse.com or its affiliated contest host. If a winner is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may be also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. There is a limit of one entry per person per day. General Conditions and Releases An entrant or winner may be disqualified from the sweepstakes if he or she fails to comply with each provision of these official rules, as determined at the discretion of Starpulse.com. Starpulse.com shall not be liable for: 1. Failed, returned, or misdirected notifications based on inaccurate information provided by the winner on the sweepstakes entry form, 2. Entries, and responses to winner notifications that are lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, postage-due, misdirected, damaged, or otherwise not received by the intended recipient in whole or in part or for computer or technical error of any kind, 3. Any electronic miscommunications or failures, technical hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incomplete or delayed computer transmissions which may limit an entrant's ability to participate in the sweepstakes, 4. Any technical malfunctions of the telephone network, computer online system, computer equipment, software, program malfunctions, or other failures, delayed computer transactions, or network connections that are human, mechanical, or technical in nature, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from downloading any part of this sweepstakes or 5. Any warranty of fitness or merchantability of any prize or the function or operation thereof, which shall be the sole responsibility of the manufacturer of the prize. Unless prohibited by applicable law, entry constitutes permission to use an entrant's name, address (city and state) and testimonials in all media, in perpetuity, in any manner Starpulse.com deems appropriate for publicity purposes without any further compensation to such entrant. By entering or accepting a prize in the sweepstakes, winners agree to be bound by these official sweepstakes rules and to conform to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. When applicable, the winner will be required to execute and return to Starpulse.com within five business days an affidavit of eligibility and a liability and publicity release to be eligible for the prize or an alternate winner will be selected. Winner may be required to furnish proof of identity, address, and birth date in order to receive prize. By entering, an entrant agrees to release and hold harmless Starpulse.com the artist, and their parent, subsidiary, and affiliated entities, directors, officers, employees, attorneys, agents, and representatives from any damage, injury, death, loss, claim, action, demand, or other liability (collectively claims) that may arise from their acceptance, possession and/or use of any prize in their participation in this promotion, or from any misuse or malfunction of any prize awarded, regardless of whether such claims, or knowledge of the facts constituting such claims, exist at the time of entry or arise at any time thereafter. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this sweepstakes will be ineligible for prizes and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Starpulse.com reserves the right to modify the rules of the sweepstakes in any way or at any time. Starpulse.com reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel or suspend this sweepstakes should viruses, bugs, or other causes beyond their control corrupt the administration, security, or proper play of the sweepstakes. This sweepstakes shall be governed by Connecticut state law. By participating in this sweepstakes, entrants agree that Connecticut courts shall have jurisdiction over any dispute or litigation arising from or relating to this sweepstakes, and that venue shall only be in Connecticut.

DISCLAIMER