---
title: Answers are easy, questions are hard!
description: Discover the importance of asking the right questions to unlock greater value in our AI-driven world, as we explore how to frame compelling problem statements.
image: https://peruconsulting.co.uk/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/framing%20questions.jpeg
---
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# Answers are easy, questions are hard!
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[mailto:?body=Check%20out%20this%20post%3A%20https://peruconsulting.co.uk/resources/answers-are-easy-questions-are-hard](mailto:?body=Check%20out%20this%20post%3A%20https://peruconsulting.co.uk/resources/answers-are-easy-questions-are-hard)
 Brian Farrelly
Brian Farrelly 4 Mar 2025 Time to read:
About ten years ago, I posted a blog under the same title. The core message was a call for bigger, bolder questions – pushing boundaries by posing questions that could unlock greater value and enable more potential. By saying “answers are easy” I was largely commenting on how technology was becoming increasingly reliable and pervasive. Whatever problem you were tackling had likely been solved elsewhere through technology, meaning the answers were out there, ready to be tapped into. I believe this is truer now more than ever.
Back then, we were still in the midst of an AI winter, and general artificial intelligence seemed like a distant prospect. OpenAI had just been founded and DeepMind (acquired by Google at that time) had recently developed AlphaGo, a self-taught program that would go on to defeat the world’s best Go player, Lee Sedol. The seeds of today’s AI-driven gold rush had already been sown.
Fast forward to 2025, and the genie is well and truly out of the bottle. Curated answers to nuanced questions are now just a prompt away. Saying “answers are easy” is stating the obvious. But asking the right questions – at the right time, in the right way – remains a challenge.
A great question is relevant, contextual, interesting, incisive, humble, penetrating, valuable, necessary, and compelling.
In our rapidly evolving world, we will be defined by the quality of our questions. Well-framed questions draw from our experiences and the unique insights we bring to a given situation. Questions are differentiators. To ask penetrating questions, we must be critical in our thinking and creative in our approach. To be relevant and compelling in our provocations, we must hone our communication skills. Before we can achieve anything, we first need to capture people’s attention and get them engaged.
With our clients, we typically start with a problem statement - one that clearly articulates both the challenge and the opportunity, galvanizing people into action. These problem statements should stand the test of time. If a problem won’t be important in three months or three years, why focus on it today? If your question is important but somewhat tactical, consider reframing it within a broader strategic journey to ensure it leads to meaningful progress.
Once we have an interesting problem statement, it’s time to get out of the building and explore the possibilities. What are others doing? What different approaches can we take? Who could help accelerate our progress? Who would be excited by this challenge? Who is already invested in solving this problem?
I’ll return to that topic another day. Please share your thoughts in the LinkedIn comments box.
* By Brian Farrelly, Peru Consulting Limited (March 2025)*
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