The Dan Sullivan Question by Dan Sullivan Summary

The Dan Sullivan Question by Dan Sullivan is about one transformative question that helps people gain clarity, confidence, and capability in their personal and professional lives. The book centers on asking individuals to envision where they want to be three years from now and identify the dangers to eliminate, opportunities to capture, and strengths to maximize. This framework helps entrepreneurs and professionals create actionable roadmaps for success.

Dan Sullivan is the co-founder and president of Strategic Coach, with over 50 years of experience coaching entrepreneurs and business leaders. He has empowered more than 20,000 entrepreneurs through his programs and authored 50+ publications including Who Not How and The Gap and The Gain. Sullivan's extensive background as a strategic planner, consultant, and entrepreneurship expert makes him uniquely qualified to share this transformative questioning methodology.

The Dan Sullivan Question is ideal for entrepreneurs, business owners, professionals, students, and anyone with ambition seeking personal and professional growth. The book particularly benefits individuals feeling confused, isolated, or powerless despite their success, and those who want to transform their perspective and set clear, actionable goals. Leaders seeking to improve team dynamics and foster a culture of continuous improvement will also find valuable insights.

The Dan Sullivan Question is worth reading for its powerful simplicity and practical application. While the book receives mixed reviews—5 stars for its transformative model but 3 stars for writing quality—readers consistently report astounding results when applying the question and D.O.S. framework. The real-life success stories and strategies for implementation make it valuable for anyone seeking clarity and direction, despite its seemingly simple premise.

The Dan Sullivan Question asks: "If we were having this discussion three years from today, and you were looking back over those three years, what has to have happened in your life, both personally and professionally, for you to feel happy with your progress?" This deceptively simple question prompts individuals to envision their desired outcomes clearly, setting the foundation for actionable goal-setting and meaningful transformation.

The D.O.S. framework in The Dan Sullivan Question stands for Dangers, Opportunities, and Strengths. After answering the three-year question, individuals identify specific dangers that need elimination, opportunities requiring capture, and strengths needing development. This structured approach transforms vague aspirations into concrete action items, helping people articulate their top three priorities in each category and create a focused roadmap for achieving their envisioned future.

The Dan Sullivan Question emphasizes that "people want clarity, confidence, and capability" and that "people want the conversation to be about them." Sullivan highlights that "in a world where everyone is competing with their answers, how do you differentiate yourself from everyone else? With a question." These quotes underscore the book's core philosophy: asking the right question, rather than providing answers, creates transformative conversations that unlock potential.

The Dan Sullivan Question creates clarity by externalizing ideas from the mind and heart into tangible, articulated goals. By describing their desired future in detail, individuals gain precision about their definition of success. This process connects the conscious and unconscious mind, subtly influencing decisions and actions that align with the goal. The act of expressing goals prevents them from becoming hostages to inner narratives that declare them impossible.

"The 23-Minute Answer" is a chapter in The Dan Sullivan Question that likely refers to the depth and time needed to properly answer the transformative question. The book emphasizes that while the question appears simple, responding thoroughly requires meaningful reflection. Sullivan walks readers through multiple facets of applying this question, demonstrating that the conversation creates transformation through the process of articulating detailed, specific visions for the future.

The Dan Sullivan Question can be applied to business leadership by creating team alignment around shared three-year visions and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Leaders use the question to help team members articulate their personal and professional goals, building commitment and clarity. The D.O.S. framework enables teams to collectively identify organizational dangers, opportunities, and strengths, transforming strategic planning sessions into actionable initiatives.

The Dan Sullivan Question differentiates itself by focusing on asking rather than answering. While most business books provide solutions and frameworks, Sullivan's approach emphasizes that asking one powerful question creates more transformation than delivering multiple answers. The book demonstrates how this single question, combined with the D.O.S. framework, generates personalized clarity and commitment that generic goal-setting advice cannot match, making it uniquely client-centered.

The Dan Sullivan Question helps with transformation by prompting individuals to articulate specific outcomes they want three years from now across both personal and professional dimensions. This dual focus ensures holistic growth rather than isolated success. By identifying concrete dangers to eliminate, opportunities to capture, and strengths to maximize, people create integrated roadmaps that align their career ambitions with personal fulfillment, resulting in sustainable, meaningful progress.