Background

Despite Faire’s impressive success connecting independent brands with local shops, their Individual Contributors were trapped in reactive work patterns.

  • ICs were drowning in tasks
  • Meetings led nowhere
  • Decisions stalled

What We Did

We interviewed dozens of employees and synthesized diverse perspectives on the problems ICs were facing to identify the root cause.

Our findings?

A culture lacking in curiosity: ICs rushed to solutions without questioning assumptions, exploring problems deeply, or challenging the status quo. They solved symptoms instead of root causes, creating a cycle of temporary fixes rather than strategic solutions.

Our approach?

Together with Faire’s leadership, we created a targeted program that placed curiosity at the center of professional development:

  • Developed a framework for “Strategic Curiosity” that taught ICs when and how to ask powerful questions
  • Built learning sessions that transformed “How do we fix this?” into “Why is this happening?” and “What if we approached this differently?”
  • Facilitated peer-to-peer Learning Circles where ICs practiced applying curiosity to real Faire challenges
  • Equipped managers with tools to encourage and reward curious thinking, creating psychological safety for exploration

Business Impact

Faire’s investment in curiosity as a cornerstone skill delivered remarkable results:

  • 95% improved their ability to identify and solve root causes rather than symptoms
  • 100% enhanced their ability to adapt communication based on deeper understanding
  • Uncovered hidden opportunities
  • Prevented wasted effort

Our pilot became a permanent program that runs every quarter with a waitlist for every cohort.

What They Said

  • Enhanced productivity

    “ I now pause to ask myself 2-4 how/what questions when facing competing priorities, which helps me decide what truly matters instead of just acting on whatever seems urgent.“

  • Better conflict resolution

    “ I’ve used the questioning framework to frame up tough conversations with stakeholders, helping them see the issue from a structured perspective and understand the root causes of our challenges.”

  • Improved customer relationships

    “ During 1:1’s and team meetings, I focus on asking how/what questions that unlock pain points with retailers that we weren’t previously addressing.”

Why This Matters

Faire’s story demonstrates that curiosity isn’t just a nice-to-have trait—it’s a business-critical skill that transforms productivity challenges into growth opportunities. In a world where 42% of employees report being drowned by “busy work” and 38% can’t get enough thinking time, curiosity is the antidote that breaks reactive cycles.

By teaching people to pause, question assumptions, and explore problems deeply, Faire didn’t just solve today’s challenges—they built the foundation for continuous innovation. Their success reveals how cultivating curiosity creates a workforce that doesn’t just execute tasks but identifies the right problems to solve in the first place—perhaps the most valuable skill in today’s AI landscape.

Faire’s experience shows that developing a curious workforce isn’t just about personal growth—it’s a strategic competitive advantage that drives better decisions, more efficient processes, and ultimately, stronger business results.

Other Curiosity Use Cases

Here’s how else Faire employees are using the curiosity framework:

  1. “Asking deeper questions for better feedback during 1:1s.”
  2. “To push our creative designers to more deeply think about the why / reasoning behind their creative decisions as they relate to creative campaign launch goals.”
  3. “When discussing new features with my PM/team, getting to the root of why we’re looking to make a given change. Especially for making sure we both have the same reasons in mind.”
  4. “Understand the core assumptions that XFN partners have about something. Also, figuring out how a topic or product fits into the broader pod/team. 3) level set why you yourself are working on what you are working on and its importance.”
  5. “To help size/frame a mooted solution before proposing it as the solution itself.”
  6. “I think that when I am trying to define a problem in my work, I could practice answering imaginary questions from someone that has zero context on the problem. It would force me to simplify and potentially partially uncover logical answers through that exercise.”
  7. “Using how/what/what if questions to clarify understanding of engineering design proposals during review. Both for the problem being solved and the solution being proposed.”
  8. “Focus on specific aspects of the project when communicating with others/asking for feedback.”
  9. “Getting a better understanding of design rationale/choices.”
  10. “Anticipating what questions other stakeholders will be asking.”