Care about the power of questions! The BBC cared, and got ahead in a shaken business world.
In the 90s, the media industry was introduced to a revolutionary technology: digital broadcasting. Suddenly TV channels risked losing viewers and advertising revenue. The BBC had no clear strategy on how to adapt. There was complete chaos.
In 2000, Goerge Dyke was appointed director general of the BBC. Dyke visited every business unit in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. He didn’t give long presentations. He just asked questions. Perhaps one would expect a leader like him to talk about a clear vision rather than waste time on questions. Dyke didn’t. He asked the teams:
What is the one thing I need to do to improve your business?
What is the one thing I need to do to improve the status quo for our viewers and listeners?
Then Dyke handed everyone a yellow card as a symbol of change. “If you see anyone killing a good idea, show them a yellow card like a referee,” he encouraged.
In a year, BBC 1 was ahead of its biggest rival. The questions are a demonstration of the care we take to learn from our team, to hear their ideas and to get to know them more personally. It is an intimacy. And believe me
If we invest in sincerity in our relationships, the rest will follow.