“All companies, all organizations exist on the same arena… And, by coincidence, those things — change, surprise, and things that are hard to predict — are molded for that curious mind. So in my view, there is a perfect match between what companies need and the curious mind.” ~ Peder Söderlind
Peder Söderlind describes himself as a Swedish author, researcher and entrepreneur, but I believes he’s an important emerging curiosity theorist. His writing and thinking on the topic are rich in all the best ways — evocative, provocative, constructive.
Our conversation moved from “local, difficult, and meaningful” problems for keeping our minds curious and framing problems as opportunities, to the paradox of fatigue and the importance of seeing.
If you are not seeing the world as it is, or seeing yourself as you are, it’s really hard to formulate what you don’t know–or even what you don’t know you don’t know–and then there will never be information gaps and you will never become curious.
I was fascinated to learn about curiosity in the context of the Nordic social model of work life and the Swedish concepts of folkbildning and the Law of Jante.
Peder defines curiosity “as a movement that we are doing together, from what we don’t know, towards something unknown.”
Curiosity is, he says, a collective movement toward something new.
LISTEN TO CHOOSE TO BE CURIOUS #237: CURIOSITY AT WORK: A SWEDISH PERSPECTIVE, WITH PEDER SÖDERLIND
Read more about Peder Söderlind and his work on curiosity in organizations in Sweden. I enjoy following him on LinkedIn — I’m using the translation feature a lot more these days!
Peder was nominated for Swedish Learning Association‘s “Enthusiast of the Year in Learning” award. QUICK: Voting closes June 30th. It’s hard to imagine a more deserving recipient!
Learn more about Amy Edmondson‘s work on leadership (her name comes up a lot around here).
For related conversations, try these C2BC Classics: Appreciative Intelligence, with Tojo Thatchenkery; Diagnosing Curiosity with Stefaan van Hooydonk; Curiosity in the Workplace, with Alison Horstmeyer; and Cultivating Cultural Intelligence, with Asma Ahmad.
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Rush of Clear Water” by Glacier Quartet Araby, via Blue Dot Sessions.
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The Choose to Be Curious shop is under (re)construction. Back soon!
Listening to the Universe 