Just One More Thing

The opening scenes of most ‘Columbo’ TV episodes (1971-2003) seem to commit a cardinal sin of detective fiction. They reveal the murder, the killer, the motive, and the meticulously fabricated alibi.

There is no ‘whodunit.’ The mystery is different: How does this deferential, disheveled, self-deprecating, resolutely nonviolent, cheap-cigar-smoking LAPD lieutenant, who cannot remember where he parked his decrepit 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet, navigate the path from ignorance to certainty?

Like all successful detectives, Lt. Columbo is a champion of abduction, i.e. the ability to infer the most plausible explanation based on observations, experience, and logic (see ‘The Intelligence Trap’, 2025).

But Columbo is much more than that. The research paper'The Columbo Method’ (2020) identifies three pillars of his approach to solving crimes: rhetorical inquiry, a non-authoritative persona, and tenacity.

Knowingly or unknowingly, Lt. Columbo leverages Socrates’ rhetorical method, also referred to as ‘maieutics’, i.e., the art of midwifery, when conditions are created for the truth to be born. He masters the art of dealing with ‘resistant respondents’, i.e., people who are reluctant to share information, worried that it may expose their failings. Using seemingly innocuous questions, he creates a false sense of security for his interlocutors. He knows how to go on the offensive in an inoffensive way.

This rhetorical style is associated with ‘sophrosyne’, a term in ancient Greek signifying self-restraint, seen as one of the greatest human virtues. It contrasts with hubris, which refers to extreme pride, self-confidence, and impatience. This trait contributes to Columbo’s non-threatening character.

Through rhetorical inquiry and non-authoritative behavior, Columbo engineers power dynamics where suspects profoundly underestimate him, while he never underestimates his adversary.

To further enhance his effectiveness, Columbo wears down his opponent as if he were running a war of attrition. He does so with  ‘hupomone’, another Greek term signifying endurance. Upon leaving a scene, the suspect exhales, relieved. But it is a fake exit: Columbo turns back with ‘Just one more thing.’ By that point, the suspect's guard has dropped, enhancing the chance of self-incriminating remarks.

The Columbo method is not limited to criminal investigations. Managers are in constant need to find out about the what, the why, the who, and the when to anticipate the next. They often face resistant employees or, my bête noire, performative activists skilfully concealing their incompetence.

The very same applies to teams conducting M&A due diligence processes, given a target’s natural reluctance to share information that would negatively affect its value.

In everyday interactions with their direct reports or peers as much as in investigative M&A processes, facts tend to elude managers. The Columbo method — maieutic in spirit, sophrosyne in demeanor, hupomone in execution — offers a path to the corporate truth, and, with it, to value creation.