Interviews

I have interviewed many people and been interviewed many times myself. I love the format, but years ago I began to want more than a mere “interview.” I wanted open conversation. It was hard to find, however, because traditionally both parties to most interviews bring agendas to the medium. And interviews (especially these days) are often very clipped and short. Fair enough. I get that. But I was tired of it. I wanted to have conversations with interesting people that were not scripted Q&A, which everyone knows where it is going. What I had in mind would of course be topical but it would be a relational give-and-take, open to entering other areas, in which we could share insights and learn from each other on the spot.

So I introduced the concept in the first issue of Openings, in 1998, and it immediately became the most popular feature of the publication. As time permits, I am putting those timeless conversations on this site. You will find quite a few of them here already (see the left column). And do feel free to fire up any of these conversations by using the “Comment” link that has been include with each one.