Over the last several weeks my team and I have been in the process of marketing our next fund. Collectively, we have probably traveled over 10,000+ miles (by plane) in the last 60 to 90 days talking to potential investors. We’ve been to Boston, Chicago, Tulsa, London, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Austin, Oklahoma City, Houston, Baltimore, Portland, and Vancouver (WA). In each place we go we normally have a handful of meetings lined up and we’re put on task to describe our strategy and answer a lot of questions.

One of the meeting habits I’ve developed over the years is documenting every question that’s asked by the person or people we’re meeting with. After each meeting I compare the questions to questions from previous meetings and try to identify differences and similarities. In most cases, the same question can be asked in a different way and I find it’s helpful to understand the nuances between them. I also like to reflect on why and how certain questions were asked to assess whether the question was answered completely or if the question could have been answered differently.

I find that through this process of triangulation – Documentation, Comparison, Reflection – I am able to identify different ways I/we can improve and better respond to questions in a succinct and accurate manner. Over time, patterns emerge in the sequence of questions and we are able to anticipate and quickly respond to questions and add the most value within the time allotted to us.

This process of documentation, comparison, and reflection can be applied to any situation and is a useful practice for challenging oneself  to get better. Try it out! Cheers – KM