Leave room for a detour.

Recently, I was in Tasmania for work. Somehow, a few of us ended up on a 72-minute walk around Hobart, with one of my colleagues playing tour guide.

Was it work-related? No.

Did it thrill me? ABSOLUTELY.

I love that sort of thing. Having someone show you around, hearing what they find interesting and seeing a place through somebody else's perspective. Especially when it wasn't on the itinerary in the first place.

I'm generally quite capable of turning a passing interest into a reading list, an excessive number of browser tabs or an unnecessarily elaborate project. A small inconvenience can become an entire system. Two Player is fairly compelling evidence of that.

But I also like following an interest without knowing where it's going, or whether anything particularly useful will come of it.

I think there's a temptation, especially professionally, to justify curiosity by what it produces. New ideas, different perspectives, better decisions. And sure, sometimes that's what happens.

Sometimes you just learn something interesting. Sometimes you spend an hour talking about something you hadn't previously given much thought, or just learning about the people you work with day in and day out.

And sometimes you get a 72-minute walking tour of Hobart.

I didn't come away with a new marketing strategy or some profound leadership revelation. I had a really good time wandering around a city with colleagues who were happy to indulge a detour.

I'm quite comfortable with that being the entire point.