I want to know all about your business. The way your product is made (a factory tour would be most welcome!) Your supply chain. Your distribution channels. The competition. The regulatory framework. The customers. The changes over time ... In part that is because I’m naturally curious.

But it also helps me recognise patterns and see the problem (and possible solutions) more clearly than the client’s brief sometimes suggests. In more than one of such sessions I’ve heard the client say, “Jeez, I didn’t think about my business this way before you asked.”

Don’t let it bother you, by the way, that I rarely take notes. I have a pretty good memory for things I’m keen to know and anyway, somebody in any meeting usually does. I prefer to listen in between the lines. That’s where the interesting stuff is hidden.