Cleverness vs. randomness…

Most of what we learn in business books or articles are forms of cleverness — better processes, techniques, etc. — for managing factors under our control.

However, much of our success in business is due to randomness — factors that we can’t predict or influence. Sometimes for the worse: a client gets fired, a company changes ownership, budgets are cut. And sometimes for the better: a conversation with a stranger on a plane becomes a work opportunity. A contact you haven’t spoken to in five years unexpectedly puts you forward for a project.

To close out 2019 then, I’d like to share the most powerful concept I learned this year, from a mentor who introduced me to Jason Robert’s idea of “Luck surface area” — effectively, to embrace randomness and try to maximize the likelihood of serendipitous outcomes.  

How do we do this? As we go into 2020 here's a few simple ways to expand your luck surface area:

- Be more vocal about what you do and are passionate about
- Meet and introduce more people
- Pay it forward
- Listen more intently to what others say
- Tinker and experiment more
- Read stuff that is totally unrelated to your field (you’ll find new ideas there)

I wish you all a fulfilling and prosperous 2020!

See this post on LinkedIn