I did not invent the term KIDULT because it sounds good. I coined it because I could not find a better description for what I observe again and again in successful people – and what is becoming more important in the age of AI than ever before.
KIDULT stands for the combination of two states we consider incompatible: the radical curiosity of the child and the experience, judgement and responsibility of the adult.
What children do better than adults
In 1968, NASA psychologist George Land ran a creativity test. The results were sobering:
- At age 5: 98 per cent of children scored in the highly creative range
- At age 10: 30 per cent
- At age 15: 12 per cent
- Adults: 2 per cent
We are not born less creative. We become less creative. Through education systems that reward answers over questions. Through career paths that place expertise above curiosity.
Creativity is not what we learn. It is what we must not unlearn.
Why this becomes a survival question in the age of AI
AI is essentially a knowledge machine. What lies beyond knowledge – questioning the problem itself, connecting seemingly unrelated things, seeing a situation as if for the first time – children can do this and we unlearn it. In organisations I see this every day. The technology is clear. The use cases are understood. What has not kept up is the culture.
What KIDULT means in practice
What KIDULT is not
KIDULT is not a call to be naive. It is the demand to be both things simultaneously: childlike curiosity plus adult competence. Not either/or, not one after the other. Simultaneously. That is the real difficulty – and the real strength.
In practice
In practice, for leaders this means: asking questions instead of signalling answers. Preserving beginner's mind. Trusting intuition. And tolerating silence – in a world where AI always answers immediately, silence is a leadership competency.
The Additive Bias: why we unlearn KIDULT
Studies show that humans – and LLMs – overwhelmingly prefer adding over removing, even when reduction is the smarter answer. KIDULT is the conscious decision to also subtract.
KIDULT is the title of my SPIEGEL bestseller – but above all it is an attitude. One I consider the most important leadership competency of the next decade. Not because it sounds good. But because everything else we call competency is becoming machine-replicable. This is not.
This topic is central to the KIDULT keynote. Enquire directly →