As my father aged, he became [even] more cantankerous. His diabetes took a toll on his body and extracting useful information about his visits to the doctor was impossible.
My siblings and I knew his kidneys were failing and we’d ask him about what his doctor was saying. His response: “He said my kidneys aren’t working like they should.”
My sisters (older sisters...am I right?) elected me to go with him to a Nephrologist (kidney) appointment. No one told him. I showed up in the waiting room and announced that I was coming with him into the examination room.
The doctor swept into the room, asked a question, got a one-word answer from dad, and started to leave. And I said, “Hold on, I have a few questions.”
I asked about the treatment, options,medicine and some symptoms that dad had not disclosed...all while averting any eye contact with my father. The doctor was very gracious and ended up scheduling some more tests and changing some medications.
When the doctor left the room, I looked at my dad. I saw the beet red face, the crinkled brow and heard the loud breathing…and I knew what was coming. We stared at each other in silence for 10 seconds and he spoke in a familiar tone:
“What the $#%$!...do you think you’re a G*d d*m* Doctor?” 😊
Not a doctor dad, I ask questions. Not everyone appreciates my curiosity but asking questions is the key to understanding a problem and solving it…and it is one of the keys to business success.
Albert Einstein said, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
Curiosity is a talent that develops out of an active or restless mind, but it can be so valuable to a company that is starting, growing or struggling..
And if you’re a single family founded business or the sole founder of a business, or the typical TYPE A personality, you must learn to accept one truth. You do NOT have all the answers.
You might know your WHY, but you don’t know ALL the WHY’s…and navigating all the why's of your business is the key to success and growth.
Where, or how do you find curious people? First, consider making curiosity or creativity a CORE value for a growing Company. If you are an EOS Worldwide devotee, make it part of your People Analyzer...hire for it.
Second, use a personality screening tool during the hiring process to find curious people. I recommend Talogy (Caliper) - only Caliper (to my knowledge) directly measures curiosity but the others call it out in the results.
Predictive Index, the Enneagram or the DISC profiles assessment can also be useful but unless you know someone, don’t trust your gut…it will often betray you.
If you really want to dig in, read the scoring system developed by Todd Kashdan. He developed a 5-point Curiosity Scale and a test which is super helpful to use for key employee searches.
In our relentless search for efficiency and convenience, our society undervalues curiosity because impatience and the need for speed kills curiosity. Hire curious people and encourage them to ask…why?
Comments