Annexure I

INTERVIEW GUIDELINES
Learning from the Living Legends

Step 1; Contact the person you have selected and make an appointment
Be sure to explain why you want the appointment and give a realistic estimate of how much time you
need. Have at least two different times when you can be available to allow for a good fit with their schedu

Step 2; Identify Specific Questions you would like to have answered and the general area about which
would like to obtain information
Using a combination of open-ended questions, such as general questions about how the C.E.O Identified
need of the audience, what happened next, and so forth, and closed ended questions, such as spec
questions about what his or her goals were, if he/she had to find partners, and so forth, will help k
interview focused and yet allow unexpected comments and insights.

Step 3; Conduct the interview

Recording this interview can be very helpful and is recommended unless you or the person be
interviewed objects. Remember, too, that you most likely will learn more if you are an active listener.
transition statements like, I would like to know more about ____, could you tell me about y
experience?
Hints on Interviewing

Briefly introduce yourself: your name, the nature of the assignment, what you are studying, etc. F
some commonality with the CEO.
Listen closely and dont let your thoughts wander to other subjects or the next question.
Give the CEO feedback in the form of nodding slightly, casual remarks (Uhhuh, I see, is that so, etc)
echo repeating back a few of their words.
Paraphrase a complete thought to ensure you understand their thoughts.
Record your impression on paper this will help you concentrate on listening closely.
Be considerate of the C.E.Os time, arrive on time or early, and end the interview in a timely manner,
dont be obsessed with the time.
Try not to be too nervous, C.E.Os are people too and chances are they are honored to be identified
someone you would want to talk to.

The Interview; Some Questions for gathering information

Would you tell me about yourself before you started your Business?
Whom else did you know while you were growing up who had started or owned a business, and how
they influence you?
Were your parents, relatives or close friends already doing any business? How so?
Did you have role models?
What was your education/experience? Was it helpful? In what specific ways?
Did you have a business or self employment during your youth?

In particular, did you have any sales or marketing experience? How important was it or lack of it to s
your business?
When, under what circumstances, and form whom did you become interested in starting this busin
and learn some of the critical lessons?
What were your life style needs or other personal requirements? What were your goals? How did you
these together?
How did you spot the opportunity? How did it surface?
How did you evaluate the opportunity in terms of the critical elements for success? The competition?
market? Customers? Did you have specific criteria you wanted to meet?
What did you perceive the strengths of your business? Weaknesses?
What was the most joyful moment for your business? The worst one?
How you chose your target market?
How did you decided about the features and design of the product?
How did you decided about the packaging of the product?
How did you decide the brand name?
How did you decide the logo, slogans, color, and label of your brand?
How did you decided about the location of your business?
What process did you followed to deliver the products to your customers?
How did you decide about the price your product/services?
When offering your products to the customers, had you compare your price to your competitor?
What media you selected for promotion of your product?
How did you design your advertisement message?
How much you investment on promotion?
What challenges you faced while choosing the media?
Did you analyze the impact of suppliers, pressure groups, public opinion, Competitors and customers
your business performance?
Did you analyze the impact of Technology, political interference, Culture, legal requirement
economic condition on your business performance?
What were the market challenges and issues to solve as you handled earlier in order to ensure ra
growth?
What did you learnt from both success and failure?
Can describe the Marketing strategies that did not work out for you and how this helped you in furt
strategic planning?

Questions for concluding

If you had it to over again, would you do it again, in the same way?
Are you planning to change your product, Price, Distribution or Promotional Strategy in near future?
yes, then what is your plan?)
On the Basis of current challenges related to the technology, political situation, culture and econo
circumstances what further action you are planning to take?
Are there any other questions you wish I had asked, from which you think I can learn valuable lessons
Step 4; Evaluate what you have learned
Summarize most important observations and insights you have gathered from this interview.

Step 5; Write a thank you note

This is more than a courtesy; it will also help the entrepreneurs remember you favorably you want to fol
up on the interview.