Be Ever-Curious

Imagine a few of the most successful and “busiest” leaders; how do you believe they spend their time? Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world, read one book a week during the most demanding time in his career. Warren Buffett spent 80% of his time in reading and creative thinking throughout his career. You may be asking yourself, why?

With the buzzwords of innovation and technology continuing, the need for adaption and growth will soon be an expectation. The standard roles and systems will continue to be taken over by newer technology and automation. But the hunt for skilled and evolving teams will not end. Those at risk, are those that are not developing and embracing the need to learn and grow.

Recently Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, has spoken passionately about stepping down as the leader of his $420 billion organisation to follow his true passion- teaching and learning. These leaders found the time because they recognised the value of organisational learning in a world full of change; and they recognised the stakes if they didn’t develop and evolve along with it.

According to TechCrunch, between the years 2000-2010, robots replaced 85% of manufacturing jobs. This one stat can depict the future market and the invaluable aspect of developing an adaptive learning mindset. So how do we embrace the need to learn and grow? How can we make the time to be like the leaders of our day who were continuously evolving and learning?

Be ever-curious.The curious are a dying breed. Technological advances have given rise to an information-gathering tool unparalleled by any in human history-the Internet. We now use the word “google” as a verb. Access to such a powerful informational tool influences how we think and increases our reliance on these tools rather than cultivating our thinking. When is the last time you used a traditional map to get to your destination? But what if we used technology to grow and develop? What if we paired these systems with curiosity to make us more efficient, allowing us the ability to learn more? Curiosity is the underlying factor; that metacognitive voice in your head that asks- “is there a better way?”

Become ever-curious. Ask open-ended questions and search for the answers in your active mind. Challenge yourself to look beyond the conventional realm into the world of “what if.” Problem solve to solutions asking why. Start today by asking yourself 3 questions:

• Why?
• What?
• How?