Had enough of innovation? Just be curious

Last week we held our sixth Life With Law event, the latest of our series of talks aiming to help lawyers live happier and more fulfilling lives.  The topic – curiosity and risk-taking - resonated with me from a business perspective too.   Our inspiring speakers, authors Polly Morland and Ian Leslie, got me thinking about the link between curiosity and innovation.

Lawyers are often naturally curious people.  We’re taught to challenge, negotiate, and explore.  At law school we study thousands of cases (“stories” for the curious?) to gain a depth of expertise.  Our highest accolade is becoming a “subject matter expert” or a “specialist”.  We want to know everything we can about our field.

But Ian Leslie spoke about the importance of breadth of knowledge as well as depth of specialism.  It’s what IBM