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Curiosity isnt just a valuable personality traitits a leadership superpower. In a business environment where innovation dictates success, curiosity serves as the catalyst for breakthroughs and industry reinvention. Yet, despite its transformative potential, curiosity remains one of the most undervalued tools in leadership today. According to a Harvard Business Review study, curiosity fosters openness and collaboration while reducing decision-making errors. Yet only 24% of organizations actively encourage it, leaving a wealth of untapped potential on the table. The best leaders dont just seek answers; they reframe problems. Instead of asking, How do we fix this? they ask, What if we reimagine this entirely? Leaders who embrace this mindset uncover opportunities for reinvention that others overlook because they only focus on immediate challenges. Curiosity Begins with Observation In the world of art and design, curiosity begins with observation. Georgia OKeeffe once remarked, Nobody sees a flower, really. It is so small we havent time, and to see takes time. Her words offer a lesson for leaders: True insight comes from taking the time to observe and understand what others overlook. The design thinking process mirrors this ethos, emphasizing empathy, iteration, and a willingness to embrace failure. Leaders who adopt these principles uncover unmet needs and rethink stagnant paradigms. For instance, I once worked with a biotech executive who revitalized their R&D team with a single question: What are we missing in the data that could change the trajectory of our discovery? This curiosity-fueled inquiry led to a cross-disciplinary exploration, resulting in a groundbreaking treatment that shifted the companys competitive position. Curiosity in Action A CTO in the high-tech sector found their team stuck in a cycle of diminishing returns during a critical product launch. Instead of defaulting to conventional troubleshooting, they asked a provocative question: What would this look like if we started from scratch? Initially, the team hesitated, but once framed as a thought experiment, it sparked a creative dialogue that dismantled assumptions. The result? A novel approach that solved the immediate challenge and laid a foundation for long-term innovation. In another instance, a CEO at a multinational organization embarked on a listening tour to understand their global workforce. They asked a simple yet profound question: What inspires you to do your best work? This inquiry revealed a blend of universal motivators and culturally specific insights, enabling the CEO to craft a new, inclusive company mission. The initiative boosted engagement, fostered a sense of belonging, and unified the workforce across continents. A Framework for Leaders to Cultivate Curiosity To harness curiosity as a leadership tool, leaders must commit to intentional practices that foster curiosity-driven innovation: Ask Bigger Questions. Shift from tactical fixes to expansive, open-ended questions. Replace How can we cut costs? with How can we create more value with fewer resources? These questions inspire fresh perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking. Practice Empathetic Observation. Adopt an artists lenstaking the time to truly see your team, customers, and market dynamics. Listen deeply and observe without preconceived notions. Empathy is the foundation for uncovering unmet needs and fostering trust. Prototype Curiosity. Treat curiosity like a skill to be honed. Run curiosity workshops where no idea is too wild. Encourage iterative brainstorming and test small ideas before scaling them, creating a low-risk environment for experimentation. Embrace Failure as Discovery. Curiosity-driven leadership requires psychological safety. When teams see failure as a learning opportunity rather than a liability, they are more willing to take risks and innovate. Leaders must model this openness. Stay Open to Being Wrong. Curiosity isnt about confirming what you already knowits about exploring the unknown. The best leaders I have worked with are those willing to challenge their own assumptions and learn from unexpected perspectives. Curiosity doesnt just spark innovationit strengthens connections. By demonstrating a genuine interest in your team, their challenges, and their aspirations, you build a culture of trust and collaboration. Leaders who guide with curiosity create workplaces where people feel valued, heard, and inspired to contribute their best. Curiosity allows leaders to navigate complexity with agility and vision in a fast-paced environment. It enables them to ask the questions others avoid, see patterns others miss, and find solutions others never imagine. In doing so, they transform their organizations and the lives of those they lead. One thing is clear: The leaders who thrive will be those who lead with curiosity. The future belongs to those who dare to be curious.
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E-Commerce
This week, genomics and biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences unveiled genetically engineered caninesnamed Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesithat it calls dire wolves, a species of wolf that went extinct 13,000 years ago. The company, which has raised $437 million from investors and is valued at $10.2 billion, created the animals by editing the DNA of existing gray wolf cells to include traits from long-extinct dire wolves (like fluffy white fur and big size). It then developed embryos using cloning technology and implanted them into a female dog. Critics immediately disagreed with Colossals de-extinction claim, saying that the creatures, which were incubated and birthed by a large female dog, are closer to genetically modified designer dogs. Colossals cofounder and CEO Ben Lamm is now pushing back. It’s a stupid argument, Lamm said in an interview with the Most Innovative Companies podcast this week when asked about the criticism. We’ve said from day one that we are going to do a lot of computational analysis and then identify the core genes that make a mammoth or a dire wolf or a dodo and engineer them back into its closest living relatives.” At the heart of the issue is the question of how to define de-extinction. There are about 11 different ways to classify a species, Lamm said. Our definition of de-extinction is on our website. It explains that there’s a thing called functional de-extinction. The IUCN, which is like the Species Council for the world, five years ago, put out a statement saying that de-extinction means developing proxies. Proxies, he explains, are not exact replicas of an extinct species, but come very close genetically. On Thursday, Colossal submitted a study that it sponsored for peer review. The research claims that new information about genomics supports Colossals argument about the wolves classification. The paper builds on that previous study, published in Nature, and presents further evidence that dire wolves are considered to have a distinct evolutionary lineage from wolves. It lays out the defining characteristics that resulted in the dire wolf being considered a separate species. Because Colossals canines exhibit nearly all of those characteristics, the company argues that the animals should be classified as such. [Photo: Colossal Biosciences] In the interview with Fast Company, Lamm also explained that the companys dire wolves will be raised with top-notch veterinary care on a 2,000-acre reserve. The dog that mothered them has been made available to adopt through an anonymous program. As the company pushes forward on its larger project of bringing back extinct species, Lamm hopes to rewild all of its creations in their natural habitats. (He does not plan on making money from Colossals clones.) [Photo: Colossal Biosciences] Some conservationists have argued that the de-extinction of animals may make people lose interest in preserving species that are near extinction. Lamm hit back at that critique, pointing out that the company makes some of its technologies available free to conservation groups and academic partners. To make money, the company has spun out an AI-based software platform, Form Bio, which helps scientists manage complicated data sets. Colossal plans to spin out more companies to license the research tools it develops. [Photo: Colossal Biosciences] Lamm pointed out that the company is using its technology for conservation. At the same time as the dire wolves were announced, Colossal revealed that it had cloned four red wolves that will be able to join the 15 left on earth. The red wolf project, to me, is as magical as the dire wolf, Lamm said. [Photo: Colossal Biosciences] Though some critics have argued that the company is more focused on attentin-grabbing stunts than actual research, Lamm said those goals are not incompatible, and that the company is merely trying to showcase its work. Right now, if we do nothing, we’re gonna lose up to 50% of all biodiversity between now and 2050, he said. We need to do things that are more important and more radical. You can build thoughtful yet disruptive technologies at the same time.
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E-Commerce
It really is mind-blowing how much incredible stuff we can do with images these days.Twasnt long ago, after all, that advanced image adjustments required pricey desktop-computer software and super-specific knowledge.These days, weve got an endless array of awesome options at our fingertips for making practically any image look amazingwithout investing a single dime or ounce of energy.And whats especially cool is when you encounter a new image-enhancing power tool that transforms old photos in a way you never dreamed possible.Unearth all sorts of transformative tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. A new useful discovery in your inbox every Wednesday!Your new image unblurring superpowerAllow me to introduce you to a supremely simple and surreal-seeming web app called Unblur Image Onlineor just Unblur Image for short.Dont let its unimaginative name fool you: This tool works wonders. And its laughably easy to use. Unblur Image lets you upload any photo free, and with the click or tap of a single button, it sharpens it andwell, yknow, unblurs it almost instantly. No exaggeration: Youll need maybe 20 seconds, start to finish, for the service to work its magic.All you do is open up the site, smack the big Upload Image button, and select any photo on your device.Then, a mere blink or two latervoil: Youve got your result, unblurred and also upsized to look as crisp, clear, and contemporary as possible, even if the original photo was fairly ancient (like this old picture of my desk from back in my TV news daysjust look at that monitor!).A before-and-after view of my blurry old image on the Unblur Image website.The difference can really be astounding. Heres an old blurry concert photo I found in my personal librarybefore and after its near-instant unblurring:You can see how much difference the unblurring process makes in this sliding-line comparison.Pretty wild, no?While some phones do now come with their own built-in image-unblurring equivalents, Unblur Image really does give em a run for their money when it comes to qualityand its available to use on any device, phone or computer, right within whatever browser you prefer. Ive already had several readers comment to me that the quality is almost indistinguishable from the universally praised image-editing tools provided on Googles top-of-the-line Pixel devices.Add in the fact that its free, and this is one Cool Tool well worth embracing. Unblur Image is available on the webno downloads or installations needed. Its completely free for an unspecified number of uses per day, which the site says should suffice for most regular needs. Ive yet to run into a limit when trying several within a single day. If you do need more, Unblur Image offers paid credits for purchase. But really, how many images are you gonna be unblurring?! The services privacy policy says it doesnt store or share any manner of personal data. My special thanks to Android Intelligence reader Michelle T. for bringing this one to my attention!Ready for more tantalizing tech treasures? Check out my free Cool Tools newsletter for an instant introduction to an incredible audio app thatll tune up your days in some truly delightful waysand a new off-the-beaten-path gen in your inbox every Wednesday!
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