
How to “Pick the Brains" of Busy People Without Them Even Knowing It - mikeknoop
http://wadefoster.net/post/54356580687/how-to-pick-the-brains-of-busy-people-without-them
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sivers
Another thing that works great:

Just email one specific question.

Then a week or so later, email another specific question. Repeat.

I've been saying no to all "pick your brain" requests, and even interview
requests, but if someone emails a specific question, I answer it. (I'm at
derek@sivers.org if you want to test this.)

One guy wanted an interview, I said no (just too busy), so he emailed just one
question, then did it again, and a month or so later he posted our interview:
[http://onepercentcollective.org/derek-sivers-generosity-
talk...](http://onepercentcollective.org/derek-sivers-generosity-talks)

I thought that was a pretty clever hack. Clever enough that I then met with
him later, and he's an impressive dude.

~~~
krmmalik
Can confirm and second this. I've emailed Mr.Sivers and lots of other awesome
people with one simple question loads of times.

I ask the question in one line and ask for a one line response. its upto then
if they want to provide more information.

~~~
NhanH
As a non-native English speaker, I have quite some trouble writing an email
with proper etiquette. I'm not quite sure HOW to write a one-liner email
question (shouldn't I introduce myself, provide context, isn't it rude to ask
in a one-liner etc). Do you mind giving a specific example on how such an
email should be?

~~~
saraid216
State your name, disclose any relevant bits (I am a journalist; I am a
government official; I may publish your response; etc.), and ask your
question. You might have a signature that gives more disclosure, like a phone
number.

Providing context is, as a rule of thumb, a bad idea. It takes time to read
it, and that's the exact opposite of the point of a one-liner. If it's
necessary for answering the question, then chances are the question is too
broad or poorly targeted: your recipient ought to already have the necessary
context. That's what makes them useful for asking your question.

That said, it's just a guideline, which means break it when you feel like
breaking it.

Everyone is going to have a different threshold for what seems rude, what
seems worth answering, and so on; you kinda have to go with hit or miss. Only
this past week, I actually got a response back from an author I emailed over a
month ago. I had stopped expecting a response two days after I sent it off and
moved on, so it was a very pleasant surprise.

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zw123456
Another approach you can use, but very sparingly, is to take a position on
something that you know is on the opposite side of what you know Super Busy/
super smart Person A takes. For this to work, you must do your homework and
present reasonably good contra arguments. Often times, these type A people
cannot resist showing off and will stay up all night putting together awesome
research "proving you wrong". Thank them politely for helping you and use all
the information they just graciously provided. Again, sparingly, and you must
do your homework, you have to be careful, be sure to acknowledge their
contribution.

~~~
nwhitehead
This reminds me of the strategy for getting Linux help. Just wander around
near the cubicles with penguins on them and say, "It's too bad Linux doesn't
support foo." You'll have energetic Linux hackers proving you wrong instantly.

------
wavesounds
Wrote for a photocopied zine in college which allowed me to talk to some of my
favorite bands.

Some quick advice, interviews should document a conversation lists of
questions with answers reads like crap. Prepare questions but use them to lead
a conversation (ask follow ups to dig deeper), record this in person or on the
phone and type up the best parts that you want publish.

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jmduke
Two things:

1\. Spelling errors in the title of a blog post are a strong signal to me of
how much effort an author put into a post. I realize its petty: Wade typed out
tens of thousands of characters, why focus on one? But, still.

2\. The disadvantage of this approach is that John Doe wearing a spokesman hat
is going to give very different answers to questions than John Doe wearing a
mentor hat. Often, the strongest insights are gleaned from the things people
are most cautious about talking about.

~~~
mikeknoop
What's spelled wrong?

~~~
zck
"Brains".

~~~
sukuriant
How is it supposed to be spelled..?

~~~
zck
When I posted my comment, it was _Brain 's_.

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morgante
I think interviews can often be a dicey proposition since ultimately an
interview should be explicitly focused on the person. So if you just want
general advice from them, an interview works well. But if you want to find out
what the think about Thing X that you're making, an interview isn't really
appropriate.

