Engineering Serendipity

“Engineering serendipity is this idea that we can help people come across unexpected but helpful connections at a better than random rate….. it is based on trying to reassess this notion of serendipitous as lucky – to think of serendipitous as smart.” Ethan Zuckerman 

In his book, Cracking Complexity: The Breakthrough Formula for Solving Just About Anything Fast, David Komolos distinguishes between what is complicated and what is complex and offers a methodology for effectively addressing the complexity in our environments. The methodology is founded on creating a planning environment that brings a variety of people to the table and purposefully engineering serendipity. The richness of planning comes through the “forced collisions” between the broad and eclectic (but carefully chosen) individuals invited to the planning table.