Serendipity, Error, and Exaptation

 

             Serendipity, a happy discovery, is when one can make an unusual connection of ideas to create something new. Serendipity, according to Mirvahedi and Morrish (2017), is “finding and exploring new things is, however, believed to be a result of “accident and sagacity”, rather than accident or luck alone” (para. 5). Serendipity is a micro-learning experience that leads to a groundbreaking discovery (Björneborn, 2017).

Steve Jobs, for example, was able to connect the idea between the use of iPhone and the music library. In his serendipity, Steve Jobs created a pathway for innovation. His approach was realized through the approach he was pursuing – not dividing the company’s functions into different areas and all employees to work with each other. His style of leadership led to inventions where he put his engineers have constant contact with each other that lead to serendipitous opportunities, which arise from regular interactions between employees – the engineers in this case.

Innovation can happen by accident. For example, Coca Cola was an accidental innovation. A pharmacist, John Pemberton, in the 1880s, sold syrup, which was made from a mixture of wine and coca, the “French Wine Coca". Pemberton used this mixture to cure nervous disorders and headaches. When Atlanta banned the products related to alcohol in 1885, Pemberton created a syrup by accident, which was a mix of carbonated water, which became the beverage called brain tonic (now Coca Cola).

Exaptation in innovation is “characterized as an important creation mechanism, with attributions of new functions for the entities” (De Sordi, et al 2019).  GroundProbe is an example of exaptation innovation. GroundProbe was invented as a high precision radar technology. Its initial innovation this innovation was intended to be used in locating ground pips and underground water cables. The GroundProe was used to locate similar features in the land where people were working in construction.  According to Kastelle (2010), however, GroundProe technology became useful in the mining industry to detect if mine walls are prone to collapsing to avoid exposure of miners from being around mine areas. The technology is used to provide an adequate assessment of mines where walls of the mines needed additional reinforcement to prevent them from collapsing.

Serendipity is a phenomenon of hysterical circumstance, which leads to unforeseen yet happy discovery. It enables one to unfold a personal trait or ability that benefits beyond oneself.  It starts with creativity, building on knowledge, and learning that fosters innovation. Serendipity happens by chance. A few years back I was working on an idea that helps to streamline work processes at work (two employees were responsible to receive incoming daily faxes from different organizations and were tasked with identifying and logging into a system as they sort them out in their five major categories). As I was helping them to organize their task, I discovered a way that I could automate the process – receive the faxes. I came up with ways to read content using the incoming faxes using the Machine Learning technique, and put the documents in different classes.

Error or making mistake is not failure but the beginning of, if successful, self-fulfilling endeavor. It is often unacceptable to make mistakes at both a personal and professional level. Learning from the mistake and continue to improve on the mistake can lead to accidental discoveries or innovation. Failing to reach the desired goal can be expensive at a time. However, the learning made from failure should be the goal of any person or organization.

            Exaptation is the “ability to use your existing features for novel functions” (Braganza, Awazu,  & Desouza, 2009, para. 5). Exaptation is a means of knowledge transformation, which can eventually lead to innovations. New products, workarounds of problems, and services can be the outcome of exaptation. At work, for example, I came up with ways to improve the process of organizing data for reporting purposes. Although I intended to make sure that data was mined creatively from different databases, I had not intended this new “tool” can be used also to automate report using the data.

References

Björneborn, L. (2017). Three key affordances for serendipity. Journal of Documentation, 73(5), 1053-1081.  

Braganza, A., Awazu, Y., & Desouza, K. C. (2009). Sustaining innovation is challenge for incumbents.  Research Technology Management, 52(4), 46-56.  

De Sordi, J. O., Reed, E. N., Meireles, M., Hashimoto, M., & Rigato, C. (2019). Exaptation in management: Beyond technological innovations. European Business Review, 31(1), 64-91.  

Kastelle, T. (May 7, 2010). Innovation through Exaptation. Retrieved from https://timkastelle.org/blog/2010/05/innovation-through-exaptation/

Mirvahedi, S., & Morrish, S. (2017). The role of serendipity in opportunity exploration. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 19(2), 182-200.