Amanda Lang on The Power of Why

Canadian business journalist Amanda Lang looks at the power of asking
the right questions in her new book, The Power of Why. Lang tackles the big issue of the Canadian productivity gap head on by looking at a solution: how to spark innovation in Canada. Currently the senior business correspondent at CBC News, Lang reaches out to business leaders and innovators and also looks at her own life to showcase how asking the right questions can lead to greater connectedness, innovation and productivity in the lives of Canadians.


The profiles Lang features of everyday people who have created extraordinary inventions makes The Power of Why fun and inspiring to read. Among the innovators profiled, there's an American man who invented the curved shower curtain rod, the founder of Lululemon (the Canadian creator of comfortable and attractive yoga wear) and a Toronto woman who underwent a personal transformation from a financial planner to a cupcake shop owner. Lang explores the questions they asked that fueled their innovations and eventual success.

Lang also provides a personal example of what can happen when we don't ask questions.

Growing up, Lang says she thought she wanted to be an architect: it was always a well-received answer, when people asked her what she wanted to do. But she neglected to ask herself why the world of architecture interested her and after studying it at the University of Manitoba, Lang realized she'd be a "mediocre" architect at best.

After a move to Toronto, Lang fell into journalism, taking a temp job at the Globe and Mail. According to Lang, journalism was something that "didn't feel mediocre" and she has since enjoyed a successful career -- as a tech writer at the Financial Post and later as an anchor on CNN and the Business News Network. Now Lang can be seen reporting on CBC-TV's The National and co-hosting The Lang & O'Leary Exchange with entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary on CBC News Network. Lang says her career change was something that helped her realize the importance of an inquiring mind. She says in work and in life, it's important to keep curiosity alive. "Don't stop asking 'Am I enjoying it?'" Lang says about a person's career choice. "If not, then it's probably not the right thing."

Lang says she hopes her book empowers people to better their lives by asking more questions. "Most of us could do less sleepwalking and more searching and probing and connecting," Lang says.


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