Think Bigger

LESSON 21Curiosity Fuels Creativity

Over the years, I came to understand that what keeps me going to Tiger 21 meetings—and attracts so many others to our organization—is a lifelong passion for learning. According to many of our chairs, the high curiosity quotient of members is what makes their jobs so rewarding and so much fun. “They are constant life learners and genuinely curious and enjoy the fellowship of other like-minded people,” reports Chris Ryan, who chairs our groups in Dallas and Austin and is co-chair of our group in Puerto Rico. “When you get that unique combination of amazing people in a room, you can really create something significant.”¹

I leave almost every Tiger 21 meeting with a new shortlist of books I should read, which means that I end every year with a very long list of books I haven’t had time to read. Is our membership brimming with scholars and intellectuals? Quite the contrary, though we do have our share of PhDs, MBAs, and JDs.

I’m sure you have academically successful friends and relatives who care only about their subject and have never shown any curiosity about yours, such as that company you’ve devoted your life to. Often the most curious among our members are those with the sketchiest educational backgrounds, who’ve developed a passion for self-education. A retired co-chairman of a major New York investment bank in one of my groups never went to college but knows as much about history and neurology as many specialists. And he has street smarts ...