Are you the curious type?
I know I am. Like surfing on the web, I love the adrenalin rush I get when I allow my mind to surf from one idea to another. I often don’t know where I’ll end up but I am always amazed that I usually end up somewhere that I actually need to be.
For example, did you know that when physicist Tim Berners-Lee discovered the World Wide Web he was actually following his curiosity about how to search for matter in the universe?
Or that the discovery of the microwave that pops your popcorn happened because inventor Percy L. Spencer was curious about why a chocolate bar melted in his pocket during experiments on radar technology?
And just for the record, the discovery of the atomic clocks that ensure the precision of any GPS system? They were the result of scientists who were curious about better understanding the properties of the atom – and not by someone curious about how to get around town!
So.. how committed are we to the role of curiosity in our organizations? At the Weizmann Institute for Basic Research in Rehovot, Israel, the commitment to a culture of curiosity has been taken to a whole new level. While institutes of higher learning all over the globe compete for the attention of scientists whose research will bring us the next big breakthrough, Weizmann succeeds because of one simple philosophy: Hire the best and the brightest minds and let them follow their curiosity.
But Weizmann doesn’t just pay lip service to curiosity. Curiosity is the cornerstone of its culture – a culture that has resulted in innovations that not only improve lives, but that save them … each and every day.
A commitment to curiosity, it seems, is essential to breakthrough discoveries!
Innovation Insight
The Four T’s of the Curiosity Committment
Our organizations may or may not be in the business of saving lives but whatever your purpose, the Weizmann model is a shining example of an organization that is truly committed to the culture of curiosity that drives innovation.
There are four fundamental areas of focus that make up the Curiosity Commitment.
Talent: Whom do you hire and why? Do you hire as much for how someone thinks as for how they do? What would happen if you decided to hire the best and the brightest and let them follow their curiosity? How would you even go about doing that? If you were to apply the blank page approach to your hiring strategy, what would you do differently to demonstrate your commitment to better balancing the talent to do with the talent to think … to better balancing information with imagination?
Time: In organizations throughout the world, employees at all levels are required to create and propose projects that are not part of their daily tasks and responsibilities. Time for these endeavors is built into the job description and everyone is held accountable. Organizations that get the value of this approach know that this is not time wasted. This is time invested. What would it take in your organization to demonstrate your Curiosity Commitment by providing people with time to actually follow their curiosity?
Tools: Does your team have a space where they can go to think? Is that space equipped with tools that stimulate the journey of curiosity? From high tech tools such as smart boards, internet chats and video to low tech tools such as white boards, comfy corners for conversations and lots of colored markers, tools provide tempting opportunities for exploration that curious people with time on their hands find hard to resist.
Trust: There is one T that is conspicuously absent from the list and that is the T for Task. This might sound strange coming from someone as fanatical about focus as I am but the key to the Curiosity Commitment is that it is not task driven. It is a journey provoked by a sense of curiosity about something that on the surface may seem totally unrelated to today’s urgent questions. But it is that same journey that is destined to guide us, somewhat unexpectedly, to tomorrow’s essential answers. It is an exciting journey of endless possibilities but for you as a leader to embark on that journey takes trust. Trust in the value of what your organization brings to the table. Trust in your team. And perhaps most importantly, trust in yourself.
The Curiosity Commitment is simple: Hire the best and the brightest Talent; give them the Time and the Tools; and then Trust them to follow their curiosity.
And remember, although improvement comes from looking at the details at the bottom of the ladder, Innovation can only come from the clarity of vision that we find at the top of the ladder. Aren’t you even a little bit curious about what you could see from the top of your ladder?
Imagine the Possibilities!
-Toni Newman
Quote of the Week
Weizmann Institute of Science.
Inspiration of the Week
If you would like to find out about the amazing Weizmann Institute, please go visit
Weizmann Canada
Take the opportunity to check out the Weizmann video at
http://weizmann.ca/back_to_basics.htm
For more information on the ground breaking and transformational work that Weizmann does, you can read their science friendly magazine on line at this link. Interface
The Weizmann Institute is a not-for-profit organization that depends entirely upon donations to fund it’s cutting edge research. If you believe that a little bit of curiosity today can go a long way in changing tomorrow’s, please contact your local chapter of Weizmann about making a donation.
T!
Turning Ideas into Results!
Please feel free to contact me at toni@toninewman.com
with any stories about how Innovation Insights has helped you to turn ideas into results.
