At the recent BenefitsPRO Broker Expo, I presented "Asking the Right Questions" at the start of the innovation track. One of my themes was to encourage people to ask questions of customers to discover insights. Then, I encouraged asking the next question. Never settle for a "good" answer when a much larger opportunity — a great answer — can be uncovered by asking the next question.

The images in the presentation started with a photo of a red sports car on an open mountain road. I asked, "Do you enjoy the experience of driving?" I'm sure most said "yes." Then we shifted to a photo of a highway in total gridlock, and then to a woman texting in a car. I asked, "Really? Wouldn't most people today, in most driving situations, rather be able to text than to drive?" The fact is, most of the time, the freedom of the road is akin to a moving prison. The freedom to text (legally) can entice us to allow Uber to do the driving for us. Will this evolve into a tomorrow with self-driving cars that encourage us to text, watch Netflix, or enjoy the scenery? It could happen.

Before self-driving cars become an everyday option, there are details to work out. While many of these challenges are technical, centered on the cars themselves and the systems that drive them, others are broader in nature.