Serendipity |link| -

Consider Alexander Fleming. He was looking for a way to kill bacteria. He left a petri dish of staphylococci uncovered by accident. Mold floated in. He could have thrown the "ruined" dish away. Instead, he noticed the mold was killing the bacteria. He didn't find a disinfectant (goal A); he found Penicillin (goal B). That is serendipity.

If serendipity were a person, it would be the most prolific inventor in history. Some of the most significant breakthroughs in science and technology were not the result of a straight line from A to B, but rather a jagged, unpredictable path. Serendipity

While you cannot force a "happy accident," you can increase your "serendipity surface area." Research from the Journal of Management Studies and ScienceDirect suggests several strategies: Consider Alexander Fleming

So, throw away your rigid itinerary. Walk into the wind. Talk to the stranger. Read the book you weren't assigned. And when you inevitably spill coffee on your shirt before the big meeting, don't rage. Look down. Perhaps the stain looks a little like a map. Mold floated in

: Crafters tear or cut various leftover paper pieces—sometimes including stamped designs or washi tape—and glue them randomly onto a base sheet of cardstock.