The dictionary defines serendipity as "the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for".
It is amazing what can be 'found' accidently. In Georgia this week a drunk driver crashed into an apartment building and caused a gas leak. While the fire department were checking each apartment they discovered
"an indoor pot growing operation. A sweep of the apartment netted 182 plants still in pots in three separate areas of the unit. The estimated street value of the 3,121 ounces of marijuana seized is $884,892. The resident, 50-year-old Rickey Baker, was jailed on one charge of trafficking in marijuana." (Available at cbsnews.com)
Just as the police 'got lucky' in this case, other stories of market success seem to also be dependent upon luck. Post-it being a classic example (from Wikipedia)
"The original adhesive used in Post-it notes was invented in 1968 by Spence Silver, a 3M researcher. While attempting to design a strong adhesive, he instead developed an adhesive that was very weak. No immediate application was apparent, until 1974 when a colleague, Arthur Fry, conceived of using the adhesive to create bookmarks while contemplating a hymnal in his church choir. Initial prototypes were available in 1977, and by 1980–1981, after a large sampling campaign, the product had been introduced around the world."
While the development of the final product was "lucky" the 3M researchers were, and are, constantly looking for products that people will value. As someone at Koch has said "You have to be in the middle of the road to get hit by the luck truck". While we consciously seek to profitably anticipate and satisfy customers needs we shouldn't forget to, metaphorically, play in the middle of the road a little everyday.
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