CRITICAL MASS SPEAKER SERIES.

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH

IN FRONT OF A LIVE AUDIENCE.

I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT.

YEAH, BABY!

[ CHEERING AND APPLAUSE ]

WE HAVE AN EXCITING SHOW PLANNED FOR YOU TONIGHT

AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING TO THE EVENT HERE

ON THE BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS AS WELL AS LISTENING TO US

ON THE STREAM ON OCTALKRADIO.NET.

TONIGHT'S THEME IS CURIOSITY AND CURIOSITY IS DEFINED

AS A QUALITY RELATED TO INQUISITIVE THINKING

SUCH AS EXPLORATION AND LEARNING EVIDENT IN OBSERVATION

IN HUMAN AND ANIMAL SPECIES.

THE LATE YOGI BERRA ONCE SAID,

"YOU CAN OBSERVE A LOT BY WATCHING."

TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO EXPLORE THE CONCEPT OF CURIOSITY

TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ROLE IT PLAYS IN ONE'S LIFE

AND PROFESSIONAL CAREER.

TO HELP ME DISCUSS THE POWER OF CURIOSITY,

WE HAVE TWO PANELISTS.

TO MY FAR LEFT, DEAN MICHAEL SOLT.

HE IS THE DEAN OF THE BUSINESS SCHOOL HERE

AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH.

GIVE HIM A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!

[ CHEERING AND APPLAUSE ]

ALSO JOINING US TONIGHT, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE HIM

AS WELL HERE IN THE AUDIENCE AND ON THE PANEL IS WILL POMERANTZ.

HE IS VICE PRESIDENT SPECIAL PROJECTS VIRGIN GALACTIC.

[ APPLAUSE ]

THIS IS OUR COLLEGE SPEAKER SERIES AND I'M HONORED

TO BE BACK ON THE CAMPUS OF CAL STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH

AND WE ARE STREAMING ON OCTALKRADIO.NET.

THE SHOW WILL BE AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST ON ITUNES

AND YOUR FAVORITE PODCASTING SOFTWARE NEXT WEEK AS WELL

AS FROM MY WEBSITE, CRITICALMASSFORBUSINESS.COM.

THIS IS A DISCUSSION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

DESIGNED TO BE INTERACTIVE BETWEEN THE PANEL AND ME

AND THE PANEL AND YOU, OUR LIVE AUDIENCE.

AS I SAID, WE HAVE A MICROPHONE HERE FOR YOUR USE.

DON'T BE SHY IF THE SPIRIT MOVES YOU, JUST GET UP AND COME

ON DOWN AND WE'LL LET YOU BE A PART OF THE LIVE SHOW AS WELL.

LET'S GET STARTED AND I WONDER IF MAYBE WE COULD ASK

IF YOU COULD BOTH TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND

AND TRY TO TIE IN THE CONCEPT OF CURIOSITY

AND HOW IT'S SERVED YOU IN YOUR CAREER.

DEAN SOLT, ARE YOU GOING TO GO FIRST?

>> SURE. WELL, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

THANK YOU, RICK, FOR INVITING US TO BE HERE.

WELL, I'VE BEEN DEAN OF THE BUSINESS SCHOOL HERE SINCE 2008

AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY BACKGROUND,

BUT BEFORE THAT I WAS A PROFESSOR

OF FINANCE FOR MANY DECADES.

FOR 17 YEARS I WAS A PROFESSOR OF FINANCE AT SAN JOSE STATE

AND FOR PART OF THAT TIME I WAS AN ASSOCIATE DEAN

AND GOING WAY BACK I WAS A LITTLE BABY BUCKEYE NUT

IN OHIO GROWING UP AND BY THE TIME I GOT

TO COLLEGE I WAS A BIG BUCKEYE NUT OR JUST MADE ME NUTTY

FOR THE BUCKEYES, I DON'T KNOW.

BUT, THROUGHOUT MY ACADEMIC CAREER, I'VE BEEN A TEACHER

AND A RESEARCHER AND I THINK THAT HAS TIED

IN WITH CURIOSITY A LOT.

THE RESEARCH PART IS TRYING TO DO SOMETHING NEW AND ORIGINAL

IN MY FIELD, WHICH IS FINANCE, THAT HADN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE.

SO, THAT TAKES A LOT OF CURIOSITY TO THINK ABOUT THAT

AND DESIGNING COURSES LIKE NEW VENTURE FINANCE

OR INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, MAKING THEM INTERESTING FOR STUDENTS.

THAT MADE ME CURIOUS ABOUT THOSE SUBJECTS TOO.

SO, CURIOSITY HAS BEEN PART OF MY PATH, I BELIEVE.

>> GIVE HIM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE

FOR BEING THE FIRST ONE TO SPEAK TONIGHT

[ APPLAUSE ]

WILL?

>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL RICK, THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON THE SHOW

AND THANKS TO DEAN SOLT FOR HOSTING US TODAY.

I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE ON CAMPUS,

PARTICULARLY DURING HOMECOMING WEEK.

IN TERMS OF MY BACKGROUND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE I MOVED

AROUND EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS WHEN I WAS A KID,

BUT I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED EXPLORATION.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE SORT OF FORCED BY CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE

TO MAKE ALL NEW FRIENDS AND LEARN NEW TYPES OF FOOD

AND EVERYTHING EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS,

SOMETIMES IT GETS A LITTLE BIT ADDICTIVE.

SO, PERSONALLY, MY LIFE'S GOAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN MAKING IT EASIER

FOR PEOPLE TO EXPLORE OUTER SPACE.

I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO SPACE PERSONALLY,

BUT I FOUND OUT WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD THAT I COULD NEVER GO

BECAUSE I HAVE THIS TERRIBLE MEDICAL AFFLICTION CALLED

NEEDING TO WEAR GLASSES.

SO, YES, I WILL ACCEPT YOUR PITY

FOR THIS HORRIBLE AND RARE AFFLICTION.

RIGHT? TOTALLY DISABLED BY THIS, IT'S AMAZING.

BUT, THAT DETERRED ME FOR A LITTLE WHILE,

BUT ONCE I REALIZED OUTER SPACE--

SPACE EXPLORATION WAS ACTUALLY AN INDUSTRY

THAT HAD REAL JOBS I GOT HOOKED INTO IT

AND GOT MY ACADEMIC DEGREE IN EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES.

I SPENT A COUPLE YEARS STUDYING THE GEOLOGY OF OTHER PLANETS.

PEOPLE USED TO PAY ME TO SIT AROUND AND LOOK

AT PRETTY PICTURES OF MARS AND THINK DEEP THOUGHTS,

WHICH WAS SPECTACULAR BUT ALSO A LITTLE BIT FRUSTRATING

BECAUSE AS A CURIOUS PERSON, I FOUND IT VERY UNSETTLING THAT IN

THAT FIELD WHEN YOU STUDY ANOTHER PLANET

AND YOU'RE A SCIENTIST AND ALL YOU WANT IS DATA,

IN THAT FIELD YOU'RE VERY FORTUNATE

IF YOU GET A NEW DATA SET ONCE PER DECADE.

AND YOU'RE ALWAYS SORT OF ONE BAD DAY AWAY

FROM SKIPPING A DECADE AND THAT WAS NOT THE PACE OF THINGS

THAT I WAS WELL ACCUSTOMED TO.

SO, I DECIDED TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND THEN

THROUGH VARIOUS TWISTS AND TURNS

IN MY CAREER REALLY DEDICATE MYSELF

TO LETTING THERE BE MORE DATA SETS, ALLOWING MORE PEOPLE

FROM MORE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BACKGROUNDS, MORE UNIVERSITIES,

MORE PRIVATE COMPANIES, MORE INDIVIDUALS TO ASK NEW QUESTIONS

ABOUT SPACE AND THEN GO

OUT THERE WHETHER IT'S GOING THEMSELVES OR SENDING SATELLITES

AND GO GET ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS.

>> GIVE HIM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE PLEASE.

WILL POMERANTZ.

[ APPLAUSE ]

AS WE BEGAN TO PUT THE SHOW CONCEPT TOGETHER,

DOING SOME BACKGROUND, IF YOU HAVEN'T GOOGLED THIS GENTLEMEN,

I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO IT.

NOT NOW. NOT ON OUR SMARTPHONES.

PUT THOSE DOWN.

HOLD ON. BUT, LATER THIS EVENING OR SOMETIME

IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE.

AND AS I HEARD HIM SPEAK AND READ ABOUT HIM,

THE IDEA OF CURIOSITY KIND OF CAME TO US AS TO FOLLOW

INTO THE PROFESSION-- HOW MANY OF US GO OUT AND LOOK

UP AT THE STARS AT NIGHT ON OCCASION?

ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE DO THAT?

IS THAT NOT AN AMAZING SIGHT?

IS THAT NOT AN AMAZING SIGHT?!

THANK YOU.

AMEN, BROTHER.

LET'S MAKE THIS WORK, ALRIGHT?

JUST WONDERING WHAT IS THERE AND--

WHICH GOT US THINKING ABOUT, WELL, WHAT IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING

AS VAST AND AS POTENTIALLY INTERESTING AS SPACE?

WHAT IF IT'S SOMETHING LIKE YOUR CAREER OR YOUR JOB?

HOW DO YOU BRING THAT SAME SENSE OF WONDER AND IS THAT IMPORTANT

TO BRING THAT SENSE OF WONDER INTO YOUR LIFE, INTO YOUR JOB?

ARE THERE ADVANTAGES TO THAT?

AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS TONIGHT.

NOT TO GET TOO HEAVY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE FUN,

BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION.

SO, LET'S START BY ASKING WILL, IF YOU'LL GO FIRST,

WHAT'S YOUR DEFINITION OF CURIOSITY?

>> WELL, THESE DAYS I HAVE A DIFFERENT ONE.

MY WIFE WORKS FOR NASA AT THE JET PROPULSION LAB

AND SHE'S A MISSION LEAD FOR A ROBOTIC MISSION EXPLORING MARS

THAT IS CALLED CURIOSITY.

SO, CURIOSITY, IN ADDITION TO OTHER THINGS,

MEANS HALF OF THE INCOME IN OUR FAMILY, WHICH IS PRETTY NICE.

[ CHEERING ]

BUT, MORE GENERALLY, I WOULD SAY CURIOSITY MEANS JUST CONSTANTLY

ASKING QUESTIONS AND ACTUALLY CARING

ABOUT THE ANSWER TO THOSE QUESTIONS.

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS

BECAUSE IT'S A WAY TO FILL THE TIME

AND MAKE CONVERSATIONS LESS AWKWARD AND I GUESS THAT'S FINE,

BUT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE WHO ASK QUESTIONS AND THEN WILL GO

AND GO BACK TO THEIR COMPUTER

AND SPEND 20 HOURS RESEARCHING THE DAMN THING JUST

BECAUSE THEY GOT THE BUG IN THEIR BRAIN THAT HEY,

THERE'S SOMETHING INTERESTING OUT THERE

AND I WANT TO GO FIGURE IT OUT.

>> DEAN SOLT?

>> WELL, I THINK CURIOSITY IS WANTING KNOWLEDGE,

NEEDING EXPLANATION, SEEKING ANSWERS.

I THINK IT'S THE INBRED-- INBORN INTEGRAL PART OF HUMAN NATURE

THAT SORT OF BRINGS TOGETHER OUR PSYCHE

AND THE REAL WORLD AROUND US.

TO ME, IT'S THE LINK BETWEEN OUR MENTAL STATES

AND THE REAL WORLD.

SO, A LOT OF WAYS, SEEMS TO ME

THAT CURIOSITY IS AN ACTION WORD.

LITTLE QUOTE FROM WALT DISNEY.

HE SAID, "WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD, OPENING NEW DOORS

AND DOING NEW THINGS BECAUSE WE'RE CURIOUS

AND CURIOSITY KEEPS LEADING US DOWN THE ROAD."

SO, I THINK IT TRULY IS AN ACTION WORD.

>> THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT. I WOULD LIKE YOU

TO GIVE THEM BOTH A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AGAIN.

I'M SORRY, BUT WE'RE GOING TO JUST KEEP YOU MOVING.

I KNOW IT'S SIX O'CLOCK, SIX SOMETHING HERE IN THE EVENING.

HOPEFULLY YOU GOT A LITTLE BIT OF FOOD

IF YOU'RE IN THE LIVE AUDIENCE.

IF YOU'RE LISTENING TO US ON THE STREAM, YOU COULD BE WALKING

AROUND YOUR HOUSE DOING WHATEVER IS THE RIGHT THINK

FOR YOU TO DO RIGHT NOW.

MAYBE EVEN HAVING A DRINK.

BUT THAT'S FINE WITH US; WE DON'T MIND AS LONG

AS YOU'RE LISTENING AND PARTICIPATING.

WHAT DO YOU GENTLEMEN THINK--

OR HOW DO YOU THINK CURIOSITY IS IMPORTANT IN A CAREER?

HOW DO YOU THINK IT SHOWS UP IN SOMEONE'S CAREER?

DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ABOUT SPACE.

MAYBE SOME OF YOU ARE GOING TO PROCEED IN THAT VEIN

AND THAT INDUSTRY, BUT, OVERALL,

HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION?

>> I-- IT COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE MORE IMPORTANT.

IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE ABSOLUTELY LOOKING

FOR FROM THE MOMENT YOU FIRST APPLY FOR A JOB

AT OUR COMPANY AND, BY THE WAY, WE'RE HIRING, SO I HOPE MANY

OF YOU WILL APPLY FOR A JOB AT OUR COMPANY.

BUT, EVEN ONCE YOU MAKE IT IN THROUGH THE DOORS, IT IS A THING

THAT WE REQUIRE OF YOU EVERY DAY AND NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS ALSO.

YOU KNOW, THE CURIOUS EMPLOYEES ARE THE ONES

WHO DON'T ONLY DO WHAT THEIR MANAGER DIRECTS THEM TO DO.

AND THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS

THAT NO MATTER HOW AMAZINGLY VIRTUOSIC YOUR CEO IS

AND NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR MIDDLE LINE MANAGERS ARE,

YOUR MANAGER WILL NEVER TELL YOU EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED TO DO.

IF HE OR SHE DOES, THEN THERE'S PROBABLY--

YOU HAVEN'T FOUND THE RIGHT COMPANY JUST YET.

I WORK AT A COMPANY WHERE WE'RE ENCOURAGED--

OF COURSE WE HAVE TO DO OUR WORK, BUT WE'RE ENCOURAGED

TO ASK OTHER QUESTIONS TO FIND NEW WAYS OF DOING THINGS

TO MAYBE EVEN SUGGEST ENTIRELY NEW THINGS

THAT PERHAPS WE SHOULD BE DOING.

IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT, WE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN

AS A COMPANY.

I MEAN FOR GOODNESS SAKES WE'RE A COMPANY THAT'S TRYING

TO BE THE WORLD'S FIRST COMMERCIAL SPACE LINE.

WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT SO THAT ANYONE ON THE PLANET CAN GO

TO SPACE SO THAT EVERYONE ON THE PLANET CAN BUILD A SATELLITE

OR SOME KIND OF RESEARCH EXPERIMENT, SEND THAT TO SPACE.

YOU DON'T EVEN START A BUSINESS THAT ON THE SURFACE

OF IT SOUNDS KIND OF CRAZY UNLESS YOU'RE CURIOUS

ABOUT WELL, WHAT THE HECK WOULD HAPPEN IF WE JUST--

IF WE JUST ANNOUNCE THIS THING,

WOULD ANYONE BE INTERESTED IN BUYING IT?

SO, YEAH. AND, AGAIN, THAT IS CERTAINLY NOT LIMITED

TO AEROSPACE.

ALL YOU SAY THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF HIRING BECAUSE I'M HERE

AT A UNIVERSITY AND I SUSPECT MAYBE SOME OF YOU ARE LOOKING

FOR INTERNSHIPS OR JOBS.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU-- WE COME IN,

WE'RE GOING TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS ABOUT--

NOT JUST ABOUT YOUR GRADES OR WHAT YOU'VE DONE

AT MAYBE PAST SUMMER INTERNSHIPS OR FOR A PROFESSOR

THAT YOU WORK FOR, I'M GOING

TO ASK WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME.

I'M GOING TO ASK WHAT YOUR HOBBIES ARE

AND WHAT I WANT THE ANSWER TO BE IS WELL I WAS LOOKING

FOR THIS CLUB AND CAL STATE LONG BEACH DIDN'T HAVE THE CLUB