There is an old television commercial that sums up the innovation process in its most basic form; it goes something like this:

- a man is walking down a city block eating from a jar of peanut butter
- a woman is walking kitty-corner down the same block eating a chocolate bar
- they collide and exclaim in turn: "you put chocolate in my peanut butter!" and "you put peanut butter on my chocolate!"
- and with that, the venerable Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup™ was born*

Many an organization have been trying to “formulize” the innovation process; which is fine at the execution level because by that point we usually know what we are doing and what we are going after. But at the fuzzy front-end, where value inception occurs, the only formula that has proven to obtain is that of serendipity – which can’t be created; it can only occur. For those concerned with the philosophical aspect of creativity, it could be argued that nothing is really new; only a re-org of certain knowns or existing things that have been put together in a new way – a re-shuffling to fit a new order; whether product or service.

In any case, how do we do that in a financially-profitable manner on a consistent basis? The answer from my humble point of view is in encouraging serendipity. According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of serendipity is “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; an instance of this”.

Providing stakeholders and constituents with an environment that helps foster organic conversations and that leverages the products of their associated serendipity is a highly desirable model to engender winning innovation outcomes.

But we see it going far beyond this in value, especially at the idea generation and idea development stage. The Eureka moments that accentuate the genesis of a good idea rarely embody the entire execution; in fact, it is the exception that proves the rule. Most ideas come to life from one individual as a kernel and then get shaped, augmented and matured with the help of others. The diversity that other participants bring to this alchemy is the secret ingredient – experiences, expertise and different perspectives (be they, social, professional, cultural – or all) are the “differentiators that make an idea unique! These steps are the necessary elements that convert an inert idea into an actionable innovation.

Open Innovation affords a new management approach that not only takes advantage of diversity, perspective, experience and expertise to create value; it can also leverage participants from far and wide to deliver it; so that accidental discoveries of serendipity can evolve from idea to innovation and power your next big market success.

*Reese’s® and Peanut Butter Cup™ are property of The Hershey Company