Curiosity Killed the Competition

This week, we've been diving deep into the world of curiosity. It’s not just a personality trait; it’s the secret weapon for businesses and individuals looking to make a real impact. Curiosity is the spark that ignites innovation, solves complex problems, and drives growth.

Asking the right questions is the foundation of any successful project. Without curiosity, we're just going through the motions, hoping for the best. But with a healthy dose of inquisitiveness, we can uncover hidden opportunities, avoid costly mistakes, and create truly exceptional results.

This week on The Brainy Business, we’ve been exploring the power of curiosity and how it can transform your approach to work. On Tuesday, we dug into the Questionstorming process with global consumer intelligence expert Beatrix Daros . We uncovered how asking the right questions upfront can be a game-changer for any project.

And today we are chatting with data expert Christopher Frank , author of Decisions Over Decimals. He's sharing invaluable insights on the importance of understanding both core data and outliers. You won't want to miss his take on how asking the right questions can lead to better decisions. 4 key takeaways from this episode with Christopher include:

1. Importance of asking the right questions: Shifting focus from finding answers to uncovering valuable insights through questions like "What surprised you?" and "Help me understand."
2. Quantitative intuition: Combining data analysis with good judgment. No need to be a math whiz, but understanding how to ask questions and interpret data effectively is crucial.
3. Surprises can be profitable: Don't dismiss outliers in data. Investigate them, as they might reveal hidden opportunities.
4. Building confidence with data: Develop "prompt engineering" skills, especially with AI. Learn to ask precise questions to extract meaningful information.

Curiosity and questions go hand in hand. And even though we humans are born questioners...most of us lose the skill as we grow up. We've been taught to look more for answers than questions, but it is far too easy to find the right answer to the wrong question. And in business, that can be costly.

Teaching your team to ask better questions and be more thoughtful about problems before jumping into "solve mode" can save both time and investment. It is a game-changer for companies.

Check out my article, Forget Brainstorming, Try Questionstorming in Inc. to learn more about our questionstorming process.

Interested in a Questionstorming session for your team?

Reply to this email to learn more and see if it is a fit for you.

Stay curious, and BE Thoughtful!

Melina