Great CEOs never stop learning. Here’s how to stay sharp—regardless of your company’s size.
I recently asked a CEO candidate a deceptively simple question: What have you learned and applied to improve your business in the last six months?
It wasn’t a trick question, but it could have been. How a leader responds reveals a lot. Are they transparent? Are they curious? Are they still learning?
Because here’s the thing: curiosity isn’t just a soft skill. It’s a superpower. And especially for CEOs, it might be the one trait that decides long-term success.
Let me explain.
As your company expands, it becomes more complex. What worked at $5 million won’t be effective at $50 million. What was successful at $50 million won’t survive at $500 million. If you’re not genuinely curious, you’ll overlook subtle details that could help you navigate. You’ll stop seeing around corners. Worse, you’ll stop asking the right questions.
Curiosity keeps your mind flexible. It boosts brain plasticity, which is vital to adapt to a changing world. And the good news? You can train for it.
Here are five simple ways the best CEOs stay sharp:
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Take a New Route
Take a different route to work literally. Skip the usual shortcut with predictable traffic lights. Add just five minutes. Notice what’s different. Your brain will thank you. A new route wakes up your brain and helps it adapt—building new pathways, like unused muscles.
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Go Deep on a Hobby
The most interesting CEOs I know all have intellectual hobbies. And I don’t mean golf. I’m talking about activities that involve layers of learning—fantasy baseball, ultra-light backpacking, wine collecting, and art history. One CEO I read about is a serious art collector. He once walked into a museum, saw an El Greco painting, and said, “That’s a fake.” He was right, despite multiple experts certifying the piece. He just knew because he cared, studied, and remained curious.
The point isn’t art—it’s stimulation. These hobbies aren’t distractions; they’re mental playgrounds that give your brain the practice it needs to think differently. Many breakthrough innovations, from Velcro to the Post-it Note, came from minds making unexpected connections across different areas. The more varied your inputs, the more original your outputs. If you’ve spent your life in manufacturing, maybe studying ancient Incan artifacts or vintage typography can open new doors.
Stay curious outside your industry, and you’ll be sharper within it.
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Change Small Habits
Brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Walk around the block backward. Yes, you’ll feel silly. That’s the point. It forces your brain out of autopilot. Small, odd actions disrupt your usual thinking and spark creative ideas.
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Create White Space
Build time into your schedule for nothing—no calls, no meetings—just thinking. True CEOs set aside open space. When I trained for marathons, my long runs became brainstorming sessions. No distractions. Just music, pavement, and thought. The mind needs quiet time to spark big ideas. Funny enough, many CEOs play intensive video games because, while they are immersed, their brains chew on their problems.
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Read Differently
Warren Buffett once said, “Rich people have big libraries. Poor people have big TVs.” I’m not judging your screen time, but I am saying this: read often and outside your comfort zone. If you love spy thrillers, pick up a biography. If you usually read business books, try poetry or a romance novel. Change what you consume, change what you create.
A Final Thought:
If you’re feeling stuck, stagnant, or just a little too comfortable, it might be time to reignite your curiosity. A curious CEO doesn’t just adapt to the future; they shape it.
Take the long way home. Your next big idea might be waiting at the red light you usually ignore.
