During a recent keynote, I got a question from a dad on how to cultivate curiosity and critical thinking in his children.
I’m not a parent so, in one sense, I feel totally underqualified to say anything on the topic. At the same time, during my ten years as a professor, I’ve learned a few methods for encouraging people, regardless of age, to think differently.
When I get on an airplane, I usually follow the same ritual.
I take my seat and open up my laptop to do some work. When it’s time for takeoff, I begrudgingly put the laptop away. I twiddle my thumbs until the plane reaches 10,000 feet and that comforting chime tells me that I can pull out my laptop and go back to being productive.
I love walking into a bookstore and discovering new books.
Not the bestselling books sitting on everyone’s bookshelf. But undiscovered gems. Books that have yet to break through. Books that have fallen out of mainstream awareness. Books published by smaller publishing houses without massive marketing budgets.
Alex Osborn was the real life Don Draper.
He co-founded the advertising agency BBDO—the inspiration behind the fictional Sterling Cooper agency in Mad Men, one of my all-time favorite shows.
