by Karen Turnquist
I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
– Albert Einstein
Growing up, there were nine people in my family: Mom, Dad, two sisters and four brothers.
We were a happy family, although, as you can imagine, it was chaotic and unpredictable at times. At a relatively early age, I found the best way to navigate my way through our family dynamic was to be in the know, which I accomplished by asking questions and putting 2 and 2 together.
It must have been my mother who coined the now-revered parental phrase: “Because I said so.” It quickly became her auto-response to the relentless slew of questions I directed at her about pretty much everything.
My insatiable curiosity acted as a blunt instrument; sometimes sounding more like an interrogation than a conversation. It followed me to school, where it got me in trouble, especially when I asked questions instead of following directions. It also followed me to work in my younger years, where I sometimes questioned the status-quo instead of dutifully doing my job.
Don’t get me wrong. At Sage, we still put a high value on curiosity because it…
- helps us identify, underwrite and manage risk
- leads to the best answers—the result of asking good questions
- aids us as we evaluate what we see and, more importantly, what we don’t
- conveys our interest in and care for others
- helps us understand our clients’ businesses better
- fuels our innovation and growth strategies
- improves and informs our problem-solving and customer-service activities
In short, curiosity is the secret sauce at Sage.
Getting to wondering
But for me personally, my understanding of curiosity has evolved beyond things like underwriting, data gathering, risk management and innovation. I have shifted from the state of being curious to a place of wonder.
Wondering keeps me from jumping to conclusions, and slows my instinct to act.
For instance, if, during a difficult conversation, I wonder why someone thinks or feels a certain way, my focus is no longer on me, my reaction or my response.
Wondering keeps me open to other ideas, considerations and viewpoints. And wondering deescalates tension, lowers defensiveness and improves my ability to communicate and problem solve.
I am grateful that I was that relentlessly inquisitive kid who has given way to the older, wiser wondering me. It is as true today as it was 2,500 years ago when Socrates said, “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
Figuring out how to be wise is hard, but I can always get to wondering. And from wondering who knows where we can go?
As the CEO and founder of Sage Business Credit, Karen Turnquist helps entrepreneurs build value in their businesses. She’s facilitated more than $2 billion in accounts-receivable financing for emerging businesses and believes there’s no greater reward than seeing fellow entrepreneurs succeed.