How do we find out about another person? One way is to ask questions. A couple of lunches last week — one with a client and another with a lawyer — drove that point home.
After my client and I had lunch, she needed to conduct some interviews. One of her favorite questions to ask: Tell me something you have done recently to improve yourself. She leaves her query open-ended, so the applicant can talk about work or personal life. She believes the question pries open an otherwise hidden aspect of the applicant.
At the other lunch (if beer and peanuts constitute a lunch), I kibitzed with a lawyer who is applying to business school. The essay portion of one application posed two simple questions designed to produce two very revealing answers. Question No. 1: Tell us something you did well. Question No. 2: Tell us something you wish you had done better. Take a few minutes to think how you would answer. I did. Self-reflection, like an apple a day, is a good practice.
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