Curiosity in the workplace

 

A friend of mine, a former co-worker, turned natural curiosity to advantage and avoided a potential embarrassment.
What would you do if you saw an envelope labelled like this on a desk?
I couldn't resist it for long and so approached him and said, "I have to ask...what's in this envelope?" He asked me if I was sure I wanted to know. Then he said that before he showed me I must agree not to tell any of our co-workers. I agreed.
The envelope contained... A book of ballots! One of his children had asked him to sell some at work and that was something he really didn't like doing. So rather than ask around, he avoided embarrassment by posting this envelope near his desk where it would be easily visible. Colleagues saw it and approached him.
Of course I bought some, kept quiet and by the end of the day the envelope was down, mission accomplished.
Clever? I think so. I wonder in what ways middle leaders could arouse curiosity in their workplace. How might it be used in problem-solving? To support learning?
Curiosity, just the ticket!
Feel free to share ideas. I'm curious.

 

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Entrepreneurs in the workplace

Entreprendre: It's a verb that had given us the word entrepreneur with all its many connotations of business success. It is reported that George Bush once complained that the problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur although the truth of this statement is contested here. The noun has come to mean many things since it was first coined back in the early 18 century. See Wikipedia article here
I like the French verb entreprendre. It breaks nicely into two parts, between and to take. To take between.
For middle leaders, managing their teams and being managed themselves the verb seems appropriate. Taking between.
Does that make middle leaders/managers entrepreneurs?

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