Hot on the heels of the Cluetrain deck last week comes this guide to culture from Netflix. It’s a good starting place for anyone building a culture in a new company although some of it is a bit utopian and I think it’s tough to change the culture of an existing company, especially a large one, to live by these maxims. Not too say a company shouldn’t, it’s just hard to change the way people think, act, behave, etc. The reality is the culture of a company can be anything on paper but it’s a living, evolving thing that gets shaped by behaviours, usually top down.

Having said all of that, there is one quality in here I’d like to explore a little more as I think it’s an important one, especially during interviews. I’m always curious to see how curious a person is. Not odd, curious. There is a big difference and I don’t think the Netflix slide does it justice. They’re talking about being curious about the company and the space in which they work. In fact I’d suggest point #2 is a prerequisite for being employed. 

The sort of curious I am talking about is explored through questions like these

1. What was the last, non mainstream movie you watched?
2. What is your hobby? How have you researched it?
3. Have you ever taken a different route than a normal one you’d take, just to see what happens?
4. What’s an interest you have that you didn’t put on your CV/resume?
5. What magazine do you or have you regularly bought? How many do you have in your loft?
   (hat tip to Brad Tipp who I learnt this one from)

Now I know these sound slightly odd but lets take a couple and see what they can tell us.

Lets say your hobby is art. What I’d be interested to know is how many galleries the person has been to, in which countries, what is their favourite piece, what is the piece they dislike the most, what books they own on art, who is their favourite critic etc etc. Answers to these (the actual answers don’t matter) show a depth of interest and hopefully should how a curious mind that has gone beyond a single visit to the nearest gallery to see the latest exhibition of Picasso. 

The different route question is less detailed but shows the curious mind at work. Have you ever driven home and wondered what another route would be like? Would it be faster (even if much longer), would it be more scenic, would it just be a change? I think a naturally curious person would try another route and probably more than once as they’d be curious enough to see if the first time was a fast fluke or if it held a potentially new route home from work.

My point is that people who are curious by nature are good to have around. They explore new ways, new routes, new ideas – not because it’s part of the culture but because it’s the way they are. They can be a source of innovation and ideas that you’d never have considered before.

So look out for people who are curious but be careful not to just go for curious people. There’s a world of difference :)