Change Signal Why Curiosity Drives Change Capacity: Scott D. Anthony
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Sep 17, 2025 Scott D. Anthony, a Clinical Professor at Tuck and innovation strategist, dives into the pitfalls of lost curiosity in organizations. He questions what stifles curiosity and explores the balance between comfort and chaos needed for effective change. Highlighting the remarkable transformation of DBS Bank, he emphasizes the power of a paradox mindset for leaders. Anthony provocatively challenges excuses like shareholder constraints as mere distractions from the real work of transformation, advocating for a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.
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Curiosity Is The Core Capacity
- Large organizations routinely lose curiosity and default to asking only whether spreadsheet numbers add up.
- That narrow curiosity blocks adaptive capacity and makes transformation boring and static.
Pessimism And Optimism Must Coexist
- Effective leaders must hold paradox: perceive danger (pessimism) while remaining optimistic enough to act without becoming rigid.
- That balance prompts resource allocation without defensive, inflexible responses.
Leaders Must Actively Enable Disruption
- Recognize disruptive initiatives that threaten how your organization operates are intrinsically hard and need active senior leadership involvement.
- Leaders must grab resource allocation and structure choices to enable doing tomorrow differently, not just yesterday better.
