Let's face it, life is complicated. Made more so by the infinite choices we have to make every day. Ever find yourself wondering what to watch on Netflix, and then spend 30 minutes trying to find the 'right' show to binge? When we're paralyzed by mundane choices we squander our most creative energy. Practice picking something and going. If it sucks, pick something else. Make it a game. I don't watch much but confess to finding myself doing exactly what I advise against! It’s advice I need too!

This week it's about the importance of curiosity, something that keeps coming up in what I'm reading. And what I experience. Then I touch on how work is evolving and offer a take on approaching your work design through a Private Equity lens.

The future belongs to the curious

I spend a fair amount of time walking this dog who's been with us since early April. I'm used to small dogs that are good with a single walk, but not him. He needs at least three. That said, it's given me a lot of time to listen to a series of podcasts on business, creativity and life.

One of the universal traits of the highly successful people profiled is that they're curious. This is usually the answer to how they did what they did. Why they became successful. It wasn't magic. It was an innate curiosity about the world and how things worked.

The dictionary definition of curiosity is: a strong desire to know or learn something.

Successful people run into a problem and start asking what if? They start tinkering with possible answers. This takes them down the rabbit hole where their story emerges with an amazing success story. Except it is never that tidy. There are usually many failures along the way. Curiosity is never linear.

Curiosity is about not accepting things as they are. It's about thinking differently about a problem. Probing. Asking good questions until a satisfying answer reveals itself. It's different for everyone.

Curious people don't take things at face value. It's a trait I look for in everyone I hire. If someone isn't curious, I don't believe they are good problem solvers. I have made mistakes about this in the past and discovered that if someone isn't curious they struggle to go from A to F without being given B, C, D and E.

Someone who isn't curious is doing a job that can be easily automated. But can it be taught? I think it can if you are open to learning? That is, if you're curious.

Whoever said curiosity killed the cat didn't understand the power of curiosity. It makes the world go around. Although this dog ate much he shouldn’t have this week and ended up in the vet.

Every invention is the result of someone being curious about a problem. The result of someone paying attention to what trips other people up and seeing opportunity within their expertise. I consider myself to be curious however I am never going to design the next new lightbulb.

The curious company

Given we've achieved quality parity, companies need to differentiate themselves more than ever. No longer is it only about selling widgets. It's about creating magic and connection with their customers and employees. To enable this, companies have an opportunity to build curiosity into their operations. Imagine what a company could achieve if curiosity were a core competency. Imagine how it might foster a great workplace.

Back in the 1950s, the average life of a Fortune 500 company was 75 years. Now it's 15. Business models are evolving. They're more complex. And more easily disrupted. They need curiosity to stay alive and compete.

Amazon calls it's headquarters Day One. It's an ethos centered around the fact that they know they could always die. And so they approach everything with a drive to innovate and reinvent themselves. A drive to remain relevant.

Curiosity is a also needed in solving climate change. Not just in the science but in enrolling people in the urgency to act.

Curiosity is a mindset.

Like resilience, the more curious you are, the better your chances of finding the next great job or designing your work portfolio. Without it, you are easily commoditized. Think about where in your life you are most curious. Some may call this passion. Or drive. Is it in your work? Or play? Both? Now think about why you are curious in these areas? If it's not work, how can you bring that to your job? If not your job, what about a side hustle that taps your curiosity?

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Traditional jobs are being unbundled

More and more I've come to believe that a single job is risky. Like having only one client that if you lost would kill your business. A job is like having a single client. Choosing self-employment today is risky in the short term. Getting a traditional job is likely risky in the long term because you never know when you'll be laid off. That's out of your control assuming you're a high performer. Neither is wrong or right. It's in how you manage the risk that matters most.

This week I found this excellent article on the Unbundling of Work by Li Jin from Andreessen Horowitz

I'd been reading about the business opportunities available by unbundling Reddit and Craigslist. When a platform gets too big and too diverse, opportunities open up in the niches. If you have a passion that aligns with one of the growing niches on these platforms, then you have the seed of a possible project.

Li talks about how we've gone from being in service to a single company for most of our working lives to free agents or micro entrepreneurs. Dan Pink wrote Free Agent Nation in 2001. It's now staring more and more of us in the face. Success, Li argues, hinges on having access to appropriate platforms to manage these micro businesses.

Access to affordable healthcare has made self-employment particularly risky in the past. But risk is relative. A revolving job door is also risky. Neither is a black and white decision which is what is fueling my exploration in this newsletter. But then few decisions in life are black and white!

How has your job become unbundled? Or where do you see your job or work unbundling?

Think like Private Equity

Private Equity is easy to dislike when you're the employee disrupted by a buyout. It's easy to like when you are the buyer. For an individual, however, the opportunity in Private Equity is to apply their thinking to your work. Especially in what you might want to build or create. They don't buy companies that aren't profitable. Nor do they focus in industries or niches that are dying. They focus on areas that are growing. Whether you are looking for your next job or next project, spend some time where they do.

You might find the seeds of a business idea. Or maybe a job. You can even look at a PE firms approach to a 'portfolio' and see how you can design your own work portfolio accordingly. Sure, will be on a micro level. But such an exercise takes you out of your normal way of approaching your work. It may force connections you didn't see before.

And it doesn't hurt to look at your work life through the lens of cash flow, liquidity and expense control. Nor how to position yourself to be acquired by a company (i.e. get a job) or in the market to get customers. There’s more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

This lens may help frame how much income you need to earn to fund your financial freedom, break it down across different opportunities and establish metrics that reflect where you want to go. Such metrics can help you know if you are on or off track.

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I'll end with some simple advice from Dan Pink:

He summarized on a podcast with Chase Jarvis the basic keys to success:

• Take care of yourself
• Take care of your family
• Do exceptional work
• Don't be a jerk.

And you should do okay.

That doesn't mean it's always a smooth ride. But the odds are in your favor.

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