Curiosity is the fuel of creativity, discovery and innovation. As we go through our formal education, a subtle but insidious shift occurs. The open-ended questions that we relentlessly asked as infants are gradually replaced by a demand for definitive answers. We are rewarded for knowing, not for asking. The systematic suppression of curiosity stifles individual potential but also cripples creativity. The pursuit of “knowing” can be the enemy of discovery.
Too often in the corporate world, curiosity is discouraged. The emphasis is on efficiency and productivity rather than questioning and experimentation. The prevailing mantra is “focus on what you know works,” rather than “explore what you don’t know.” We are encouraged to specialize, to master a specific skill set, and to remain within the comfortable confines of our expertise. But often the most interesting ideas and the most fruitful innovations lie in the unknown, the unexplored and the unexpected.
The “Curiosity Hour” concept is based on a well-known business philosophy: dedicating protected time for employees to explore intriguing questions, challenge assumptions and pursue projects outside their immediate duties. It is a development of previous initiatives such as brainstorms, “20% Time,” “Innovation Sprints,” or “Hackathons.” These ideas are built on the principle that self-directed exploration generates employee engagement and is a potent catalyst for breakthrough innovation.
Protected exploration
The foundational principle is often credited to 3M. Its legendary “15% Rule” encouraged technical employees to spend a portion of their work week on their own initiatives. This freedom famously led to the creation of commercial giants like Scotch Tape and Post-it Notes, proving that investing in employee curiosity can yield huge commercial returns.
This idea was powerfully revived and popularized by Google through its “20% Time” policy, which encouraged employees to spend one day a week on side projects. This highly publicized practice is credited with generating successful products such as Gmail and AdSense.
Today, research validates this historical practice. Academics, such as Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School, highlight that cultivating curiosity in the workplace directly leads to lower group conflict, higher innovation rates and better adaptability to change. Curiosity is not just a soft skill; it is a real driver of competitive advantage.
How curiosity hours work
A diverse group is asked to join a Curiosity Hour meeting. They should be from different departments with different levels of experience, skill and seniority. There is a topic for the meeting with a broad but important question, such as “How can we double our sales revenue?” or “How can we attract and retain top talent?” Each participant is asked to prepare two questions (broadly related to the topic) that they are curious about. They are encouraged to ask searching and provocative questions.
The meeting is run by a facilitator whose job is to encourage productive discussion and manage the meeting. They set the guidelines and then ask someone to start. That person might say, “I am curious to know this. What would happen if we made our produce much easier to assemble and use?” This leads to a group discussion in which ideas are developed and discussed using divergent rather than critical thinking. It might lead to some follow-up action items. Then on to the next person who starts, ‘I am curious to know this ….”
The facilitator keeps the meeting on track and summarizes the main ideas and action points. It is essential that the meeting is held in an atmosphere of psychological safety, where questioning conventional wisdom or asking what might be called silly questions in pursuit of a new idea is not punished but treated as a valuable learning opportunity. No criticism of the initial curiosity question is allowed — everybody must build on it. It is vital that senior figures in the room do not sneer, criticize or close down discussions.
How is a Curiosity Hour different from a brainstorm? A brainstorm (or ideation meeting) starts by generating a large number of ideas. The Curiosity Hour starts with one provocative question, which the group explores to see where it might lead. Both types of meetings can lead to radical and useful ideas, but they take different paths to get there.
People will ask, “Why is it just an hour? Why not longer and let us cover more questions?” This is true, but it is better to cover a small number of questions in a short, energetic session than to ramble around all day.
Cultivate a culture of experimentation
Some Curiosity Hour meetings generate promising ideas, and it is critical that efforts to develop them are supported by the executive team. If there is no follow-up, people will see the Curiosity Hour as a talking event with no real value.
There may be some good suggestions that are easy to implement. They should be actioned quickly and the results broadcast. There may be some really bright ideas that require detailed examination and maybe a prototype. It is important that these are given some resources in terms of people and budget. The Curiosity Hour can create a culture of experimentation, where employees are free to develop their best ideas. This involves risk and failure. If the culture punishes risk, employees will only pursue small, safe ideas. The fear of failure can choke transformative innovation.
Leaders should publicly celebrate the process and the learning derived from failed experiments, not just the successful outcomes. By making failure transparently acceptable, the company encourages employees to take the bigger risks that can lead to significant breakthroughs.
By implementing psychological safety, choosing effective facilitators, assembling diverse groups and supporting follow-up, you can turn “Curiosity Hours” into a powerful, sustainable engine for growth and adaptation.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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