Professionals ask smart questions. Smart questions set off lightbulbs around the room. They also spare money and headache down the road.

If they haven’t already been answered in the Creative Brief, it might be worth getting them answered by the Client before going off to do the work.

• What problem is this project trying to solve for?
  • What is it for? When someone hires our service, what are they hiring it to do?
  • Who (or what) are we trying to change by doing this work? From what to what?
  • How will we know if it’s working?
• How can we build on existing assets and experience?
  • What does it remind us of? Are there parallels, similar projects, things like this that have come before?
  • What assets do we already own that we’ll be able to leverage?
• Anticipate obstacles.
  • What’s the difficult part?
  • How much of our time and focus are we spending on the difficult part?
  • What part that isn’t under our control has to happen for this to work?
  • How much (time and money) is it going to take to find out if we’ve got a shot at this working out?
  • What do we need to learn?
  • From which people will we need help? Do they have a track record of helping people like us? 
  • What assets do we need to acquire?
• Belief in this project despite all odds.
  • After the project launches, what new assets will we now own?
  • Why do we believe this project is worth it?