LISTEN mode:  The lawyer and the reporter

What skills separate great lawyers and great investigative reporters from their peers?  

Why do great lawyers command rates that can exceed the cost of hiring a small team of junior lawyers?

Why do great investigative reporters break more of the big stories that so many other journalists would love to scoop?

Great lawyers and great investigative reporters have two things in common: 

They have mastered the art of asking the right questions to the right people

They have the patience to listen until a complete answer becomes clear 

Sometimes, they have a good idea of what they’re looking for…and just need to search long enough or dig deep enough to uncover it.

Sometimes, their search is more of a hunch…operating under the hope that it reveals unknown information or untold truths.

Sometimes, questions have simply been asked of the wrong people, leading to answers, but not right answers.

Importantly, they keep the process of gathering the “data” separate from interpreting that data, not being overly eager to just hear what they want or expect to hear, and never being in a rush to make final conclusions.

They seek out information to support multiple, often competing or contradictory hypotheses, so they rarely end up cornered in a dead end.  They also have the wisdom to know when to keeping digging, when to stop digging, and how to recognize when multiple “holes” may be converging on the same destination.

NEED TO FIX YOUR LISTEN MODE?

It can be extremely difficult to recognize when the wrong questions have been asked.  Unfortunately, deeper category expertise can make it even more difficult to reassess the areas where you don’t know what you don’t know.

Ignorance, when used by a skilled lawyer or investigator can lead to surprising answers.

Want to consult with an outside expert…for free?  Contact us for a brief 30-minute conversation to discuss your business.  If we don’t raise any new questions, it is safe to assume you’re already asking the right ones.