By Steve Moran

We live in a world that is full of knowledge — so much knowledge that it is impossible to assimilate it and figure out how to use it. I find myself wondering if we value knowledge more than we should.

I more and more worry that our biggest problem is that we are not asking the right questions.

I got to thinking about the questions we should be asking, as leaders, as operators, as capital providers. Here is my list. What would you add to it?

1. What is the perfect senior living experience?
2. What could we do to improve the resident experience right now?
3. What if older people start living longer then just drop dead?
4. What if we cure Alzeimer’s?
5. How can we tell our story better?
6. What is our story really?
7. How do we set proper expectations for residents and their families?
8. What are proper expectations?
9. Should we have federal regulation of senior living?
10. How would federal regulations make it better?
11. How would federal regulations make it worse?
12. What would we do differently if there were government funding for assisted living?
13. What would the perfect senior living system look like?
14. What would the perfect health care system look like?
15. Where would senior living fit into a perfect health care system?
16. What are the questions the public is asking about senior living?
17. What are the questions the public should be asking about senior living?
18. What are the biggest reasons people are not moving into senior living?
19. If senior living were free, what percentage of older people would move in?
20. Are we really making the lives of older people better?
21. What impact would a drop in life expectancy have on senior living?
22. What is the product we are selling?
23. What is the product we should be selling?
24. What does an ideal experience of growing older and dying look like?
25. Are we providing that experience?
26. How does senior living fit into the health care system currently?
27. How could we do a better job of fitting into the health care system?
28. What does being a great boss look like?
29. What does being a bad boss look like?
30. What would make team members love to come to work every day?
31. How do we get rid of bad players in senior living?
32. Do we really need senior living at all, or do we need something else?
33. What are the things we could do to make senior living less expensive?
34. What is the best way to make money in senior living short-term?
35. What is the best way to make money in senior living long-term?
36. Is there a difference between the two goals?
37. Is there a way to provide quality care at a low cost?
38. Do we really need nursing homes?
39. Do we really need assisted living?
40. Does memory care need to be locked?
41. What would make residents feel physically safer?
42. What are the opportunities to serve family members better?
43. What are the obligations that we have to the families of team members?
44. Why do we do senior living the way we do it?
45. Why do I lead the way I lead?
46. Why do I sell senior living the way I sell it?
47. Why do I do my marketing the way I do it?
48. Why do I use the technology I use?
49. Why do I hate the parts of leadership I hate?
50. Why do residents die when they die?
51. Why do residents choose to move into my communities?
52. Why do they reject my community?
53. Why do they reject senior living?
54. Why do families reject senior living?
55. What would happen if I raised my prices by $500?
56. What would happen if I lowered my prices by $500?
57. How do I decide what experiments to try?
58. How do I decide what experiments to not try?
59. How do I know when an experiment is a success?
60. How do I decide when to abandon an experiment?
61. Who should do the experiments?
62. How long should they last?
63. How much should I invest in experiments?
64. Who will decide on the progress of the experiments?
65. What do I do if an experiment is an amazing success?
66. What if overnight there were no senior living communities in the country?
67. What if you had to pay a minimum wage of $25/hour?
68. What if families wanted to work in your communities to help pay for care?
69. What if a new community were built next door to you?
70. What if Amazon went into the senior living business?
71. What if the life expectancy of older people dropped?
72. What if Facebook advertising were no longer available?