Dr. Celeste Vega: What if the most useless, even dangerous thing in business and in life is the right answer to the wrong question? That's the provocative idea from the legendary thinker Peter Drucker, and it's the heart of our conversation today. We often celebrate finding solutions, but what if the real genius, the true act of creation, lies in finding the right?

Yue: It's a powerful thought. We're so conditioned to hunt for answers, we forget that the question itself sets the boundaries of our world.

Dr. Celeste Vega: Exactly. And for our guest today, Codemao founder Yue, this isn't just a leadership tactic; it's a path to what he calls 'inner reconstruction' and building a new code of civilization. Yue, welcome.

Yue: It's a pleasure to be here, Celeste. I believe enlightenment truly comes from good questions, so this is a topic close to my heart.

Dr. Celeste Vega: I'm so glad. Today, we're exploring Hal Gregersen's 'Questions Are the Answer' from two powerful angles. First, we'll explore the alchemy of reframing—how changing a question can literally change reality. Then, we'll discuss the architecture of inquiry—how leaders can build the psychological safety needed for those game-changing questions to emerge.

Dr. Celeste Vega: Yue, let's start with that first idea: the alchemy of reframing. It's so easy to get stuck on a problem, but the book argues we're often just stuck on the.

Yue: We are. We see a wall and ask, "How do I get over this wall?" We rarely stop to ask, "Why is this wall here in the first place? Or, is there even a wall at all?"

Dr. Celeste Vega: That's a perfect way to put it. The book has this incredible story that brings this to life. Picture this: it's 1989 in Germany. A journalist named Andreas Heinecke is tasked with helping a newly blind colleague reintegrate into the workplace. His initial, very practical question was, "What can this person still do despite their disability?"

Yue: A very common, well-intentioned question. But it starts from a place of deficit.

Dr. Celeste Vega: Precisely. It's a question of limitation. And the answers he came up with were, frankly, uninspiring. They were about accommodation, not empowerment. But then, he had this breakthrough. He completely flipped the question. He stopped asking what his colleague do and started asking, "What if being blind is a strength? How could my colleague's unique experience create value for others?"

Yue: Ah, that's the alchemy. The question itself creates a new possibility.

Dr. Celeste Vega: It created a whole new world. That single question led to the creation of 'Dialogue in the Dark.' It's an exhibition, a social enterprise, set in complete darkness. Sighted visitors are guided through everyday scenes—a park, a city street—by blind guides. For the first time, the sighted person is the one at a disadvantage, and the blind person is the expert, the guide, the one with the power. It became a global phenomenon, employing thousands of blind individuals and giving millions of sighted people a profound lesson in empathy. All from changing one question.

Yue: That's a profound shift, Celeste. It's moving from a problem-solving mindset to a possibility-creating one. The first question sees a deficit; the second sees a unique asset. This is exactly what I mean by 'inner reconstruction.' You're not just fixing something broken; you're building something entirely new from a different foundation of thought. It's about seeing the inherent dignity and potential in every situation, every person.

Dr. Celeste Vega: Exactly! And the book says this applies everywhere. It's not just for social good. Think about your work at Codemao. A common question in education is, "How do we get kids to learn to code?" It feels like a chore. What's a reframed, more powerful question?

Yue: Right. We've wrestled with this. A better question, the one we try to live by, is, "How can we create a world so compelling that kids to build it themselves, and coding becomes the natural language for their creation?"

Dr. Celeste Vega: See? The energy is completely different.

Yue: It changes everything. The focus shifts from a chore to a passion. It's not about the tool; it's about the purpose. You're not pushing them to learn; you're pulling them into a world of imagination. That's the power of a well-framed question.

Dr. Celeste Vega: That's a perfect transition, because having a powerful question is one thing, but creating a culture where people feel safe enough to ask it is another. This brings us to our second idea: the architecture of inquiry. If these questions are so powerful, why don't we ask more of them?

Yue: Fear. It's almost always fear. Fear of looking stupid. Fear of slowing things down. Fear of challenging the person in charge.

Dr. Celeste Vega: The book agrees. And it gives the ultimate example of a company that systematically designed an antidote to that fear: Pixar. Ed Catmull, the co-founder, is brutally honest. He says in the beginning, all their movies "suck." That's his word.

Yue: I can appreciate that honesty. The first draft of anything is rarely a masterpiece.

Dr. Celeste Vega: So, to get from "suck to not-suck," they knew they needed absolute, unvarnished candor. So they created a process called the "Brain Trust." When a director is stuck on a film, they voluntarily assemble a group of their peers—other brilliant, opinionated directors. The only rule is radical honesty. The goal is to identify the core problems of the film, no matter how painful it is to hear.

Yue: That sounds terrifying. How do they make it work without destroying relationships?

Dr. Celeste Vega: That's the genius of the architecture. There are two key principles. First, the feedback is always about the, the project. It is never, ever an attack on the director as a person. They separate the idea from the identity. Second, and this is crucial, the Brain Trust has zero authority. They offer their notes, but the director retains full creative control. They are free to use the feedback or ignore it completely. It's a system of incredibly high challenge, but also incredibly high psychological safety.

Yue: That's the delicate balance of leadership, isn't it? Creating what the book calls a 'safe zone for innovation.' It's a paradox. Innovation requires risk, but people won't take risks if they don't feel safe. At Codemao, we talk about having 'strong opinions, weakly held.' We want people to fight for their ideas, but also be willing to be proven wrong in the pursuit of a better outcome. The Brain Trust sounds like a way to formalize that.

Dr. Celeste Vega: And Catmull is clear, it's not about being 'nice.' He says candor is not the same as cruelty. It's about a shared, mutual commitment to excellence. As a founder, how do you signal that commitment so that people trust the process enough to be truly candid?

Yue: You have to model it. You have to be the first to admit you're wrong. You have to publicly celebrate the person who asks the 'annoying' question that saves a project from disaster. And you have to constantly, relentlessly reiterate the mission. At Pixar, the mission is 'make a great film.' When everyone is aligned on that, feedback becomes a gift, not an attack. For us, our north star is 'empower the next generation of creators.' That's the purpose that makes the difficult, candid conversations not just possible, but necessary.

Dr. Celeste Vega: It makes you wonder, how many brilliant ideas are lost not for lack of creativity, but for lack of safety?

Yue: Millions, I'd imagine. Which is why building that safety is perhaps the most important job of any leader.

Dr. Celeste Vega: So, what we've seen is this powerful two-part formula for breakthrough thinking. First, the creative alchemy of reframing your question to unlock entirely new worlds of possibility, just like with 'Dialogue in the Dark.'

Yue: And second, the leadership architecture of building a culture of psychological safety, like Pixar's Brain Trust, so those powerful, world-changing questions can actually be voiced and explored without fear.

Dr. Celeste Vega: It's a beautiful synthesis. Which brings us to a final question for you, Yue, and for our listeners to ponder. The book suggests we all have 'keystone questions' that guide our lives. You're on a mission to build a new code of civilization. What is the keystone question that you ask yourself every day to guide that work?

Yue: That's a great one to end on. For me, the question I come back to, again and again, is: "Are we building tools, or are we building character?" It's a constant reminder that technology is never neutral. It either elevates the human spirit or it diminishes it. Every feature, every product, every decision has to be measured against that question.

Dr. Celeste Vega: Are we building tools, or are we building character? That's a question we could all ask.

Yue: I hope so. And my hope for everyone listening is that they find their own keystone question. Don't just spend your life looking for answers. Search for the question that gives your life meaning and your work purpose. That's where the real adventure begins.