FIRE INSIGHT
Waiting is the safest decision there is.Chapter 13 · Heat
The Fire Diagnosis · free
We call the first meeting a baseline. Not because we measure anything, but because we assume nothing yet. You tell me what isn’t moving. I ask four questions. By the end you know which of the three is missing and what the smallest first step is.
Then we hang up. No presentation, no proposal in your inbox, no follow-up call two weeks later.
The four questions
This is exactly the diagnosis from chapter 26. You can do it yourself too — which is why it is here in full.
That sounds facile, but it is the most important question and most people skip it. Is it not moving, or is it moving slowly? Those are not the same thing.
Something moving slowly needs patience. Something not moving needs a diagnosis.
Usually only one is missing. That is good news, because it means you don’t have to fix everything.
You can usually hear which one from what somebody says. Try it for yourself below.
Is this person after safety, balance or advantage right now? That doesn’t decide what you say, but how it lands.
A submissive position needs an overview. An assertive position needs information. A dominant position needs the downside first.
Not the logical next step. The smallest one.
If you’re wondering whether it is small enough, it is too big.
Try it yourself
Three answers that look alike and produce three different diagnoses. Click them.
The only rule
This is the hardest rule in the whole book. We are trained to fill gaps. We suspect, we infer, we think we know the other person.
And every assumption you fill in is an assumption nobody ever checked. By now you know what that is called.
An empty space in your diagnosis isn’t a problem. It is what your next conversation should be about.
Chapter 26 · The Fire Diagnosis
How it works
Length
30 minutesNo longer. If it needs longer, this isn’t the right conversation.Where
Video or phoneWhichever you prefer. In person is possible too, but then it runs longer than thirty minutes.Cost
NoneAnd none hidden either. No proposal follows unless you ask for one.Preparation
One sentenceDescribe beforehand what isn’t moving. That is all I need.Honest up front
That happens more often than you think. Then it isn’t moving because it doesn’t need to yet, and nothing is wrong.
In that case I’ll simply say so, and you will at least have spent thirty minutes thinking out loud about something you had only been circling.
I spent thirty chapters insisting that urgency isn’t the same as pressure. It would be odd to start pushing here.
No report, no scorecard. Four answers and a note.
Booking
The four questions from chapter 26 are on the right. They take a minute and you see straight away which of the three is missing for you.
Only then do I ask for your address. If you want to talk it through, you choose how: WhatsApp, book a slot yourself, or email.
Start with question 1 on the right
Rather try it yourself first
Describe in one sentence what isn’t moving and he works out which of the three is missing. It takes three minutes and commits you to nothing.
FIRE INSIGHT
Waiting is the safest decision there is.Chapter 13 · Heat