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Costello: In strategic meetings, answer the question they should have asked

Paige Costello · How to ask the right questions, project confidence, and win over skeptics | Paige Costello (Asana) · Jul 9, 2023 · at 32:33

Asana Product Lead Paige Costello recalls a high-stakes product review at Intuit and the executive advice she received about strategic communication.

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“Our, like, the leader of the business unit, as she was leaving the room, said, always ask, or always answer the question that they should have asked, and always answer the question they should have asked, and I was pretty surprised by that advice, because it was very profound in the moment, because I think when you're a student and you Or custom, if you're an achiever, you like to get A's, you're probably going to hear a question and answer it. You're like, one to one to one. But what I learned from that was that there's actually another altitude, another point of strategy when you're in a meeting or in a conversation to make sure that you're covering the more important point, the bigger picture, the alternative that the Person asking the question maybe didn't see or consider”

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