Business Thoughts, Favorite Quotes, Rants and Observations

business smarts or is curiosity enough?

=====================

“We’re in a world now where it’s not enough to be smart. You have to be curious. Curiosity is rare. That level of intelligence is rare. Probably the further up in a business you are, the less intelligent you need to be. At the entry stage, the sieve grows ever tighter and education can only do so much. The truth is we don’t manufacture that many really smart people.”

—

Barry Diller <Media Industry Outlook for 2014>

===================

Well.

This is about what is more important in business – business smarts or curiosity. To begin I use a phrase my friends at TopModels refer to as ‘black box thinking.’ It is a combination of the fact in today’s business world:

– Knowledge <or information of shit> is available to anyone with access to a computer <a black box>

– There are an increasing amount of things which are ‘black boxes’ of inner workings <they work … but the majority if is have no clue how they work>

– Great decision making in today’s business world is more often defined by on how good you are at assessing what aspects should be accepted on ‘faith’ <the black box designated aspects> and what aspects need real knowledge & understanding

– It has never been possible to know everything … but in today’s world it is mind numbingly <and humbling so> obvious <which means we HAVE to be dependent upon black boxes>

– Curiosity is not just a business characteristic but also a management tool <an openly curious leader embraces team dialogue & discussion – without relinquishing decision responsibilities>.

All that said. Smart isn’t enough.

In order to weave your way through business issues, organizational issues, people issues and real knowledge issues takes a daunting combination of strength of character, curiosity, strength of self and real leadership <of which confidence, not arrogance, is embraced>.

Yikes.

Now there is a tough combination of characteristics to embody in one person.

Well. That’s why there aren’t many great leaders in today’s business world.

Business is changing. Therefore business leaders <and what is needed> are changing. And I say that to not simply suggest … but rather I will unequivocally state … that many of existing leaders are unqualified to meet these characteristics.

Now.

You may think I am being a little harsh … but read what Barry Diller said in his interview:

By the third hour of your morning, you have some kind of a headache. The reason is you can never master the swiftness of change, innovation, knowledge, etc. It’s very daunting. You really didn’t need to know very much if you were really good, if you had better instincts. We’re in a world now where it’s not enough to be smart. You have to be curious.

Curiosity is rare. That level of intelligence is rare. Probably the further up in a business you are, the less intelligent you need to be. At the entry stage, the sieve grows ever tighter and education can only do so much. The truth is we don’t manufacture that many really smart people.

We really don’t manufacture that many really smart people.

Well. Certainly not many smart business people <although we do manufacture business smart people>. And we need more smart business people these days to face not only the changing face of management but to face the changing face of business challenges. Deloitte reports the following challenges:

– The confluence of eroding brand loyalty, enduring recessionary consumer attitudes, rising digital influence on the shopping path to purchase and cross-channel conflict create a challenging environment for consumer companies.

Eroding brand loyalty: For the third year in a row, brand loyalty in the food, beverage and household goods product categories has declined, according to the 2013 American Pantry Study. The percentage of “must have” brands – those brands consumers will purchase whether on sale or not – slipped from 33 percent in 2010 to 29 percent in 2012 due to sales on competing national brands, less expensive brands and private label offerings. The threat from private labels remains as many U.S. consumers (88 percent) have found several private labels they feel are just as good as national brands. Moreover, relatively few consumers (27 percent) plan to switch back to national brands from private labels when the economy improves.

– Rethink brand and product portfolio for the new normal: In the 2013 American Pantry Study, 76 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed believed that, “Going through these economic times has caused me to realize which brands I really care about and which ones are less important to me.”

Those brands with the highest loyalty outperform other brands on perceived product performance, experience and trust. As consumers are re-evaluating their brand relationships, consumer companies also need to rethink their product portfolio in light of the widening gap between the affluent and lower-income households. Consumer companies may need to have distinct strategies (e.g., brands, product offering, pricing) to target affluent and lower-income consumers.

– Connection.

The world is now an always-connected world and everyone is more likely to use online and mobile technology across the shopping lifecycle. I don’t care if its storytelling or customer centric or even good ole fashioned “doing business the right way” everything comes down to being agile enough to create relevan connections at the right time with the right message.

Businesses just need to be … well … smarter moving forward.

Therefore their leaders need to be smarter. Smarter in being relentlessly curious and relentlessly adapting <and adopting new knowledge>.

None of the challenges I outlined suggest plans etched in stone.

None of the challenges I outlined suggest finding the necessary knowledge through benchmarking <or any education>.

None of the challenges have a fool proof solution.

I say these things because:

“The sign of intelligence is that you are constantly wondering. Idiots are always dead sure about every damn thing they are doing in their life.”

Vasudev

==================

These challenges mean Business needs a new kind of leader. Smart … but a curious wondering agile smart. One who roams intellectually but has the ability to stand still with regard to vision … and maybe more importantly … on decisions which can, and will, come fro any direction. They will have the ability to be vibrant in repose and still amidst fluidity.

This is a tricky leadership skill. Not for the faint of heart. And, frankly, there will not be a lot of people particularly good at this.

You not only have to demonstrate curiosity but also cultivate a curious culture organizationally. That’s not the tricky part. That’s the easy part.

The hard part is managing a curious culture. Good leaders continuously learn more about their subject and are not afraid to show mistakes or admit that they don’t know it all. They continuously seek to experiment with new ideas.

While this kind of passion is both infectious and memorable … when not managed well … it can lead to an organization that sits around debating rather than doing. Constant curiosity means constant questioning especially in a world where knowledge is fluid and constant and at your fingertips. The new leader will encourage ongoing curiosity and excel at saying ‘stop here’ <no more intellectual exploration>, from this point we make a decision and go ‘do.’

That will take a good leader. Uhm. That will take a smart curious leader.

Anyway.

Smart curious leaders will walk the fine line of balancing decisions & choices <with the knowledge many decisions are “best in this time and place”> while the idiots will always be sure of what to do and where to go.

The smart will always recognize that today’s decision is a moment in time <with a horizon in mind>. And will engender support in the decisions because the followers understand that in a fluid world solid steps matter … and they may not agree today … but believe their leader is curious enough to adapt tomorrow if needed.

Look.

Smarts do matter. As stated upfront … ‘being smart will not be enough.’ The key is ‘not enough.’ Leaders still need to be smart. It’s just they need to be curious … always wondering and learning and asking and evolving and adapting.

Curious as how to spot the idiots?

They will be sure someone already has found the answer <and attempt to copy ‘greatness’> and therefore will always be sure of everything <these are the people who thrive on implementing book “to-do’s”, best practices & whatever the business fad-of-the-day is>.

Remember.

The truth is we don’t manufacture that many really smart people. Uhm. The odds are you are working with an idiot.

1 reason to do, 100 reasons to not do, 100 reasons to not do and 1 reason to do, 18 children bodies’ lies on an elementary school floor, 90% of the time common sense, 99% of the assholes who pick up a gun, a business truth, a certain pride in uncovering solutions to the complex lives we have created for ourselves, a common sense way, a derivative of the best, a flawed person with talent, a full life, a generation of concerned citizens, a good idea is a good idea, a good story is a good story, a gun, a gun an individual & a society, a human defect or a flaw, A little of our future dies, A little of our future dies when a child dies, a lot of great businesses, a lot of great ideas out there in the world, a lot of great talented people, a mental survival technique, a myriad of challenges, a person with contradictions, a scared organization, a severe shortcoming, a simple black and white world you must live in, a simplification crisis, a swinging organization, a voice of a generation, a way that creates the differentiation, a well-built bridge may be one of the worthiest things in the world, a wistfulness and simplicity, ability to discuss things as a whole, absolutely miserable to be near someone, accept responsibility, accepting responsibility of ideas, accepting social merits of social media, accountable decision making, acting beyond the law, action and consequences, actions today make who i am tomorrow, actually increases the perceived value, ad agencies produce tangible work, address fundamental reasons for the amount of gun violence, admiration, admire well-built bridges all the time, adopting new knowledge, adult responsibility, adults with regard to children, advertising, advertising a commodity, advice is wisdom, advice leading to choices, advises justly, advocate for youth, affecting organization thru actions, affecting people’s conflict behavior, agencies confuse differentiation and being distinct, agency, agile business, aiming high, aligned management, aligning generational attitude and technology and consumer trends, aligning perceptions and behavior creates satisfaction, alignment, alignment has dimensions, all about simplicity, all for responsible mental health profiling, all the bright ideas in the world, almost a rebellion against simplicity, already has found the answer, always bear in mind, always built for purpose, always seeking something to count, always wondering and learning and asking, america as a flawed person, amoral or moral, an always-connected world, an individual & a society, an intangible that made everyone around them be better, an oversimplification which diminishes the importance, analysis paralysis, analysis paralysis death grip, analyzing actual behavior, and all great brands also learn to tell stories, and not everything that counts can be counted, and theories, and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled, and they'll confess to anything, and unlearning, any more than you read words when reading books, Any shooting of innocent people is bad, anything that can go wrong will, anything to take away from this tragedy, apacity of the human mind for swallowing nonsense, appreciation, architects of fate, are in the shit business, are useful, are you an asshole or aren’t you, art of staying, articulation skills, assess the business vibe, assists readily, assume responsibility, assume the leadership team is the leadership team, assumed nothing was simple, astonish people, at a spot where most human needs entwine, at some point you are accountable, attacking doubt, attaining levles of good, attempt to copy greatness, attempt to manage the signals, attempts to be quirky, attitudes, attitudes and behavior, attitudes and thoughts, autonomous management, autonomy, available to show to explain your decision, averting chaos, avoid the gray, avoid the obvious distinction, avoiding the business pendulum, aware of all the good and bad advertising, Baby Boomers are a large and relatively affluent segment, bad advertising looks bad everywhere, bad advertising that generates some results, bad is a minority, bad people do terrible things, balancing dependence and independence, balk at a lot of the bullshit, battle is occurring between facts, be better than us, be curious, be interesting to people, be smart enough, be still in midst of activity, be the best we can be, be who you are, be yourself, bear the guilt, beating the system, beautiful expansive thinking teen brains, beautiful teen brains, because advertisers fund it, become better people and a better country, become more enlightened, before email, behavior, behavior is determined by the subconscious mind, behavior management business, being a fixer, being a global village without elders, being a partner in business, being able to articulate experience, being accountable, being an enlightened person, being an enlightened thinker, being better, being better as people, being decent is not your best, being distinct, being enlightened, being enlightened is difficult, being fearless in a room of fear is frustrating, being good is relative, being honest to yourself, being lazy, being perfect is impossible, being relentlessly curious, being scared as a leader, being soft in business, being too simple actually creates more confusion, believe, belong to all and treat all alike, best advice, best advice people, best friends, best people I have ever worked with, best solutions are often the ideas that are immediately obvious, best version of ourselves, best version of yourself, better as people, beyond reason, big data does is amplify the situation, big ideas, big ideas are crap, big Life thought, big mistake big succcesses, big mistakes, big people need to take care of the little people, big thought, biggest issue we face is oversimplification, black box thinking, black or white, blame or point fingers or wonder what, bludgeon us with simplicity, blurry responsibility, bogged down in statistics and numbers, bookending alignment, both theory and numbers, boundlessness of friendship, brand, brand leadership, branding, brands consumers will purchase whether on sale or not, brands with great potential, breaking life decisions down, breeds an aspect of complacency, Bridges make people feel comfortable, brilliant insightfully smart strategic thinking, bring in consultants for the wrong reasons, Bruce McTague wisdom, build communications this way, builders versus renovators, building a culture, building character, burden on good, business, business agility, business challenges, business is messy, business people suck at making decisions, business reality is never a simplification of anything, business renovator, business smarts or is curiosity enough, Business Thoughts, business world is in a very odd place, businesses confuse differntiation and being distinct, businesses need to be smarter, but numbers aren’t just numbers, but oft wretched, can someone really give 110%, cannot be happy and scared, cannot figure out what their desired direction is, capacity of the human mind, careful tweeting, centralized focus with decentralized implementation, Certain visuals are just old, challenging business environment, champions for gun ownership, change begins in the head, change forces prioritizing, change is easier if you simplify, change occurs, change takes remarkable effort, changed behavior, changing face of business challenges, changing face of management, changing objectives to make change, chaos, chaos control methods, chaos creates opportunities, character, chemistry strong enough to align, children, children almost broken sometimes become the adults that save us, children and critical thinking, children are not killing civilization, children reach adulthood, children’s education, choice between alternatives, choice by numbers, choice cannot be made with statistics alone, choices, choices leading to full life, choices we make or do not make, choosing to be true, choosing to play the game your own way, clear responsibility, cognitive thinking, cold harsh truth becomes a non truth, collaboration, collaboration can kill discovery, collector of moments, comes across as stupidly serious, coming to grips with inadequacies, committed to showing up everyday, common sense and morals, common sense simplicity bullshit, Common sense under the guise of simplicity, common sense was not only just simply wrong, communicate the complex, communication, community individualism, companies seeking to grow, companies who have their shit together don’t need them, companion piece to my Liminal space post, companions in crime, company direction, company of adventurers, complex challenge in communicating a complex thing well, complex character, complex or complicated, complex simplified, complexity equals value, Complexity is a destructive path, complexity often hides within some bright shiny object, compromise my beliefs on responsibility, concept of chaos, condoning mediocrity, conflict and people, confluence of eroding brand loyalty, connect with the brand's core sales target, connection to the silent life of things, consensus, consensus kills ideas, conservers of the routine, consistency, consistency is underrated, consistency of character, consistency of character is underrated, consistency of values, consultants, consultants actually see the lack of leadership synergy, consultants and books do not want to tell you that, consumer attitudes, consumer buying system, contemporary statistical gwonk, contradictions of life, contrarian, contrarian thinking, contribute to society, controlled autonomy, controlled chaos, conventional wisdom about how humans behave may need rethinking, conversation on responsibility, conversations, convince yourself through research, convinced ourselves that hollowing out an idea, core competency, could have kicked the crap out of anyone, could have kicked the crap out of anyone they competed against, counting does not mean it counts, counting doesn't mean it counts, counting something doesn’t mean it counts, courage and faith, courage doesn’t always roar, courage is about resiliency, cowardly decision making, crafting a generation of business people, crappy work for a great potential brand, crappy work for brands, create to resolve these things, creating desired behavior, creating innovation attitude in children, creating positive touchpoints, creating the next generation of thinkers, creating the next generation of thinkers using the web, creation means destroying something, creativity, creativity process, crisis advertising is faced with, crisis is making us stupider, crowd clout, crowds providing unsolicited feedback, crucified by common sense than simplicity, cruelty and retribution, crushed by doubt, curiosity, Curiosity is not just a business characteristic, Curiosity is rare, curiosity is the enemy of ignorance, curious and moving, curious enough to adapt tomorrow if needed, cut down on these tragic events by 80%, cynicism, daily work life would be more efficient, daniel pink, days of thunder and chaos, dealing with adversity, dealing with everyday life, dealing with extenuating experiences, death is a forever nap, Death of television advertising, deceiving others, deceiving yourself, decentralizing communications tasks, decide what your best is, decision making, decision making under uncertainty, decision responsibility, decision utility, decision-making is a cognitive process, decommoditizing, decommoditizing business, defined by how you bear that guilt, defining happiness in moments, defining themselves, deliver immediate results, demand some level of prove responsibility, deny guilt, depth of character to face everyday life, depths of despair, designing perfect systems, desire everything at the same time, desired, despite a desire for bigger and better things, destroying the personal baggage you carry, developing cross cultural skills, developing minds of next generation of thinkers, developing social and emotional competencies, different standards for children, different standards for children versus adults, different world with different rules, differentiation, differntiation, differntiation through charismatic personality, difficult lessons, difficult to discern good guys from bad guys, difficult to manage expectations, digital influence on the shopping path to purchase, directional signs toward truth, disappointment created by expectations, disappointment in yourself, discerning the difference between attitude and behavior, discerning the important from the unimportant, discipline but freedom, disciplined chaos, Disconnected and decision making, disconnected from the comfort zone, discovery, discovery is messy, discuss gun control, dissatisfaction with Life, distinct culture or attitude, distinguishing a premium coffee, distinguishing right versus wrong in your own head, diversity of measures, do not go gentle, do not go quietly, do not know how you could ever prepare for this, do not plan to switch back, do some of the shit I want to do, do what is right, do whatever you need to do, do work that completely sucks, Do you like being seeing ads, do your best, does not become more valuable because it becomes complicated, does reflect the complexity of reality, doing a decent job day to day, doing crappy work, doing right even though it may be wrong, doing the right thing, doing the right thing is hard, doing what is right, don't worry about people stealing an idea, don’t have all the political answers, don’t need to be told what to do, don’t throw everything out, don’t want to go back to Soviet communism where neighbors reported, don’t worry about people stealing an idea, doubt, Doubt and truth intersect, doubt resides between certainty and uncertainty, doubt something, doubt something once unquestionable, Doubters hesitate to change, doubts of words, drawing a line, dreaming is not just for kids, drive me crazy, driven mostly by our subconscious, drucker new realities, dumb down communication inevitably, dumb down the listeners, dynamic beyond our own purposes, dysfunctional managers, earnest people looking at computer screens, easier to grab on to statistics to make a decision, easier to quit, eaten by the unseen shadow of guilt, economic forecasts, educating using the net, education to enlighten, effective communication, Effective communication has been, Effective communication is not a binary choice, effective teaching globally, elementary school tragedy, Elevating one person above the rest is a gauntlet, embellishment, embodies contradictions, embraced a distinct identity, embracing failure, emotional, employees, employees running scared is bad, emptying communication, encouraging, encouraging curiosity, encouraging understanding of choices, enduring recessionary consumer attitudes, energy, engender support in the decisions, enlightened, enlightened business, enlightened business alignment, enlightened business choices, enlightened business thinking, enlightened business truth, enlightened business wisdom, enlightened common sense, enlightened communication, enlightened communications, enlightened conflict, enlightened conflict and guns, Enlightened Conflict blog, enlightened decision making, enlightened decisions, enlightened ignorance, enlightened leadership, enlightened life, enlightened living, enlightened management, enlightened managers, enlightened music, enlightened numbers, enlightened people, enlightened quote, enlightened quotes, enlightened self awareness, enlightened strategy, enlightened thinking, enlightened thought, enlightened truth, evaluating, evaluating their team mix, even if you never go back, even if you take the risk, even more fun to work with, events are meant to be commanded not feared, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, Every category has its own version, every child deserves a chance, every minute is another chance, every moment counts, every one is an architect of life, every one plays a role in fate, everyday, evolving and adapting, facing change, facing change in business, fear, fearlessness, feel are just as good as national brands, figure out how to get there all by themselves, finding what is possible from impossible, finding your way is tough, fun to watch, further up in a business you are, good cultural company environment, good managers adapt, good people, grouping of people is purely serendipitous, hard works, have a fool proof solution, have distinct strategies, have to be curious, having a successful business, hope, how to become good to great, how to spot the idiots, I mean at the top of the industry, identifying who you are, idiots will always be sure of what to do, in a fluid world solid steps matter, intentions, it isn't process it is the work, its gonna be a waste of time, it’s not enough to be smart, just this once, lack of alignment, lack of alignment more than not having any ideas, lacking hope, last piece of the puzzle is the toughest, leaders, leadership, learning, less intelligent you need to be, lessons, lies, life, life is a winding road, life lessons, living life backwards but still question, management, managing perceptions, marketing, messaging, most things in life are not black or white, never left their smallness, no formula for a successful environment, no one wants to trust chaos, nobody's life is perfect, not many business smart people, not many smart business people, odds are you are working with an idiot, only a few really successful businesses, only few find the way, organizations, outperform other brands, people confuse process and disciplined thinking, process is a means to an end, pursuing the way, putting together the right group, quotations, quotes, random mix & matching, re-evaluating their brand relationships, realize which brands I really care about, relationships, relentlessly adapting, resilience, resiliency and character, respect, responsibility, Rethink brand and product portfolio, right management team, right people, right people at right time, Rubix cube alignment, safe, scared, serendipity, six impossible things before breakfast, slippery slope, slippery slope of despair, slippery surface of irrelevant brilliance, smallest actions contribute, smart business people, smarts, Smarts do matter, somehow aligns on the important things, Something kept them from getting to the next level, Sometimes successful business is serendipity, sometimes wacky multi faceted group, sometimes you just have to get lucky, still but moving, strategy, strength of character to make change, strip away the undoable and identify the doable, Stuff I Like, successful companies, suggest some enhancements, sure of everything, surround yourself with other people, tell followers what to do and where to go, that i will be tomorrow, That level of intelligence is rare, the doer, the hunter/gatherer, the opportunity needs to exist in the marketplace, the practical, The right group of people, the thinker, the visionary, the world bends everyone, They just go do, thinking, thinking impossible things, thinking is good, this i am today, to slay a dragon you need to believe in dragons, trust, truth, truth is we don’t manufacture that many really smart people, Trying to recreate that is tough, typically a small group of people, use your imagination, very very good at what they did, we don’t manufacture that many really smart people, what consultants are afraid to tell you, when the economy improves, where great companies arise from, which brands are less important to me, who say they want to be just a small company, widening gap between the affluent and lower-income households, will always be sure of everything, will take a smart curious leader, worked with a dozen small companies, working with an idiot

February 19, 2018 by Bruce

Written by Bruce

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

business smarts or is curiosity enough?

Related Posts

Leave a Comment

Meta

business smarts or is curiosity enough?

Share this:

Related Posts

underwater thinking

running a business Part 2: Organizational Alignment

and, just think, we have 1300 more days of this

Leave a Comment

Meta