Deborah Meier played a major role in the formation of Central Park East - a school focused on questions.

What makes CPE schools different, according to Meier, is that students are "interested in what [they] don't know, not just what [they] do know."

To make that happen, Meier developed and implemented 5 Habits of Mind. They're listed below.

• How do we know what's true or false? What evidence counts?

• How might this look if we stepped into other shoes, or looked at it from a different direction?

• Is there a pattern? Have we seen something like this before?

• What if it were different?

• Why does this matter?

Here's why I'm sharing this with you... I believe these habits of mind can be adopted by you and you can use them every day.

If you're managing a project, team, or a process:

• How do you know that the data you have collected is true and valid?

• How might the data and metrics look if you stepped into the customer's shoes, or your team's shoes?

• Are you seeing a pattern? Is there seasonality?

• What if the circumstances were different? How might different circumstances change the outcome?

• Why does it matter?

If you're an entrepreneur, you could ask the same question.

If you're a musician, these questions are even more important to you.

• How do I know that the numbers of followers I have is meaningful, accurate, and valid?

• How might that data look from the perspective of a promoter? Does my data tell the right story?

• Is there a pattern? Are you seeing you're getting more followers after every promotion?

• How might different performance venues or set lists alter your outcomes?

• Why does it matter?

There are so many ways we can think about the world around us. Sometimes a prompt or a guide helps.

It works for kindergartners ;-)