This month, I had the pleasure of welcoming Rodney Adkins back to Georgia Tech for our latest installment of Conversations With Cabrera. A Georgia Tech alumnus, Rod is a longtime IBM executive and board member of multiple Fortune 500 companies. He is also the author of Curiosity Redefines the Limits, a thoughtful reflection on how curiosity can become a powerful driver of leadership and growth.
Rod’s connection to Georgia Tech runs deep. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Tech, received an honorary doctorate in 2013, and was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Fame in 2024. As a student, he helped charter the Lambda Delta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi — an organization that continues to serve and lead on our campus more than 45 years later. His legacy is a reminder that leadership is not just about achieving personal success, but also about building communities and creating opportunities that endure.
From the Conversation
A central theme of our conversation was curiosity as a discipline. Rod describes curiosity as a competitive advantage grounded in three simple but powerful practices: constantly exploring new ideas, adapting to the unknown, and productively challenging the status quo. From his earliest days to his leadership at IBM, curiosity shaped how he approached problems, navigated change, and led at scale.
Message to Students
Rod also shared practical advice for students. He began his career at IBM as a junior engineer and went on to lead a portfolio responsible for tens of billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of patents, including work that helped lay the foundation for IBM Watson, a groundbreaking AI system that famously defeated human champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter on Jeopardy! in 2011. He had a message for students who wanted to know how to navigate a career at an global innovation company like IBM: Technical skills matter, and they matter even more today. He emphasized the importance of developing skills early in your career and then continuing to expand and explore these skills throughout your career.
One of the things I talk about is a notion I call the curiosity advantage. I tell everyone to exercise curiosity, and this has three components. It is about constantly exploring new ideas, always digging for deeper knowledge. The second component is adapting to the unknown — and even unknown information — because you do learn quite a bit when you deal with new places, new people, and new experiences. And the third component is productively challenging the status quo. Processes change, methods change, approaches change, and although things may continue to work well, with modernization, there is typically a better way to do something. So, I encourage you to exercise your curiosity.
The Impact of AI
We also discussed the current moment in artificial intelligence. Having worked on some of the early foundations of AI at IBM, Rod sees today’s advances as both an extraordinary opportunity and a real responsibility. AI, he noted, will fundamentally reshape productivity and efficiency while also introducing new risks. In his recent Forbes article, he explores the next frontier of quantum AI and its potential to unlock entirely new levels of problem-solving. He described quantum AI as the next evolution of this technology, combining the power of quantum computing with AI’s learning capabilities to solve complex problems and unlock new opportunities beyond what today’s systems can do. Even as technology evolves, he reminded us that distinctly human qualities — judgment, relationships, and curiosity — will remain essential.
Lift Others While You Are Rising
Lift others while you are rising, not when you arrive. If you follow my pattern, every time I move along the way, I made sure that I could pull as many people as possible for the ride.
Rod closed with a message that reflects who he is and what he stands for: Lifting others while you are rising, not after you arrive. It is a simple idea, but it’s one that captures the spirit of leadership we strive to cultivate at Georgia Tech — progress that is shared and success that brings others along.
Curiosity Redefines the Limits
Check out Rod’s book Curiosity Redefines the Limits.
It is a blueprint for turning curiosity into a competitive advantage. Part memoir and part leadership guide, Rod reveals how a “curiosity advantage” can unlock opportunities for career development, leadership, and personal growth in a world of continuous innovation. Through real-world insights and personal experience, he shares defining moments and operating principles that shaped his journey. If you have ever wondered how to navigate success, from establishing good habits to taking smart risks, this is the read for you.