Being curious means being interested in knowing or learning something new and not settling for the status quo. Innovations and discoveries happen because someone is not settling for how things are being done. Just think about the innovations that you have observed in your lifetime. You probably know about a few companies who went out of business. Companies so big, that you might have been surprised to see them go out of business.
Here are 3 areas to be curious in:
- Be curious about your employees. Take an interest in your employees. Ask them how they are doing. Ask them how you can support them at work. Ask them what would make their job easier or more efficient. Listen to what they have to say and be genuine.
- Be curious about your competition. Do you know who your direct competitors are? How are they operating their business? What is their approach to marketing? How are they retaining their customers? How does it compare to how you are running your business? What can you learn from them? What can you do differently that would give you an edge over your competition?
- Be curious about yourself. Challenge yourself. Being an entrepreneur can sometimes feel like being a lone fighter. Nobody to talk to, nobody to bounce ideas off and get a “second opinion”. Unlike a larger company with board members who collaborate, who do you have to share your ideas with? Who do you have to brainstorm with? If you do not have a “board of directors”, put yourself in a different role and look at your ideas from a different perspective. For example, if you have an idea, look at it from CFO perspective. Then, look at that same from the perspective of your employee(s). Lastly, what would you think about the idea if you were not familiar with your industry?
Progress will continue and your business survival depends on you progressing as well. To stay in business, we need to continually reinvent ourselves so that we can reinvent our business along the way. Remain curious, remain in business.
