In the lobby of my son’s residence hall at the University of Nebraska, similar to residence halls at a number of major colleges around the U.S., students are greeted each morning by stacks of newspapers that are free for the taking: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY and the Omaha and Lincoln dailies.
These get widely ignored, as I suspect they do at residence halls around the country. I know, I know…It’s a different generation. They get their news online. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. But I think that’s a coping mechanism to restore my faith that people under the age of 35 still want to know what they don’t know on a daily basis beyond the antics of the Kardashian clan.
As I was putting this issue together, I was greatly relieved to encounter two gentlemen who validate my sentiments that acting on a powerful and broad curiosity about the world around you can be a valuable business tool no matter what business you’re in.
“What do you read to get new ideas?” I asked Ken Schmidt, a former Harley-Davidson executive who we spoke with for this month’s Closers Q&A (see page 42).
Schmidt says he’s not a business book guy, but he does get through three newspapers a day and loves the journalism in magazines like Vanity Fairand Esquire.I shared my angst over
the untouched stacks of newspapers at my son’s school.
Schmidt, who travels the country speaking, replied, “One thing I tell kids in college is you better get in the habit of reading the paper because you have to be up on what’s happening in the world. You have to be conversant on this stuff. Otherwise, you’re going to be the guy at the back of the meeting room who doesn’t have any ideas.”
Can I get an “Amen”?
And then I received a review copy of Hollywood producer Brian Grazer’s new book, “A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life.” In it, Grazer explains that for decades he has used his natural curiosity to soak in as much information as possible from some of the world’s most fascinating personalities. He also shares how curiosity has become a management style (see page 11).
Schmidt and Grazer are, like me, over 50. I’m confident that curiosity hasn’t skipped any generations, but I hope my son and all of his peers recognize what a powerful business tool genuine curiosity truly is.
Let’s be honest: the debate about the best movies that depict salespeople starts at No. 2. There are outliers who will argue for something other than “Glengarry Glen Ross.” But David Mamet’s story of a ragtag group of Chicago real estate salesmen who are desperate for decent leads has too many classic characters, features too many memorable scenes and stirs up too many “been there” emotions to be bumped by the rest of the field.
