Never ever underestimate the power of curiosity.

I was reminded of this last weekend as my oldest son Cam and I visited my youngest son in Connecticut for his birthday. Ross works for Cannondale, one of the premiere bicycle manufacturers in the world. He took us on a tour of his very cool corporate HQ and showed us the latest and greatest in the cycling world.

Touring, mountain, hybrid---pick a style of bike and you will find it inside the Cannondale labs, along with all kinds of memorabilia from the Tour de France and other world class cycling events.

This particular Saturday, we tested two bikes in the company's empty parking lot. One was a cutting edge new trail bike called "Bad Habit" with an uber suspension system. Thanks to its design and the fat 3-inch wide tires, you can climb over parking curbs and feel...no...pain.

We also tested a Cannondale E-Series model (pictured above), better known as an electric bike. Basically you pedal real fast for a few seconds and then feel the electric current kick in and power you along for a ways. (Ross said that a lot of employees use it at lunch to run out for a quick pastrami and rye pickup.)

Let me be totally honest with you. I had no idea what to expect. But my virginal ride on the E-Series was a total blast.

I felt exhilarated and energized (pardon the pun) as it was a new experience for me.

Then I got to thinking how the whole exercise reminded me of what every conscientious leader knows about the value of curiosity and a willingness to step out of the box to try new things. Not only does it make you happier, research show curiosity to be associated with higher levels of positive emotions, lower levels of anxiety, more satisfaction with life and greater psychological well-being.

What's more, curiosity has been proven to improve on the job performance. Yes, it's obvious to most of us, but when we're more curious and interested in what we are working on, it's easier to jump in, do the time that a project needs and see success in the process.

In fact, we've talked before about how smart marketers and companies know that curiosity is the key to engaging their audience no matter what form of communication is crafted.

So what's the point of all this?

Just a simple reminder to keep things interesting in the workplace.

Keep an open mind and don’t settle for the same old routine.  Find ways to pique the curiosity of your teams. Give them opportunities to try new ways of learning, brainstorming, communicating.  

It's what the evolved conscientious leader already knows. And it's why they love the idea of bringing an electric bike into their work environment.

To get our book, "25 Building Blocks To Create a Conscientious Organization" free, go to HCollaborative.com for an instant download.