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February 3, 2021
Issue #135
The 6 More Weeks of Winter Edition

 


ON MY MIND

How people might answer a curious question


I've been thinking quite a bit about curiosity lately. It's one of the five qualities of my framework for a challenge mindset, or our willingness to experiment and try new things when we don't know the answer or the destination. There's an entire chapter dedicated to it in my book.

As part of #The100DayProject, I'm doing some automatic writing each night. (My benchmark is 750 words). When I started on Sunday, the idea of a question asked out of curiosity came to mind. So here's what I wrote (btw you can still join us on HabitShare, just reply to this email).

Curiosity means asking a question that's worth asking, as opposed to one you want answered. "Why do you think that happened?" Or "Why might they do something like that, even if it doesn't seem to make sense to us?"

A curious question is like a thought experiment. An answer is nice of course. But, it may not produce answer that is immediately useful or tied to any priority. What it does do is force the person answering the question to make a decision about how they want to handle the question. What might they choose, I wondered?

A few possibilities crossed my mind:

  1. Answer it with expertise
  2. Share a story in lieu of an actual answer
  3. Answer with a negative answer ("I know what the answer isn't")
  4. Consider it from a different perspective than their own
  5. Ask a rebuttal question
  6. Appreciate the question without trying to answer
  7. Profess to not know but now want to know
  8. Dismiss it as unworthy of consideration or attention
  9. Probably other options based on the individual's personality

When someone has asked you a question purely because they're curious, how have you handled it? Did your reply prompt more discussion or shut things down? 

The value of curious questions, and curiosity in general, is just as much about the direction it takes you as it is the answer you get.

Just a thought,



 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK


What was the most recent thing that you were exceedingly curious about?

Share your thoughts

THE CHALLENGE MINDSET

Image by United Way of Central Carolinas
 

Over 13,000 Charlotte area residents take part in the Racial Equity Challenge

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Eddie Moore Jr, co-creator of the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge, a self-guided exploration of "race, power, privilege and leadership that aims to help people develop more effective social justice habits". The challenge has become more popular in communities since George Floyd's death last year, and in the Charlotte NC area, over 200 business have joined the local United Way to encourage participation.
[Charlotte Independent Tribune]


ALSO:


Cincinnati is home to the crosstown "tip-off" challenge
On January 9, a Xavier University fan left a $1,000 tip at Zip’s Cafe in Cincy's Mount Lookout neighborhood, with a note that said, “Go Xavier.” A few days later, a U of Cincinnati fan left a $1,001 tip at Keystone Bar & Grill with this note: “Bearcats up by one.” And so a challenge was born. Restaurants have been sharing the one-up tips with local news and the latest is a Feb 2 tip by a U of C fan for $1500. More than $17k has been tipped to local restaurants as part of the challenge.
[Cincinnati Fox19]

A Haiku each day| first for 100, then longer | Why? More like why not
Christine Watson, host of Winnipeg's Creative Mornings chapter, started writing a haiku everyday as part of #The100DayChallenge in 2020 and she's still going. She posts them on her Instagram with photos she's taken. "I'm not a poet, I'm not a photographer, but it allowed me to focus on something in my life that was positive and productive," she said. "You can interpret really simple things in many different ways."
[CBC]

Reader reflections on Dry January
The Guardian asked their audience to explain whether they looked, felt and slept better – or if they turned back to alcohol to cheer up a miserable month. The beauty of these 15 responses is the spectrum of emotions they represent.
[The Guardian]

 

CREATIVE HABITS + SKILLS

Illustration by Hanna Barczyk
 

The science of reasoning with unreasonable people

Adam Grant's new book, Think Again, is about a bevy of experiments he's run with his Wharton colleagues to understand the beliefs that people hold on to, even in the face of mounting logic or evidence. Grant's findings suggest that there is no amount of proof that will change a person's mind. Instead, the best you can do is talk to them in a way that encourages their own reflection. Grant appeared on Brian Koppelman's podcast this week and the host asked some really tough questions about whether or not polarization will ever get better.
[New York Times]
 

ALSO:


How to trick your mind to perform under pressure
Charles Duhigg is on leave from the How To podcast to write a book and in his place, author David Epstein (The Sports Gene, Range) has taken over. The format for the podcast is an "everyday" person wants to improve something about their lives, so they're matched up with an expert in that field. Here, we meet Juliet, a public defender-turned-realtor, who seems to choke on the local tennis courts regularly. She talks to a cognitive psychologist about keeping it together in crunch time
[Slate]

The anatomy of a perfect pitch email
If you work in the digital PR space, you know how hard it is to get attention for your products or events or research. As part of their Whiteboard Friday series, the folks at Moz invite a client in to break down the framework of a specific email pitch that was successful.
[Moz blog]
 

LEADING CREATIVE TEAMS
Illustration by Kelsey Wroten
 

Can remote teams still be innovative?

The common argument against remote work is that employees suffer because of the Serendipity Effect. They lose the opportunity to have the impromptu discussions that produce many truly great ideas. But, is that true? Maybe. But, this article on the Doist blog makes the case that remote-first teams (like Doist, of course) have navigated the distributed teams models for years and still manage to turn out great products.
[Doist blog]


ALSO:


Advice on remote work culture
Sifted, a European news outlet covering startups, recently hosted a webinar panel discussion about the ins and outs of work culture in a time when everyone is working at home, using funny backgrounds to hide the fact that they haven't cleaned the kitchen in 3 days (just us? oh OK). This Twitter thread summarizes the highlights.
[Twitter]

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Hi gang, I'm Greg Roth, a professional speaker, facilitator, and coach for creative team leaders. I teach creative professionals how to experiment and test new ideas. This is my weekly newsletter, which I hand-curate from my social network and dozens of sources. More about me here on my website or talk to SpeakInc about booking me to speak at your event or company. 
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