The Value of Asking Better Questions
Sometimes the most valuable person in the room is the one asking the question everyone else stopped asking years ago.
Curiosity challenges assumptions and opens the door to better solutions. In complex industries, that kind of thinking makes a real difference.
At Schlosser, curiosity isn’t just encouraged — it’s expected. In fact, “We Are Curious” is one of our core team values. Not because it sounds good and looks awesome on a wall, but because better questions lead to better outcomes.
This mindset also shapes how our company builds its team. Instead of hiring exclusively from within the sign industry, Schlosser intentionally looks for professionals who bring experience from other sectors.
People who have worked in varies areas of construction, public-sector organizations, manufacturing, advertising, and other fields often approach challenges differently. When those perspectives come together, they can lead to stronger collaboration, smarter ideas, and a way better final product.
Sometimes the best way to solve a problem in one industry is to bring in someone who has spent time solving them somewhere else.
When Industries Start Thinking the Same Way
Every industry develops its own habits for solving problems. Over time, professionals learn the approaches that tend to work and the solutions that are commonly applied.
That experience builds expertise and tacit knowledge, helping a team learn from past mistakes, but it can also create inefficiencies that go largely unquestioned. Where “It’s how it’s always been done” becomes the status quo.
When everyone in the room has spent their entire career in the same industry, solutions often follow familiar paths. Even complex challenges can start to feel like variations of problems the team has already solved, which stifles creativity and innovation.
Bringing in professionals from outside the industry changes that dynamic. People with different career backgrounds tend to notice different things. They ask questions others might not think to ask and challenge assumptions that have quietly become routine.
Those perspectives don’t replace industry expertise, they complement it. When paired together, they lead to more thoughtful decisions, more creative solutions, and better outcomes.
Looking at Projects Through a Wider Lens
One of the first places cross-industry experience makes an impact is during project planning.
Professionals who have worked in other sectors often begin by stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Instead of focusing only on the product being delivered, they consider how the solution fits into the client’s larger goals.
That shift in perspective changes the questions a team will ask early in a project.
Rather than jumping straight to a technical solution, conversations often begin with questions like:
What outcome is the client ultimately trying to achieve?
How will this solution support their brand or visibility?
Is there a way to simplify the process for everyone involved?
In industries like signage where projects intersect with architecture, branding, development timelines, permitting requirements, and installation logistics, this broader perspective helps coordination and decision-making from the very beginning.
It helps teams see the full picture before they even pick up a pencil.
A Sales Perspective Shaped by Multiple Industries
This broader approach to problem-solving also influences how Schlosser approaches sales.
The company’s new Director of Sales, Fred Liske, brings experience from several industries, including financial services, beverage distribution, and executive leadership roles in large multi-national companies.
Working across multiple industries has shaped how he thinks about our sales team and how he helps drive their goals and strategy.
In his view, strong sales professionals aren’t simply selling a product, they’re helping customers solve problems. That means understanding what the client is trying to accomplish and working alongside them to identify the right solution.
This perspective also reframes what Schlosser ultimately provides.
The goal isn’t just to sell signs, it’s to help businesses increase visibility and attract new customers while strengthening their brand presence. The sign itself is the finished product, but the real value comes from helping clients grow and promote their business.
Experience across industries creates leaders with different approaches to team development, mentorship, and organizational culture. Many of the principles that drive successful organizations, building strong teams, mentoring talent, and maintaining accountability, translate across industries.
Bringing these ideas into the sign industry helps Schlosser and our customers by introducing new strategies across all of our departments that strengthen how we operate and serve our clients.
Better Thinking Builds Better Projects
As industries continue to evolve, the ability to think beyond traditional boundaries becomes increasingly valuable.
Cross-industry experience brings new ideas, new questions, and new ways of approaching familiar challenges. It encourages teams to stay curious and explore solutions that might not be obvious at first glance.
At Schlosser, that mindset is a core part of our company culture. By bringing together professionals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, we approach projects with fresh thinking and a multi-disciplinary approach, often leaning on our direct experience in our clients’ industry.
Successful projects rarely come from repeating the same solutions over and over again, they come from teams willing to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and work together to find the right answer.
Let’s Solve the Right Problem
At Schlosser, every project starts with a conversation that aligns our understanding with what our client is really trying to accomplish, whether it’s increasing visibility, strengthening a brand, or guiding customers through a space. The first step toward delivering the right solution is getting on the same page with what our client wants to accomplish.
If you’re planning a signage project and want a team that approaches challenges with both experience and fresh perspective, we’d love to talk to you!
Because sometimes the best solutions start with two simple questions:
What are you really trying to achieve? And how can our team help yours realize that goal?