Curiosity is the gas of creativity, discovery and innovation. As we undergo our formal schooling, a delicate however insidious shift happens. The open-ended questions that we relentlessly requested as infants are regularly changed by a requirement for definitive solutions. We’re rewarded for realizing, not for asking. The systematic suppression of curiosity stifles particular person potential but additionally cripples creativity. The pursuit of “realizing” may be the enemy of discovery.
Too typically within the company world curiosity is discouraged. The emphasis is on effectivity and productiveness slightly than questioning and experimentation. The prevailing mantra is “deal with what you understand works,” slightly than “discover what you don’t know.” We’re inspired to specialize, to grasp a particular ability set, and to stay inside the snug confines of our experience. However typically essentially the most attention-grabbing concepts and essentially the most fruitful improvements lie within the unknown, the unexplored and the surprising.
The “Curiosity Hour” idea s primarily based on a well known enterprise philosophy: dedicating protected time for workers to discover intriguing questions, problem assumptions, and pursue tasks exterior their quick duties. It’s a improvement of earlier initiatives corresponding to brainstorms, “20% Time,” “Innovation Sprints,” or “Hackathons”. These concepts are constructed on the precept that self-directed exploration generates worker engagement and is a potent catalyst for breakthrough innovation.
How Curiosity Hours Work
A various group is requested to hitch a Curiosity Hour assembly. They need to be from completely different departments with completely different ranges of expertise, ability and seniority. There’s a matter for the assembly with a broad however essential query corresponding to “How can we double our gross sales income?” or “How can we entice and retain prime expertise?” Every participant is requested to arrange two questions (associated broadly to the subject) that they’re interested in. They’re inspired to ask looking and provocative questions.
The assembly is run by a facilitator whose job is to encourage productive dialogue and handle the assembly. They set the rules after which ask somebody to begin. That particular person may say, “I’m curious to know this. What would occur if we made our produce a lot simpler to assemble and use?” This results in a dialogue within the group through which concepts are developed and mentioned utilizing divergent slightly than essential pondering. It would result in some follow-up motion objects. Then on to the subsequent one that begins, ‘I’m curious to know this……..”
The facilitator retains the assembly on observe and summarizes the primary concepts and motion factors. It’s important that the assembly is held in an environment of psychological security, the place questioning typical knowledge or asking what may be referred to as foolish questions in pursuit of a brand new concept will not be punished however handled as a beneficial studying alternative. No criticism of the preliminary curiosity query is allowed – everyone should construct on it. It’s vital that senior figures within the room don’t sneer, criticise or shut down discussions.
How is a Curiosity Hour completely different from a brainstorm? A brainstorm (or ideation assembly) begins by producing numerous concepts. The Curiosity Hour begins with one provocative query which the group explores to see the place it would lead. Each of a lot of these assembly can result in radical and helpful concepts however they take completely different routes to get there.
By implementing psychological security, having good facilitators, selecting numerous teams and efficient follow-up, you may flip “Curiosity Hours” into a robust, sustainable engine for development and adaptation.
Based mostly on a chapter in The Artwork of Surprising Options by Paul Sloane
