In this presentation Sally Curtis explains how the timing of questions – the "power questions" of what, who, when, and how – can dramatically affect business outcomes. She defines timing as the synchronization and optimal ordering of actions, then maps each power question to a seasonal energy (spring‑what, summer‑who, autumn‑when, winter‑how) and to personality types. Curtis argues that everyone has a preferred question that aligns with their natural energy, and recognizing this helps you ask the right question to the right person at the right moment. She outlines a four‑step cycle (what → who → when → how) that should be followed when planning joint ventures, business plans, or any strategic activity, contrasting it with the common goal‑setting sequence that omits who and when. Practical anecdotes – such as a barbecue conversation with Tyson and a personal example of being asked a how‑question while busy – illustrate how asking the wrong question creates resistance and delays. The talk concludes that using the seasonal flow of power questions reduces friction, improves team alignment, and makes timing a decisive asset in growth.
Chapters
The next section is discovering the wildfire strategy of power questions and how it can actually make or break you. Now I want to be able to break this down as much as I can for you tonight in the short amount of time that we've actually got. Timing for me is a very, very acute and natural instinct in me. Timing is part of what my personality is So it's what enables me to do what I do with my clients so very, very quickly and easily and create the growth outcomes for them. Because I'm very acutely aware of timing and particularly other people's timing. But what— and there's many layers to timing. But what I want to be able to give you tonight is 2 key elements that anybody and everybody can use, whether you have timing as a natural gift or not. So I'm going to go through 2 elements tonight. I'll start by giving you a definition, a dictionary definition like all the others, from— of timing. And it means that it's a synchronization of various parts. So for me, that synchronization, if we look at it and overlay it based on tonight's presentation, relates to the way in which we use and combine the collective influence or use the set 7 principles within collective influence. So that's where we're getting the synchronisation from. Timing is also the selection of the best time of doing something in an order to achieve the desired or maximum results. And what stood out for me in that definition as it relates to our power questions and timing was the word order. There is in actual fact a correct order in doing anything. And asking questions, in actual fact, is no different. There is actually a correct order or a correct cycle of asking questions, just like there is seasons. So there's a correct order. So the 2 elements I'm going to go through tonight are the 4 power questions, which is what, who, when, and how. I'm going to share with you the correct and natural cycle of asking questions. The 4 power questions. Everybody has a preferred question out of that what, who, when, and how. Everybody will prefer one of those questions. And that is because it's part of their personality and the energy that they bring to everything. And as a result of that energy that we bring to everything that we do and the personality that we have, we actually all approach solutions in a different way. We look at solutions for things differently because of the questions that we ask and the energy that we bring. And as we mentioned, the energies are just like seasons. And I'm going to use seasons as the analogy. When you know which power question is the preferred question, of other people. It helps you understand them. It also gives you a key indication of what actually excites them and more importantly what makes them tick. And when you understand that and these elements, you can turn 5-minute conversations into great opportunities very, very quickly because those opportunities become much more apparent. Okay, so let me explain. I'll just flick this up because people can have a look at this. I've actually just put this logo here, which is actually the Wealth Dynamics logo, which you can see from the Twisted Connector website. I'm only touching on it this evening. There's actually 64 layers to this. I'm just going to give you a couple, not all 64. But to give you an example before I go into this, Actually, no. I'll give the example at the end. The 4 power questions are, as I said, what, who, when, and how. So if you consider a what person, they have a spring energy. So they're all about new beginnings, as spring would suggest. They're the ones that have got the creative ideas. They ask the questions, what do I need to do to improve this? What do I need to do now? What will make a great product? They predominantly will ask the what question as their leading question. They're usually, as I said, heads in the cloud, thinking of great— have great ideas. They're the ideas people, the people that begin and create the new ideas. So they're the starting process of the cycle. The who people are generally the people people. And we have a whole row of people people in the room, Mr. Carmel. And they are the people that come in, in a flurry of hot summer energy. They're ablaze of energy. They love people and they build strong relationships. And when they're posed with a challenge, they will ask, who do I need to assist me with this? Who can help me? Or who can I call? So their approach to a solution is who do they know, because their predominant question is who. When you look at the when people, they have an autumn energy. In other words, they're more grounded, they understand timing, they've got their ear to the ground, they're more observant, they often see things and see more than what other people do because they're stiller, they're observing, they're grounded. And they ask When is the best time to act? When is the best time to sit still? When is the best time in general? Okay, so they will lead with that when question. The winter people tend to be cooler or have more of a steel energy. Over here we've got the very extroverted, bubbly people people. Over in this section, it tends to be a little bit more introverted. And the winter people are generally systems and details focused. So they love to get bogged down in the details. Shut up. And they would prefer to be in their office with their head in the details or looking at the spreadsheets than out dealing, mixing with people. That's just where they prefer. They prefer to be bogged down in the How do I improve this? How do I get this to work more effectively? How do I systematise this in a manner that takes me out of the situation? So they will lead with the how question. Now to give you the example of Tyson and I as to how simple but yet how silly it is when you actually ask the wrong question, because we've been playing with this since we did the first presentation in December. Tyson was outside cooking a barbecue, and I love those sliced potatoes that you pop on the barbie. And Tyson's out there and he says to me, how do you want these cooked? How do you want these potatoes cooked? Sounds like a simple question, doesn't it? So I respond, however they come, because I don't like that question. It's not one of my questions. He looks at me with the And I said, however they come, I don't really care. Just however they come. And then he looked at me and he said, when should I take them off? As soon as they're crispy. That's the difference in how people will respond when you ask them the question. Another example of that for me is if someone comes into my office and I'm bogged down doing something or focusing on the computer, and they ask me a how question, or, you know, how do I do this, how do I get this actually up and running, short of it they'll get a filthy look, but I won't be able to answer it. I'll go, I don't know, because I'm bogged down, I'm focused on something different. My focus is on what I'm doing. But if someone comes in and I've still got that same level of focus and they say to me, who do you know that can do this, or when's the best time to do that, I'll go blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, just do this, this and this, and I'll get straight back into what I'm doing. Because the when and the who are the inflow questions for me. I predominantly lead with who, but the who/when questions are easy questions for me to answer even if I've got bogged down in something, because that's the question that I prefer. But if you ask me a question that I don't prefer, I can't answer it straightaway. Or it takes more thought processes, so you're likely to get an I don't know. Now if you have a look at the seasonal cycle of questions, why is always up the top, which is the overarching umbrella. And this is in actual fact the correct flow. So it goes what, who, when, and how. Okay. And I'll just give you an example of this as it relates to potentially a joint venture, how to ask the questions in that flow. So you first go to the what question, because that's the first— so you know why you're doing it, but the next question is the what question. And you look at roles. What don't you know to be able to get this idea, whatever it is you're doing, off the ground? What roles or skills do you need to find? So you lead with the what question. What do you need, and what roles do you need to fill? When you know the answers to those questions, you can go and move around to the who question. You're following the natural cycle. Cycle. Who is always your leverage. It's the people. Who do you already know that can help you with this? Who's in your network that can assist? Who has the skills to fill the roles that you've determined you need? You then move around to when. And when is the action question. If you don't ask the when question, there's never any definitive definitive action with a set date or a set timeline. So the when question is, when is it best for them? Because it's always about the other person you're speaking with. And when is best in general for the market? We then move on to how. And the how in this example is the how are you going to structure it or how are you going to structure Or create the steps to make the first connection. So that's using the cycle of questions in the correct order. I use this method a lot for myself as it relates to doing business plans and those sorts of activities that are generally out of flow for me, because I find this much more inflow. If I know why I'm doing something, what needs to be done, I can answer the who question really easily. I know— can then determine who needs to do what when. And then we know how to do it because we've got the team there to help us. But what are we generally taught at personal development courses, at goal setting courses, and anything as it relates to strategy? We're taught— What do you want? What do you want to achieve? How are you going to do it? It's in actual fact the wrong way because you've actually missed 2 key questions. You've missed the who and the when. By missing the who, you've actually got no team or no one buying into your vision. Or no one to help you implement your vision. So you go, what is it that you want? Who do I need on the team? Then you look at when. When you miss the when question, you have no actions with timelines. Is it ever going to get achieved? If you don't answer when, when is it going to happen? It's not likely to if you haven't answered it. So you have no actions with timelines. You only have an idea and a process or a system. Sorry, just leave that to rattle a few cages. How timing makes or breaks you. Timing is our most valuable asset. We don't get time back, which is why it's so important to invest wisely in the people that we play alongside. When you go against the seasonal flow, within that cycle of questions, you actually slow the process down. If I go into the what am I going to achieve and how am I going to do that, I get really frustrated because that's out of flow for me. I don't find it an easy task to do. But by going through that cycle, it becomes much more possibility thinking and much easier to work with. So I actually overlay the cycle of questions into business plans, as I said, and anything where I'm sitting down doing any strategies or working with clients, we go through those scenarios because you're creating a team and you're building possibility thinking. You also, by asking the right power question, you get far less resistance and better quality answers. E.g., I like the chips crispy instead of however they come. Much more specific, much more direct. And you don't waste your time and money. And when you don't— if you don't consider other people's power questions by asking them that right questions and considering the questions in the right order of the seasons, you can in actual fact experience very painful growth. So when you're next stuck in one of those awkward times where you've actually got to sit down and perhaps do some business-related activities, consider looking at it in those questions and just seeing how much more easy it is and how much more in flow that it actually is.
