While serendipity—finding something of value when you aren’t looking for it—might seem like pure luck, it’s actually a repeatable process that can drive breakthrough innovation. By helping your team learn to spot and leverage the unexpected, you can open doors to new opportunities. Here’s how.
Encourage openness to surprises. Opportunities often hide in anomalies. Build habits that help your team notice the unexpected. Ask them to regularly share surprising customer feedback or odd operational patterns. Over time, this makes your organization more attuned to hidden opportunities. People are more likely to see anomalies when they know they’re expected to report them.
Foster cross-disciplinary interactions. Innovation thrives when diverse perspectives collide. Create spaces and routines that encourage casual, cross-team interactions. In hybrid environments, this requires extra effort, so invite employees to attend other teams’ meetings or participate in cross-functional projects. Don’t overlook external networks—encourage participation in industry events and maintain strong alumni connections.
Make experimentation part of your culture. Breakthroughs often begin with small, failed experiments. Empower employees to test ideas in low-risk ways, and view any failures as learning opportunities. Back this with strong executive support—without it, experimentation won’t gain traction. Remember, even a failed test might reveal your next big idea. |
