Are You Curious? – What Do We Need To Know About Today, And Tomorrow?

Curious — marked by desire to investigate and learn
Curiosity — interest leading to inquiry

Are you curious?

Don’t answer too quickly.  Take a minute — think about this question.  Are you curious?

I’m not sure I am curious enough.  In How Children Succeed by Paul Tough, the word “curious” is right there in the subtitle:  Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character.  So, Paul Tough puts curiosity right up there with grit and character. Pretty hefty company.

So, I was thinking about “what business books do I need to present at upcoming First Friday Book Synopsis gatherings?”  The choices are pretty overwhelming, but I think after fifteen years at this, I am beginning to see, and understand, some categories:

• I need to be motivated. — There is a book for that.
• I need to find something different to do (in my company/organization). – There is a book for that.
• I need to do something better than I am already doing it. – There is a book for that.

So, I had a conversation with my friend, and business consultant extraordinaire, Dan Weston about this.  I asked him:  “should I present the new book on Big Data at the First Friday Book Synopsis?  (It has made my short list of “possibles/probables”).  And we ended up having a good conversation about “how should I choose my books?”

I only get 12 slots a year.  (We meet once a month – every first Friday).  Karl Krayer, my colleague, has another 12.   (We present synopses of two books every month — for 15 years!).  Our blogging colleague, Bob Morris, writes reviews (on Amazon, and other places; on his blog; on this blog).  He has only the limitations of his own time.  He can write more than one review a day, and he comes close to this.  (What a reader this man is!  My admiration and appreciation is very high…).

So, anyway, as Dan and I were talking, I thought/said this.  Yes, anyone wanting to get better, more successful, at business needs to develop some skill sets, like:  finding and hiring the right people; developing strategy, and then planning to execute that strategy; getting the right amount of money/resources to make things happen.  (These are the big four, the “Four Decisions,” from Verne Harnish:  “people, strategy, execution, cash.”  Read his white paper on these four here).

But there is also, for a lack of better terminology, some “business literacy” issues we probably need to tackle.  The kinds of things we “know,” even though they may not help us with much of anything but our general understanding.  And, in this area, we need to be very curious.

This morning, I spent a chunk of time reading, and then thinking about, “technology” and “the gamification” of certain processes in cities.  It was promoted by a four part exchange between Farhad Manjoo and Evgeny Morozov, on Slate.com.  Here’s part 4.  Morozov has written:  To Save Everything:  The Folly of Technological Solutionism.  (I’ve downloaded, and read, the sample pages on my Kindle App).

Do I need to “know this?”  Probably not.  But I’m interested – intrigued — curious.

So, back to my conversation with Dan Weston.  I said that the average business person, though effected by “globalization,” really does not need to know about “globalization” to be successful in business.  (The big companies – of course.  But not the “smaller” companies.  Even though they may buy, and sell, lots of products “created by” processes that are global).  Yet, can a person be “business literate” without some knowledge of globalization?

I think the next “big picture subject” we “need to learn about” may be “Big Data.”  So, I’m thinking about selecting the book, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier, for a future First Friday Book Synopsis.  I may not “use” what I learn, but I think to be “business literate,” I probably need to understand a little more/lot more about it.

I think I am somewhat curious.  Curious enough?  I’ve got a long way to go…

And, of course, my curiosity is fed by my reading.  Others have more “hands-on” approaches in their pursuits flowing out of their curiosity.

But, I think this.  If you are satisfied with what you know now, and you are pretty much through “exploring” – “interest leading to inquiry” – you are not curious enough.