Dr. Diane Hamilton, author of Cracking the Curiosity Code, traces her obsession with curiosity to a humbling moment as a pharmaceutical sales rep who wasn't listening. She built the Curiosity Code Index to help people identify what blocks their curiosity, arguing it matters more than ever as AI changes work. Hamilton's core advice: stay humble, surround yourself with people smarter than you, and focus outward on helping others.
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¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Dr. Diane Hamilton with us. She is a nationally syndicated radio host, speaker, moderator, consultant, and educator. She is the author of multiple books including Cracking the Curiosity Code. So welcome to the show.
Well, thank you for having me here, Tyler. I was looking forward to this.
Of course, grateful to have you on. So Diane, the first question that we ask on this show is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know, I think I learned a lot from being in sales. I tell a story where I really didn't use my interpersonal skills, my listening, or my curiosity the way I could have, and it kind of taught me to be better prepared. And it was when I was a pharmaceutical sales rep. I was in an office. It was one of the first sales calls I'd ever made. I went in, I talked to the doctor, and I was so nervous because I was so new that I just was so intent on selling my message to him. I got through all 3 products. I was so excited. I walked out, and as I left, you know, I was just going to get samples and come back. And I got into the elevator, and as I got into the elevator, another guy came in. And since I'm such an extrovert, I couldn't have dead silence. And I said, so, uh, do you work in the building? And it was that same guy I just sold to, and I hadn't even looked at him, hadn't even recognized him. It was mortifying. And he was looking at me like, this dumb blonde, what is wrong with you? And it really taught me a good lesson. I was very young. I was so intent on being successful and getting certain messages across that I didn't even have a conversation. And I think it taught me to be more curious, to ask questions, to interact better. And it kind of led to my work now in curiosity.
Dude, that's an awesome story.
Yeah, isn't that awful?
Good memories, right?
Yeah, certain memories you just never get rid of, you know, they're just stuck with you.
So the next one I got for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, you know, I studied emotional intelligence for my doctoral dissertation, actually wrote my dissertation on emotional intelligence and salespeople, because I think I learned to look into that from from that story. But I think that curiosity has been even more fascinating to me. And I really think that I've learned so much from just researching the importance of curiosity for so many things. There's so many people listening that probably who are probably consultants or, you know, in business industry, and you probably hear so many problems with engagement, with soft skills, with critical thinking, innovation. Now that AI's coming on board, you know, everybody's worried about productivity and innovation, all that tie together. I think if you could develop your curiosity, that's like the most important thing you're going to be hearing about in the coming year or two, just due to how everything's changing. And that's why I created the Curiosity Code Index, which goes along with my book Cracking the Curiosity Code, because I wanted to measure the things that held people back from being curious because there were assessments that tell you if you're curious or not, but it doesn't tell you what to do about it. And I really wanted to help people to become more curious. So I think that that's one of the most important things you can do.
And then what is your best piece of overall business advice and not necessarily industry-specific?
Overall business advice, and I think just be humble and realize that everybody else probably knows something you don't in some respects. And to try and pretend like you know everything is not helpful. And I think it's important to surround yourself with people who know more than you do, because if you're the smartest person in the room, you're not growing.
Yes, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.
That's right.
And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Oh, you know, I think be more open to trying things. I think when you're young, you're, you're more intimidated by things that when you're older don't intimidate you at all. But then, you know, I don't really think I'd change anything. I used to ask people that on my show, would you change anything? And I used to think about that myself, and I really wouldn't change anything. So I don't know if I'd give myself advice because I like how it turned out.
And then in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
The key to happiness is not being so focused on yourself. I think that it's good to grow and develop yourself, but I think you need to have an outward focus and try to help others. And I think when you're helping others, it's just so much more rewarding.
And then what is the best book that you've read and what's the number one thing you learned from that?
Oh, I read so many great books. I mean, I have to say that Daniel Goleman's book on why EQ might matter more than IQ is a huge one that influenced me just because of the route I went. It's a great book and I highly recommend it.
And then what is your favorite quote and why?
There's just so many. I have to say just about anything by Einstein and by George Carlin has a lot that just about anything he said makes me laugh. Einstein often says, you know, there was nothing special about him, he was just highly, highly curious. And I really think that anything that is based on curiosity interests me. Of course, that's not the exact quote. I have to look up all of the ones that I really like, that I use a few of them in my book. But I really think that anybody like Carlin or the type that tried to find out more information and learn everything they can really fascinated me. And so that led to my choice for that, I guess. Yeah.
Well, listen, thank you so much for coming on. The last one I have for you before we let you go is where can our audience best find you online?
Well, my personal website is drdianehamilton.com. That's just my name, D-R-D-I-A-N-E-H-A-M-I-L-T-O-N.com. But to find out more about the book or the assessment, you'd go to curiositycode.com. And you can find me on all the social media sites. By just my name, Dr. Diane Hamilton.
Perfect. Thank you again for coming on.
No, you're welcome.
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