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FAQ
Questions and answers.
The short answers to the questions technology leaders ask us most, before they ask for an invitation. If yours isn't here, ask it in your request and a person will answer.
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Who can join The Curious Mindset?
Technology leaders. You lead technology, or the people who do, in an organisation of any size or sector. Every request is vetted by a person, and two rules decide who gets in: you must be a technology leader, and you must not be in it to sell, recruit, network for business or perform. If that isn't you, this isn't the room for you.
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Is membership free?
Yes. There is no membership fee for the sessions, the dinners, the events or the books we post to members afterwards. There are no tiers and nothing to upgrade to. Membership costs an hour every fortnight and nothing else. The community is underwritten by its founder rather than by sponsors or vendors, which is why nobody in the room is paying to be in front of you.
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Is The Curious Mindset invitation-only?
Yes. You request an invitation and we read every request personally. If it looks like a fit Angelique gets in touch, sometimes with a quick call. Membership is not guaranteed and we do turn people down. Members can also put forward a technology leader they know, and those requests are read first.
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What happens in a typical session?
A 60 minute virtual session every fortnight, usually a Friday from 1pm to 2pm UK time. A guest, a conversation led by our host Andy McMenemy and a Q&A led by our co-host Steve Maxwell in which the room asks what it needs to. Guests range from athletes, adventurers and military leaders to founders, authors and leadership experts and every so often a technology leader. Around the sessions sit a monthly dinner for twelve and quarterly live events, both in person, plus Curious Conversations, the book club and personal development sessions in between.
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What leadership roles is the community designed for?
The technology leadership team, whatever it is called where you work: Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Data and AI Officer, IT Director, Head of IT, Head of Technology, and the leaders under them running infrastructure, operations, service delivery, end user computing, cloud, networks, procurement and vendor management. The title matters less than the test. You lead technology, or the people who do.
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Are sessions confidential?
Yes. The room runs under Chatham House rules and goes further: nothing a member says is recorded, quoted or attributed anywhere, in any content, on any platform. Our insight pages carry what the guest brought to the room and never what members said. Anyone who breaks the rule is removed.
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What is the difference between The Curious Mindset and other CIO or CTO communities?
Three things. It is closed and vetted, so the room is technology leaders only and nobody is there to sell. It is free with no tiers, because it is underwritten by its founder rather than by sponsors, vendors or fees. And its centre of gravity is reflection with a practical edge rather than networking: a support group, not a stage. We wrote a guide to choosing a technology leadership community that sets out nine questions to ask and answers them for us honestly, including what we don't offer.
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How can a technology leader request an invitation?
Through the request form on this site. It asks who you are, what you're carrying and which upcoming session you would like a seat at. It takes a few minutes. Within a week someone from the team reads your request and looks you up. If it looks like a fit, Angelique will be in touch, sometimes with a quick call and sometimes straight to your held seat. If we can't fit you in this season we say so plainly and tell you when the next door opens.
Be your best self.
Invitation only, free and a person at every step. If you lead technology and you'd rather not do it alone, ask to join.
Request an invitation