- The Daily Rocket
- Posts
- Ignite a Culture of Curiosity
Ignite a Culture of Curiosity
Jim Walker
January 11, 2025
“Creativity is thinking up new things.
Innovation is doing new things.”
—Theodore Levitt
Curiosity isn’t just an individual superpower—it becomes exponentially more impactful when woven into the fabric of a team’s culture. A team rooted in curiosity and collaboration creates an environment where even challenges become opportunities for innovation.
Pixar embodies this mindset better than almost anyone. As John Lasseter famously said:
“Every single Pixar film, at one time or another, has been the worst movie ever put on film. But we know. We trust our process. We don't get scared and say, 'Oh, no, this film isn't working.'”
This quote reflects a powerful truth about curiosity-driven teams: they embrace the messiness of exploration and trust that the process of discovery—no matter how imperfect—leads to massive innovation. At Pixar, this trust in curiosity and collaboration has led to some of the most beloved films in cinematic history.
Why a Culture of Curiosity Matters
Amplified Perspective: Diverse team members bring unique insights, unlocking ideas that wouldn’t emerge in isolation.
A lone individual might see a problem; a team fueled by curiosity might uncover its hidden opportunities.
Accelerated Innovation: Teams that foster curiosity don’t panic when an idea doesn’t work immediately—they experiment, iterate, and move forward.
As Lasseter’s quote illustrates, even a “worst-ever” draft becomes a stepping stone with the right mindset.
Enhanced Resilience: By valuing exploration over perfection, curiosity-driven teams build a culture of resilience, adapting quickly to uncertainty or failure.
Practical Application: The Serendipity Session
Introduce Serendipity Sessions to cultivate this mindset—a dedicated space for team members to share discoveries, explore ideas, and brainstorm collaboratively.
Here’s how to implement it:
Set the Tone:
Create a safe, open space for sharing, emphasizing that every contribution is valuable.
Remind the team that, like Pixar, the goal isn’t perfection—it’s discovery.
Encourage Contributions:
Invite team members to share:
A tool, trend, or idea that inspired them recently.
A personal project or hobby sparking creativity.
A challenge they faced and how they approached it.
Facilitate Connection:
Pose open-ended questions like: “What could we learn from this?” or “How might this apply to our work?”
Encourage exploration without the pressure of immediate outcomes.
Celebrate Curiosity:
Highlight stories of how small ideas grew into significant successes, reinforcing the value of curiosity in action.
Example in Action
Imagine a product development team hosting a Serendipity Session. One member shares a quirky gadget they discovered, another discusses a customer’s unconventional feedback, and a third highlights a unique marketing strategy from a different industry. The team connects the dots, sparking an innovative product idea that becomes a market hit—something none of them could have achieved alone.
Actionable Takeaways
Start Small:
Try informal sharing moments in team meetings or Slack channels to ease into a culture of curiosity.
Trust the Process:
Emphasize that exploration is messy—and that’s okay. Like Pixar, focus on the process, not immediate perfection.
Celebrate Growth Over Results:
Acknowledge and reward curiosity-driven efforts, even those that don’t succeed. These efforts often pave the way for future breakthroughs.
Closing Inspiration
John Lasseter’s perspective reminds us that success doesn’t come from avoiding failure but from trusting the process of exploration. When teams embrace curiosity as a core value, they transform challenges into opportunities and ideas into innovations.
Tomorrow, we’ll bring this series to a close by uniting the principles of serendipity, curiosity, and exploration into a vision for sustainable growth. Until then, let curiosity lead your team to discover their next great breakthrough! 🚀
