“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
Socrates
Wonder: a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.
Recently my parents came for a visit and in typical grandparent style this included some gifts. With it being close to the 4th of July they brought my boys some sparklers. Now my “kids” are 14 & 18, but they were super excited about the sparklers.
Regardless of your age there is something exciting about lighting these gray metal rods and watching a shower of gold shoot from the tip.
I am not sure how long sparklers have been around, but I know that we had them when I was kid (that is no comment on my age). There is always a sense of anticipation as you struggle to light one and then a spontaneous smile as the first sparks begin to emit.
This is usually followed by a moment of joy as you run around with a trail of light behind you, writing your name and then for the grand finale tossing it up into the air, like a bottle rocket on a mission.
Sparklers invoke a sense of wonder in all of us.
Wonder is powerful.
I Wonder Why?
There is probably no question quite as powerful.
Revolutions have started with this question.
Diseases have been cured with this question.
Life changing inventions have occurred because of this question
Unfortunately in our world today there is a diminishing sense of wonder.
We live in an information overload, many answers are just a few keystrokes away.
I don’t know how sparklers work, I could probably Google this and find out, but right now I am enjoying my ignorance. I want to continue to think that they are powered by mystical fairy powder.
Our world has gotten increasingly busy. Most of us do good just to make it through our day collapsing in an exhausted pile of flesh and bones when we get home.
Our lives don’t provide us the luxury of wondering why.
The Power of Wonder
At work we are often not allowed to wonder.
We live in a world of scorecards, KPI’s, performance metrics and goals.
These are not necessarily bad things, but I would guess that no great breakthrough ever came from meeting a goal on a scorecard.
Charlie Munger, the famous investor, once said, “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.”
If you want to have a company full of employees doing the bare minimum to meet an arbitrary goal then set it in front of them.
Often the only wonder employees have is wondering who came up with this awful idea that is now mandatory.
Sales targets, from someone who hasn’t sold something in years
Financial targets, from someone who is getting bonuses on the employees performance
Productivity targets from someone who has never done the actual work.
Dress Codes, from someone who doesn’t have to wear the uniform
Rats in a Maze
We have created workplace environments of rats in a maze.
Employees show up each day having memorized the path they must take to get the cheese. It is the same path everyday. They know what buttons to press to open the doors and what lever to press to drop the cheese.
“Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.”
There is no wonder about if there is an easier or more direct path. They know that if they try something different they just won’t get the cheese.
In such structured and rigid environments there is very little room for employees to wonder.
Think if you unleashed a workforce full of curious, engaged employees who were able to ask why without fear?
How to encourage Wonder?
Look no further than children.
Why, is an essential part of their vocabulary.
Children want to know everything about everything. There is nothing that doesn’t fascinate them.
Why is the sky blue?
Why is a stick called a stick?
Why do I have to eat my vegetables?
Why is mommy not talking to daddy?
Wonder is a powerful tool that should be harnessed.
Take time to look around you, unplug, let your mind dwell on something that fascinates you.
Recognize the wonder of that is in your career.
I work in healthcare and the human body is a wonderful thing. There is so much we don’t know about the human body and how we care for it. This is fertile ground for innovation.
Don’t let the organizational constraints of doing your job get in the way of enjoying your job.
No matter what you do there is an element of mystery or wonder that drew you there in the first place.
Try to rekindle the wonder of a child.
Who knows what you may find.
