Multiple discoveries are the result of chance: penicillin, jeans, Tarte Tatin, hot air ballooning, and even the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Finding something without looking for anything, or of find something different than what you were looking for are typical serendipity situations. Although this term is used a lot in the field of science, we are talking more and more about the Serendipity in business. What is its interest within organizations? How to promote the fruits of chance to innovate in business? Discover all the secrets of serendipity.
Serendipity leads to unexpected discoveries
The word serendipity is quite recent in the French language, since it has only been in the dictionary for about ten years.
It is taken from a Persian tale from the 16th century: The Three Princes of Serendip. In their adventures, three princes mix intelligence and chance to find a way out of every situation that comes their way.
The best known example of serendipity is that of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492. While his initial project was to reach India from the west, he arrived on the American continent. So he has Found something different from what he was looking for. This discovery, although it was not in line with the expected result, was very interesting.
In serendipitary discoveries, we therefore find A portion of luck. But it is always accompanied by various elements:
- Of the oddity.
- One open-mindedness.
- Of thesighting And of the acumen.
- One accumulation of knowledge allowing to reach the point of fortuitous discovery.
Contrary to some popular belief, luck is not the only factor that leads to this type of discovery. The other elements mentioned are essential.
The different forms of serendipity
Serendipity can take several different forms:
- Making a discovery when you were not trying to make one.
- Make a discovery following an accident or an unexpected event.
- To discover a use different from the one we imagined.
- Discovering one thing while looking for another.
Now that you know what serendipity is and the different forms that can be found, let's look at the usefulness it can have at the heart of businesses.
Serendipity in business
His interest in organizations
If serendipity is so interesting for businesses, it's simply becauseIt allows innovation, sometimes in a very surprising way. It is an opportunity to create new opportunities, to be open to new scenarios, in various fields.
Encourage its appearance
For serendipity to appear at the heart of your organization and for you to be able to benefit from the fruits of innovation, the company needs to implement certain elements. If, by definition, it is not predictable, the environment in which your employees work may promote its appearance.
First of all, it is in companies that have a spirit of sharing, caring and that recognize the right to make mistakes that it is most likely to develop. Les horizontal management methods (The Bottum-up for example), which give each employee the opportunity to express themselves and take part in strategic decisions, are also favorable. Organizations that set up tools that promote initiative are also the ones who are most likely to see creativity appear within their teams.
La diversity is also required for develop creativity of each one. Internally and externally, surround your employees with different profiles. Colleagues, partners, customers, suppliers: cultural, social and generational differences are a source of enrichment.
Finally, you can promote serendipity by setting up a space dedicated to creativity, innovation and intrapreneurship (the fact of entrepreneurship within one's company). You can even Define times specially dedicated to the search for discoveries in the agenda of your employees who are most interested in the development of new products.
Finally, some conditions favor chance and the phenomenon of serendipity. By acting on the state of mind of leaders, managers, and employees, it is possible to establish a climate that encourages initiative and the emergence of innovations. Accepting the project development that do not fit within the known frameworks is also essential. So that your employees are not afraid to test and create new projects, do not hesitate to set up tools that allow them to propose ideas, such asa crowdfunding platform. This offers them the opportunity to learn differently, by implementing projects that they had the idea of and that were acclaimed by their peers.
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