Throw it Hard

Andrew Ross Sorkin shared insights from years of interviewing CEOs at a fireside chat at Cornell University.

Sorkin, co-host of CNBC’s Squawk Box, was back on campus this weekend for his 25th reunion. I was there for my dad’s 75th!

Sorkin made three points that should be best practices for journalists doing interviews and good to know for anyone ever being grilled. They are:

–Get to the point quickly
–Don’t surprise people
–Throw the ball hard

GET TO THE POINT: Sorkin noted that broadcast interviews are 3-5 minutes so journalists need to lead with the most pressing questions.

As a result, the most important part of the process happens in the minutes before the interview starts when the guest is in the Green Room.

You need to connect so the person is relaxed and warmed up. In a print interview you have more time; that’s not the case on television.

DON’T SURPRISE PEOPLE: Sorkin said that when he is publishing a hard-hitting story, he wants the subject to know the angle he’s taking.

You can have a respectful relationship as long as you are direct and don’t ambush someone. People can handle anything better when it is not a surprise.

THROW THE BALL HARD. This was my favorite point. He said a CEO once pulled him aside backstage minutes before an interview and told him:

“Throw the ball as hard as you can. If I can hit it, we both win. If you throw it soft, we both lose.”

It’s a keen observation, especially since most CEOs and PR agents probably hope for softballs. Many journalists also hold back for fear of offending.

It reminds us that a tough interview is more memorable, which is usually the goal of doing press in the first place.

Sorkin won an Emmy for his interview with WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann and went viral for interviews with FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried and Tesla’s Elon Musk. Musk famously said his advertisers could go F- themselves if they weren’t happy with how he was running the company.

Sorkin has accomplished a lot in the quarter century since he graduated.

He began writing part time for the New York Times in high school and full-time after graduation. He created a news product, Deal Book, and started at CNBC in 2011. He wrote a best-selling book, Too Big to Fail, about the 2008 financial crisis and co-produced Billions on Showtime.

Sorkin’s advice to college students was to be persistent and “seize the moment.” He regrets he didn’t make more friends or take more classes or go to more events. His encouraged young people to say “yes” to as much as possible.

When asked what news reporting he was most proud of, he cited the impact journalism he did to address mass shootings. In particular, pressing Walmart to stop selling guns and credit card companies to track sales. He lamented that much of that effort is being unraveled by state laws.

He was asked how he copes with stress and he gave a fantastically practical response. He said he asks himself if being anxious “would help.”

It’s a hack he picked up from a scene in the movie Bridge of Spies in which the character played by Tom Hanks asks a man on trial: “Do you never worry?”

“Would it help?” the man responds.

Probably not, is almost always the answer.

BRIEF OBSERVATIONS

LOCKED DOWN: America is among the freest, safest and wealthiest countries in the world. And yet, we need to chain down the benches at highway rest stops.

THE SQUEAKY WHEEL: No one said complaints were evenly distributed across the population. Give this person a medal!

TIME IS MIND BENDING: It’s good to remember how much progress has been made so that you don’t take that for granted.

ROBERT PLANT: Robert Plant responds to a Karen on the Internet who is looking for a guy like him.

DAVID: David by Michelangelo is both incredibly and large beautiful.