14. CURIOSITY — Part One

Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino, in the Harvard Business Review, made the business case for curiosity. As a clue to finding liberating truth and stretching to the potential for which we are created, what follows are highlights from that article.

“Most of the breakthrough discoveries and remarkable inventions throughout history, from flints for starting a fire to self-driving cars, have something in common: They are the result of curiosity. The impulse to seek new information and experiences and explore novel possibilities is a basic human attribute.”

“When our curiosity is triggered, we think more deeply and rationally about decisions and come up with more creative solutions.”

“When our curiosity is triggered, we are less likely to fall prey to confirmation bias (looking for information that supports our beliefs rather than for evidence suggesting we are wrong) and to stereotyping people.”

“When we are curious, we view tough situations more creatively.”

“Curiosity encourages members of a group to put themselves in one another’s shoes and take an interest in one another’s ideas rather than focus only on their own perspective. That causes them to work together more effectively and smoothly: Conflicts are less heated, and groups achieve better results.”

“Empathy allows employees (and all of us) to listen thoughtfully and see problems or decisions from another person’s perspective, while curiosity extends to interest in other people’s disciplines, so much so that one may start to practice them. And it recognizes that most people perform at their best not because they’re specialists but because their deep skill is accompanied by an intellectual curiosity that leads them to ask questions, explore, and collaborate.”

“Leaders can encourage curiosity throughout their organizations by being inquisitive themselves. … When leaders concede that they don’t have the answer to a question, they show that they value the process of looking for answers and motivate others to explore as well.

“In the 1930s some employees caught a coworker leaving the (Olivetti) factory with a bag full of iron pieces and machinery. They accused him of stealing and asked the company to fire him. The worker told the CEO, Adriano Olivetti, that he was taking the parts home to work on a new machine over the weekend because he didn’t have time while performing his regular job. Instead of firing him, Olivetti gave him time to create the machine and charged him with overseeing its production. The result was Divisumma, the first electronic calculator. Divisumma sold well worldwide in the 1950s and 1960s, and Olivetti promoted the worker to technical director. … Olivetti gave him the space to explore his curiosity, with remarkable results.”

In another Harvard Business Review article by Todd Kashdan, David Disabato, Fallon Goodman, and Carl Naughton, we learn about the authors’ “Five Dimensions of Curiosity” and more.

“In one study, highly curious children aged three to 11 improved their intelligence test scores by 12 points more than their least curious counterparts did. Curiosity increases perseverance or grit: Merely describing a day when you felt curious has been shown to boost mental and physical energy by 20% more than recounting a time of profound happiness.”

In the 1950s Daniel Berlyne was one of the first psychologists to offer a comprehensive model of curiosity. He argued that we all seek the sweet spot between two deeply uncomfortable states: understimulation and overstimulation. To that end we use either what Berlyne called “diversive curiosity” (as when a bored person searches for something — anything — to boost arousal) or what he called “specific curiosity” (as when a hyperstimulated person tries to understand what’s happening in order to reduce arousal to a more manageable level).

The Harvard Business Review authors referenced above developed a five-dimensional model of curiosity. Deprivation sensitivity recognizes a gap in knowledge, the filling of which offers relief. People who experience it work relentlessly to solve problems. Joyous exploration is being consumed with wonder about the fascinating features of the world. People in it seem to possess a joie de vivre. Social curiosity involves talking, listening, and observing others to learn what they are thinking and doing. Stress tolerance involves a willingness to accept and even harness the anxiety associated with novelty. Thrill seeking is being willing to take physical, social, and financial risks to acquire varied, complex, and intense experiences.

The authors tested this model to discover which of the dimensions lead to the best outcomes and generate particular benefits. “Joyous exploration has the strongest link with the experience of intense positive emotions. Stress tolerance has the strongest link with satisfying the need to feel competent, autonomous, and that one belongs. Social curiosity has the strongest link with being a kind, generous, modest person.”

“We have found evidence that four of the dimensions — joyous exploration, deprivation sensitivity, stress tolerance, and social curiosity — improve work outcomes. The latter two seem to be particularly important: Without the ability to tolerate stress, employees are less likely to seek challenges and resources and to voice dissent and are more likely to feel enervated and to disengage. And socially curious employees are better than others at resolving conflicts with colleagues, more likely to receive social support, and more effective at building connections, trust, and commitment on their teams. People or groups high in both dimensions are more innovative and creative.”

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.

Albert Einstein

Q: What grade would you give yourself for being a creative person?