How your search for knowledge will give you the business edge
My 3-year old daughter only recently discovered her Daddy’s iPhone. As she picked it up, she began pressing every button. As her finger accidentally slid across the screen, she noticed she could make things move. And if she pressed that button on the bottom, music came on. The more noises and movements the phone made, the more curious she became. After loading it up with a few Toddler games, she became hooked. Three weeks later, Maggie can now do more on that thing than her Daddy and is a regular shopper in the Application Store. She keeps looking for the phone to do more, and with curiosity as her fuel she keeps making new discoveries.
So what about you? Are you as curious as you were when you were a child? If you said yes, then it means you are NOT satisfied with what you already know. It means you feel challenged, not burdened when a new technology enters your life (either willingly or unwillingly). It means you don’t look for answers to be given to you, but are thrilled when it is your job to search for (and find) the solution. So here is the iCurious formula for success.
Don’t ever say, “I am not a techie!”
Think about it. Who is one of the most valuable people you know? Correct! It’s the person who can help you program your TV remote control, help you fix the cable box, or figure out how to hook that printer up to your computer. That person, “nerdy” or not, has extreme value to you. You have him/her on your speed dial, will interrupt them at dinnertime, and are amazed when they deliver knowledge that only they seem to have. They become irreplaceable. And you will pay good money for what they have.
Become THAT nerd
Hey, if being knowledgeable about stuff that other people don’t know qualifies you as a nerd, then it’s time for you to get out the masking tape and pocket protector and join the Geek Squad. And the initiation to the squad is easy. The next time you have a tech question, first try to figure it out on your own. Because that headache you get when you are working with a new or challenging technology is your brain growing. The knowledge that is filling it up will still be there when you need it again.
Learning saves time
Whether it is technology or not, learning how to solve the problem on your own right now will save you hours and maybe days later. You see, many say they don’t have time to learn something new. Or they say, “It’s not my job to know that.” Well guess what? It’s not the competition’s job either. But if the competition knows more, they are worth more …. which means they can charge more, sell more, and lead more than the average mope who takes pride in saying, “I can’t even change the clock on my VCR!” (Hey, at least it’s not still Beta)
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, said it well when he said, “It’s wonderful to have a beginner’s mind.” He’s right. It means you don’t see the world for what it is, but instead for what it should be. So stay curious, and you will realize there is no end to the potential that your “beginner’s mind” brings to your department, company, industry and world.
