The Power of Serendipity and the Black Swan
Typically, a successful, innovative cluster is a community or network where people from the academic, cultural and corporate spheres come together in a fruitful combination. It should be stressed that apart from strategic planning and determined innovation management chance meetings and productive clashes also have a significant role in innovation and (service) design processes.
The key concept used in this connection is serendipity, which is interestingly discussed in Serendipity. Accidental discoveries in Science (1989) by Royston M. Roberts and in Spiritual Serendipity. Cultivating and Celebrating the Art of the Unexpected (1999) by Richard Eyre.
Serendipity means the accidental, unplanned encounter which can lead to a better-than-intended outcome. In a way, serendipity equals a lucky chance, a fruitful accident or a positive collision. Merriam-Webster Online defines serendipity in the following manner:
Main Entry: ser·en·dip·i·ty [...]
Function: noun
Etymology: from its possession by the heroes of the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip
Date: 1754
: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also : an instance of this
The definition of Merriam-Webster online dictionary refers to a Persian fairytale in which three princes of Serendip travel to far-away lands to look for a secret formula for a poem to tame the threatening dragons. On their travels, the Serendip princes encounter so many fantastic things that they almost forget the original reason for the trip.
Serendipity means a chance, unplanned meeting which may in fact lead to a better result than could have been expected. So we are dealing with a kind of lucky coincidence, a fruitful accident and a positive clash. The creative insights and processes that lead to major breakthroughs often travel and develop along a similar path. It might be interesting to note that the World Technology Network mentions happy accidents as one of their goals:
About World Technology Network
The World Technology Network is a London-headquartered organization that was created to “encourage serendipity” – happy accidents – amongst those individuals and companies deemed by their peers to be the most innovative in the technology world. WTN's areas of interest range from IT and communications to biotech, energy, materials, space, as well as related fields such as finance, marketing, policy, law, design, and ethics. Each year, WTN members are brought together through an ongoing global series of Roundtable Dinners, Chapter Meetings and other events. WTN also publishes “World Technology Intelligence”, a bi-monthly magazine about what is imminent, possible, and important in the technology world, written largely by its own members – the people driving the most significant innovations. Central events in the WTN calendar include the annual World Technology Summit and World Technology Awards – the culmination of a global judging program through which new members are nominated and selected and by which the network grows and is refreshed. (emphasis SI)
It is worth stating that concepts such as serendipity and chance are not unproblematic, nor is the discussion around them. A good question is if we can consciously manage serendipity or not. We can, at least, influence the (physical, digital, virtual) contexts and environments for the creative processes. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the writer of The Black Swan. The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2007) has also aptly said:
“This […] can be generalized to life: maximize the serendipity around you.”
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Further reading:
Eyre, R. (1999). Spiritual Serendipity. Cultivating and Celebrating the Art of the Unexpected. New York: Fireside.
Kakko, I. & Inkinen, S. (2007). Homo Creativus. Aspects of Creativity and Serendipity Management. Paper presented at XXIV IASP World Conference on Science and Technology Parks. (Barcelona, July 2007). IASP International Association of Science Parks.
Kakko, I. & Inkinen, S. (2009). Homo creativus: creativity and serendipity management in third generation science and technology parks. Science and Public Policy 36 (7), August 2009, pp. 537–548.
Roberts, Royston M. (1989). Serendipity. Accidental discoveries in Science. New York et al.: John Wiley & Sons.
Taleb, N. N. (2007). The Black Swan. The Impact of the Highly Improbable. New York: Random House.