How curious of a person are you? Some people are naturally wired to be curious, out-of-the box thinkers where others simply live in the status quo.
- Don’t accept spin: Many of us tend to believe exactly what someone tells us, whether we know them or not. Take for example what is published on a website, in an email, social media, the newest best seller, and the list goes on. What if we were to dig a little deeper, to question what may lie below the surface. We should take the time to look at all of the possibilities. We should be truth seekers, being more optimistically critical of what we are being fed by media and other outlets. If we react quickly to something that is published about our industry without knowing all of the facts, think of the potential pitfalls that may lie ahead for our careers and our organization.
- Ask questions: Ask questions of others and of yourself. When you were young and someone told you something, you always followed up with "but why?" or "what do you mean?". As adults, we tend to be so consumed in our daily activities that we don't stop to ask more questions, to get to the detail. You cannot be truly informed until you ask more questions. Pull together a task force or improvement team. Ask the 5 W's...get the story within the story.
- Ask ‘What if…’: Searching for alternatives, or the "What Ifs" allows you to find more solutions to the issue or story. Have you ever seen an outfit that is "One Size Fits All". Or, think of getting test results from your doctor but not getting a second opinion to weigh potential options. I think we all can attest that taking that approach limits our creativity, our ability to get all of the facts and options. Asking "What If" will open you up to the possibilities that lie in front and around you. We should never make business decisions until we understand all of the information.
- ‘Turn Questions into Quests’: Researching to answer your questions will take you on a journey to enlightenment. Whether you spend time at your local library, search the internet, purchase books at your local bookstore, talk to experts or attend seminars, you are taking your questions on a journey of enlightenment. Focus on your own knowledge-building. Thing of where we would be now if Alexander Graham Bell or Leonardo DaVinci had not been curious, never challenged the world around them.
- Dig deeper than the RSS feed: Most of what you will read simply scratches the surface. You are seeing things from a macro level because we want our information fast, short, and concise. Just tell me what I NEED to know so that I can go on my way. We want to get the highlights but there is always a more detail once you scratch the surface, the information that will truly impact your business decisions. For example, if you are in customer service and field thousands of calls all day, you see each issue individually. But if you take the words of your customers and mine those responses using text analysis, you might find systemic issues that could be quickly resolved with just a few simple organizational or operational changes.
- Use available tools: Stay up-to-date on the latest tools that will help you in gather information quickly. Technology has provided us a means to get more real-time information than ever imagined just 15 years ago. Consider mind mapping in conjunction with online tools (see previous blog entries) to track and document your research. Track the 5 W's and have a little parsley category. Parsley is the stuff that looks good as a garnish but has no true purpose on the plate, or at least not yet... Tap in to your network or use local experts from universities, professional business groups, online groups such as those found on LinkedIn.
- Put disconnected ideas together: This is the parsley from above...you aren't sure what to do with these ideas or observations but you might find as your curiosity takes your further down the path that they are related or interconnected with other ideas. Using a text analysis software can help you create the connections for these thoughts or observations. Read "The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures" by Dan Roam or "Indexed" by Jessica Hagy. Both are outside-of-the-box thinkers that will help you to bring your thoughts and ideas to life and to create relationships between them.
- Play: Discover new and exciting ways to peak your curiosity. It might be sitting at a coffee shop and listening to business professionals interact, it might be watching children interact at a local play spot or book reading, head to a local museum to see how others react to the beauty around them, it could even be doing heads-down research on something you have read about. Finding a way to make learning fun is essential to creating a curious you.
- Get proactive: Curious people tend to be successful people. They are the ones that are always on the go. They are the people who you wonder how they get so much done with their days. They are always pushing the status quo. They are the ones that draw in others like a magnet. Get out into the world, be a seeker of information, ask questions, and then ask more. Successful people don't get to the top by following everyone else. They blaze their own path by traveling the road less traveled; stepping out of their comfort zone.
- Network: Even if you don't realize it, your network can propel you forward when you didn't even realize you needed to accelerate. The people you surround yourself with now reflect who you are as a person. They will help push you, challenge you, help you to continue to evolve. I once heard that you are who you hang out with. If you surround yourself with people who are naturally curious, you too will begin to be a curious soul. Use LinkedIn groups as a way to throw out your questions and have other like-minded people help you generate additional ideas or ways of looking at the situation.
- Find a ‘curiosity buddy’: It is more fun when we surround ourselves with curious people. Make time to have coffee once a week with a like-minded person who will challenge you, ask questions, and push you beyond your own limits. Surround yourself with people who are life-long learners. Find a mentor that can help you along your journey to business success, someone who is an objective participant in your quest for success.
- Slow down: Take time to reflect. Don't be a reactive person. Learn to take your time in coming to conclusions. There are always unlimited ways to look at a situation or a challenge. There is no "One Size Fits All" and if we limit ourselves by what we hear or read without asking the "What Ifs" and "Why Nots" we be limited in our knowledge of the world around us, the potential that a situation may be offering for us to become more informed, to make better business or personal decisions.
Take the time to be the person everyone wants to surround themselves with. Be the type of person that when your name is mentioned in a conversation that others immediately have a positive reaction to. Create an environment where people want to ask you questions because they know you are just as curious to gain more insight into the world around you. What are you waiting for, become a curiosity seeker today!
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