Sometimes problems you encounter need an outside perspective to help you figure out what to do. A curiosity loop helps contextualize advice from multiple people in a way that makes it far more useful than getting overly generalized advice from one source.
How to do it
- Curate who you ask: balance the loop by consulting experts but also someone who knows you really well (experts might not have specific answers for you the way a close friend would)
- Ask good questions that are specific (with context), solicit rationale, and avoid biases (like a good survey question)
- Make it lightweight and easy to respond: lower the cognitive load by giving a list of choices and asking why, let someone pick and choose with a quick answer or make space to send something longer
- Try to get 3 or 4 responses (you might need to email a larger number of people based on the response rate)
- Process the information and thank them: it feels good to help someone and be heard, sending a genuine thank you can be rewarding in and of itself
From Ada Chen Rekhi via Lenny’s Podcast.
See also:
- This strategy of making it easy to respond also works for making introductions