Curiosity as a response to attention scarcity
I have been mulling with the idea of curiosity as one of the few responses one can use to regenerate attention, specifically in organisational contexts where attention is constantly under erasure. I came across this gem the other day on four reasons why curiosity is important and how to develop it. As someone who has a deep fascination in transversing disciplines, curiosity seems like one of the few beacons which has relevance in almost every area I explore. As an enabler of my own learning and also as a way to enter places which I am unfamilar with. My goal for 2009 as part of my PhD work is to try and build some kind of toolkit that may be used in organisations to regenerate attention through the mechanism of curiosity. Not sure where I am even going to begin this genealogical journey but I don't think it is going to be in the annals of management literature. I think I am going to start by sitting in a park watching children play.
21st Century Leadership
I am currently in the process of attempting to hone what it is that impacts on the way leaders manage. Obviously this is informed by the context in which they lead. But it is no longer a context which can just be cut and pasted. I have been working with my partner, Dave Duarte on identifying and understanding what the issues are which will inform and drive a new leadership style. These have been my BETA conclusions and I would love the input from others especially as we have to present these findings next week to a bunch of senior executives of a not insignificant organisation. They relate to five arenas:
- Community Based Economies – the articulation from commodity to product to service to experience as the base of a community driven experience
- Beta Testing – the realisation that consumers are forgiving and that we are Allowed to play in the arenas that may not immediately yield the Perfect but at least there is an allowance for the exciting which with their input may well become the important – God gets in through the cracks.
- Social Networks – Getting away from the old adage which says we need to know everyone and instead focusing on those nodes of a network which really influence well and with the least effort
- Ecological Innovation – Drawing on lessons from the environment which not only make us feel good but which genuinely harness profit in a way which does not strip mine the environment
- Attention – The realization that the exhausting attempt to keep up with everything serves no one and attempting to use tools which hone our understanding of what value really means for our significant engagement in the world.
We are attempting to use these five places as a way to harness a different and important 21st century sensibility. I would welcome your insights.