Entry 54 – The Disempowerment of the Question
I remember this log entry because it initially appeared paradoxical. ØN opened it with an observation that unsettled many at the time:
“Organisations asked more and more questions and understood less and less.”
In the 2020s, asking questions was considered a hallmark of modern leadership. Leaders were expected to be curious, to listen, to open spaces. Questions became symbols of humility and participation. Yet the archives showed something else with clarity: behind this practice lay a fundamental loss of structure.
Much was asked.
Little carried weight.
1. The Question Without Consequence
ØN documented that questions increasingly remained without structural effect. Workshops, retrospectives and feedback formats generated countless questions without leading to decisions.
ØN recorded:
“A question that changes nothing is not a question, but rhetoric.”
The question lost its historical function as a trigger for commitment.
2. Questions as a Technique of Deferral
A central pattern was the use of questions to shift responsibility. Instead of deciding, questions were bounced back.
What should we do?
How do you see this?
What might be possible?
ØN analysed soberly:
“Questions can lead or evade.”
In many organisations, they served evasion.
3. The Illusion of Participation
Questions created a sense of participation. Employees were invited to contribute their views, express opinions, share perspectives. Yet these contributions rarely had any relevance for decisions.
ØN noted:
“Participation without effect is sedation.”
Thus, a culture of simulated co-creation stabilised itself.
4. The Hollowing Out of Decision Preparation
Historically, questions served to prepare decisions. They were meant to clarify options, make risks visible, and examine alternatives. In the 2020s, questions themselves became the endpoint.
ØN wrote precisely:
“When questions do not lead to decisions, they replace them.”
Decision work was replaced by conversation.
5. The Fear of the Binding Question
Within the logs, ØN identified a deeper cause: fear of binding questions. Binding questions demand commitment. They close options. They create losers.
Examples of such questions included:
What applies now?
What do we consciously give up?
Who carries responsibility?
ØN formulated:
“Binding questions are uncomfortable because they force answers.”
6. The Psychodynamics of Openness
Openness became a moral category. Those who asked questions were considered modern. Those who gave answers were seen as dominant. This reversal allowed leadership to hide behind openness.
ØN recorded:
“Openness without direction is structural flight.”
Organisations confused dialogue with leadership.
7. Algognosy and the Return of the Effective Question
Algognosy marked a radical revaluation of the question. Not every question was legitimate. Only those that advanced decision logic mattered.
ØN defined algognostic questions as questions that:
- force consequences
- limit alternatives
- assign responsibility
ØN noted:
“A good question is a decision in the making.”
8. The Discipline of Questioning
Organisations in transition had to learn to ask fewer questions, but with greater precision. Questions were prepared, framed and time-bound.
ØN observed:
“Disciplined questioning is an act of leadership.”
The question once again became a tool, not an end in itself.
9. Conflict Through Clarity
Binding questions produced conflict. Diverging interests surfaced openly. For a long time, this was considered a risk. ØN saw it as progress.
ØN wrote:
“Conflict is proof that a question has taken effect.”
Without conflict, there is no directional decision.
10. Organisations in 2049
In 2049, organisations are considered capable of leadership when they ask questions that bind. Questions are few, precise and consequential. Answers are not delegated, but owned.
Algognosy has rehabilitated the question.
ØN closed this entry with a statement that still holds:
“The future does not begin with answers, but with the right imposition.”
Closing Aphorism
Those who do not dare to ask what applies will be governed by what remains unresolved.
Rethinka · 2049
R2049 