be curious. think experimentally.
Curiosity matters. It makes us learn stuff which allows us to create stuff.
I grew up in Chorley in the 1970’s. There were quite a few kids of my age living in the area so we hung out a lot. There wasn’t as much building work going on back then, so there were loads of places to explore.
Which we did. A lot. Because we were kids and curious.
Kids and curiosity. A natural thing, right?
Where did all the curiosity go?
Adults and curiosity — not got quite the same buzz to it, has it? So what’s the deal? Where’s it gone and what do we do about it?
Our futures — work, social, relationships — are already tied to machines and AI.
AI can already make logical decisions in split seconds through massive data analysis. Curious AI, artifical curiosity, curious algorithms, algorithmic curiosity: however you want to term it, it refers to the simulation of human curiosity in AI. The immediate logical outcome is that the AI can create solutions to unfamiliar problems.
It seems to me that natural human curiosity is one of the most important attributes we can have.
Why? Our VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world isn’t going to become any less VUCA anytime soon. Every time I read the news on my phone, I really and truly have no idea what I’m going to find.
Remember when you could say “Not much…same old, really” to describe what was happening in the world?
Nope, me neither…and no signs that it’s going to change.
So curiosity is going to be even more important to help us and businesses to try and react to these conditions and work out creative solutions. Curiosity allows us to think experimentally and outside of constraints that might be set by society, corporate culture or even our own minds.
Fortune favours the curious (and brave)
So, what makes for good individual curiosity?
Know yourself better.
Experimental mindset.
Never assume.
Ask different questions.
Show people that you value what they feel as well as what they say.
Ask your questions and listen to the answers intently.
Build a team of humans who trust each other to fail, learn and build again.
Do what I say, not as I do
A strong corporate innovation culture.
Aha. Corporate innovation.
More often than not, what companies say and what they do are wildly different. In many areas. Innovation is no different.
Stifle curiosity, stifle creativity. They go hand in hand. It’s a death knell. It was for me anyway.
Many still hold onto the command and control ethos. They don’t let go of this overnight. We’ve all seen this, right?
Focus on productivity. Getting things done. Execution. Transactional.
I’ll also add in authenticity: I was invited to create an innovation“growth project” — it could have been anything from an incremental company product or service for an existing line through to something revolutionary for the company and for its market. It gradually became clear that the only thing that would get any traction was something that would add significant revenue to the bottom line pronto.
How innovative. That was my death knell.
There isn’t an automatic “CURIOSITY ON” switch. Curiosity means asking questions, contradicting, going against the flow, being a pain in the arse. Which risks vulnerability, isolation and embarrassment.
The culture needs to be sympathetic to the human psychology that goes with curiosity:
- Is it safe to fail?
- Am I allowed the non-judgemental space to say my piece?
- Is it safe to show my vulnerability?
- Will management put themselves at risk to allow me to be curious?
- How will I be perceived by people who just want to get on and do their job?
Find allies of influence. Not just your CEO or your boss. Spread the allies.
Calculate the risks.
Kill the fear.
Be curious.
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