Asking The Right Questions

I was speaking to a Founder last week, and over lunch she asked me about the first time I ever “took an idea and made it into a business?”

I love that question, and love answering it.

I told her I was 18, and it wasn’t a for-profit business, but it was a start-up. During my first year at Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine, three other students, all EMTs, and I founded Bates EMS. Bates EMS is an all-student volunteer emergency medical service on the campus of Bates College that serves both the campus and surrounding community. However, it wasn’t just a campus program. The larger vision was to be able to provide trained and capable emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to the surrounding communities that needed more staff. It was a time of scarcity of volunteer EMTs – a situation which has only gotten worse in the intervening almost-30 years.

It was not an easy thing for a bunch of young folks barely out of high school to start a state certified emergency medical service. Here’s how we did it – we finished things. It was easy enough to say “hey, I have an idea!” In point of fact, we all have ideas every day, but most people leave it there. To turn the aspiration into reality we had to determine and then complete the first step. In full transparency, my fellow EMT, and the true founder of Bates EMS, David Kingdon did the yeoman’s work of it.

First, we had to get the college administration to agree the idea was permissible as a student club. David schedule the meetings, and we came in prepared with documents and examples of similar enterprise in similar colleges. Even Colby had a student-led EMS, and if Colby could do it, surely Bates could too? For reference, Colby College is the archrival of Bates. To keep the competition alive, we went for the full state license at the basic EMT level, whereas Colby was, at the time, an unlicensed first-aid squad. With the prospect of outdoing Colby and the idea that students would take ownership over the wellbeing of their fellow Batesies the administration gave a tentative approval.

We were on our way.

We finished step one!

The next steps involved things like funding, getting the Maine Office Emergency Medical Services to agree to help us with paperwork, and most importantly to go public with the idea so we could get more EMTs. You can’t do much with four EMTs with out-of-state licenses and no equipment.

Here is where the whole conversation with the Founder went off script.

For the record, I told her I was going to turn this into something written.

She asked, as about 75% of people ask when they find out that after 30 years I’m still and active EMT. “So, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen.”

I decided it was time to finish that line of questions right then and there.

I told her she was asking the wrong question, and as an entrepreneur she should think about asking better questions that get to the heart of the matter more. I think I said it in a slightly nicer way, but it didn’t land well for either of us.

So, I went on.

Here is the question you should have asked.

What is it that keeps you going after 30 years?

This is effectively the same question I like to ask leaders when I speak to them. What gets you up in the morning? What gives you pride, joy, energy, inspiration?

The problem with the “worst thing” or “craziest thing” question is that at its core what is really being asked is “what gives you nightmares and PTSD?” And, if I’m being honest here, I don’t ever want to talk about the things that I still mourn after all these years, especially with a business contact who is little more than an acquaintance.

Founders are, by definition, forward in their approach and comfortable with a little conflict. Not too much conflict, but a little. After all, you can’t get traction without a little friction. Still as society has learned that high-EQ leaders are more effective, it is imperative that leaders use their EQ to ensure they are getting to the point in an effective and empathic manner.

During the arch of my life I’ve had the chance to start a volunteer EMS, expand a small and thriving firm into the North American market, win and then launch a multi-national agency of record team that spanned 8 offices in four continents and staff up from 10 to 70 in a matter of months, rebuilt a NY market, and helped insurgent companies like Polestar get to market with their products. In all of that I have always learned the most for the things that we were able to finish despite head winds, mistakes (so many mistakes!), and many long nights and weekends. It isn’t that you shouldn’t try, it is that you need to finish.

And with that I want to finish this missive to the next part of the conversation with the Founder. I told her that the best part of being a volunteer EMT is watching the sunrise from the window of an ambulance while a patient calms down and starts telling you about the time they met FDR. The best part of about being a volunteer EMT is when you see someone who needed you on the worst day of their life, and you were there for them. The best part of about being a volunteer EMT is when you come in to check your truck for the night and it is clean and nothing is missing. The best part of about being a volunteer EMT is making a little kid laugh with the one magic trick you know, and it helps them feel just a little better. And yes, the best part of about being a volunteer EMT is sometimes you get to use the sirens, and deep down I guess I’m still a little kid who like to use the sirens. And the airhorn.

With that, I’m finished for the night.