Merlin Mann on interviewing with “The Sawatsky Method”
Here’s a post by Merlin Mann at 43 Folders on interviewing with “The Sawatsky Method”.
This is interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly because Merlin Mann is one of the blogosphere’s leading lights on ‘productivity’. This is generally, but not exclusively, focussed on individuals, their technology and their lives.
So in this vein, the post leads on to some pointers about how to get more out of interviews per se.
Secondly, Mann contrasts the Sawatsky method with the “confrontational attack dog methods most of us associate with people like Mike Wallace”. I would also contrast it with the ‘forensic’ approach used by many managers and others in leadership positions.
Good questions are critical in designing and running focussed discussions, workshops and other events. If you harass people, or just interrogate them, you often fail to get to the heart of the matter you’re interested in.
Additionally, you forgo all opportunity to build or enhance something more enduring than a quick ‘win’.