pontificate about   the high-level  or  abstract    challenges  in  a

situation.  The “for    you”    is  what    pins    the question    to  the person

you’re  talking to. It  keeps   the question    personal    and makes   the

person  you’re  talking to  wrestle with    her struggle    and what    she

needs   to  figure  out.

Focus on the real problem, not

the first problem.

How the Focus Question Cuts Through the Fog

Now that you know how the Focus Question is constructed, you’ll
see how it can cut through some of the well-practiced but
ineffective patterns that show up between you and the person
you’re coaching. These are the patterns that keep things misty and
vague when you’re trying to bring the challenge into focus. At Box
of Crayons, we call them the Foggy-fiers, and we call the three
most common ones the Proliferation of Challenges, Coaching the
Ghost, and Abstractions & Generalizations.

Proliferation of Challenges

You’ve mastered the first of the Seven Essential Questions. You