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I mentor alot of startups. This is exactly how I work. Also the peer to peer coaching i did with Joel from Buffer uses similar principles. we only asked each other prodding questions but never gave an actual answer. It was all about leading them to a discovery that could work for them.


Since I am looking for more external advice I would like to know how startups or companies usually recompense the advise?


It's a fixed fee per session. Some start-ups like to have a session every week/2 weeks, others prefer to do it on an ad-hoc basis. The pricing scales based on the size of the start-up.

If you'd like a free session as a trial you're most welcome. There's no obligation or commitment necessary.

Contact details: krmmalik.com/me


Are you describing a kind of socratic questioning ? I am just curious about your method.


I devised the system and iterated it with Joel. It was originally inspired by the "toyota way" but i've just read up on the socractic method which is very much like what we did. It's all about getting to the root cause of a problem and finding a way to eliminate it. The key thing is the discovery has to come from the person being questioned.

Hope that helps?


How would you rephrase your question so that your suggestion of Socratic Questioning isn't pushed into the answer?

eg: I'm curious about your method, could you give me an example or two of a prodding question?


To be honest our method sounds similar to the socratic method.

A simple example would be:

Person A: I have to fire my new employee, i dont feel i can do it

Person B:

- Why do you need to fire him? - Can someone else do it? - What would happen if you didn't? - Is it the method of firing, the person, or you?

etc etc

But obviously the questions adapt based on the responses.

Does that help? Happy to explain further via email or on skype if you like. Contact details in profile




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