Entrepreneurs: What Are You Curious About?

The question of today's post is the underlying theme of a NEW podcast on the Competent Advantage TM channel about professional development for business owners. The podcast is my conversation with Eva Lilijendahl, an executive coach and founder of Inspiration for Excellence.

In today's business economy, you may be wondering why Eva and I spent time talking about curiosity -- why not talk about developing new business strategies, or expanding into new markets? Well, indirectly, we were talking about that -- how to be proactive about deciding in which areas to develop your skills (that will presumably help grow your business), by first spending a little time tapping into your curiosity. In fact, Eva believes that curiosity has everything to do with business development; and, I'm inclined to agree.

As I've mentioned, 2008 has become my year of technology with my recent hardware purchases. These purchases have made me more curious about social networking and Web 2.0 -- now that I have the gadgets that enable me to take greater advantage! What has that meant for my business? Well, I've yet to see the full impact; but I can speak to new habits I've included into my routine: checking in and updating my Facebook page; monitoring and adding posts to my MOLI Life Balance Board. On the fun side, I've created a new Avatar for myself on Meez (see sidebar)-- a true example of how learning can be fun!

In my world of coaching and consulting, being curious about technology will likely serve me well. Yet, Eva and I also discussed indirect benefits from learning things that may have nothing do with your business or career (won't give too much away but example in the podcast involves stage performance). Have you ever been surprised by being able to use a skill for work that you gained during a purely fun activity?

While on the road with the librarians, I recall that Kevin (Carroll) always encouraged them to stir up their sense of "neoteny" as a way of keeping an open mind during the training sessions. Don't worry, I hadn't heard of the word before either! But, it's the ability to keep your childlike quailities -- one of which is curiosity.

So, I'll ask again: what are you curious about now?