Book Review | Connect the Dots – A cognitive text that projects the distinction between serendipity and plain, blind luck

By Rajesh Mehta

The 400 page book by Dr. Christian Busch, published by Penguin Life, is a classic and novel text that manifests life’s greatest potential, which can be achieved through chance encounters. It has the potential to be a game changer for a pool of stakeholders including entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, politicians, scientists and literally everyone on the face of this planet. It explains how the theory of serendipity is not surreal and is an intricate part of everyone’s life. An assumption on which the book is based is that everyone has a factor of luck. However, how such a factor is used and put under control is determined by the amount of groundwork laid by an individual to achieve something unexpected through unintended actions. This is very motivating and encouraging for people in these difficult times owing to the hazards put by the pandemic. When the atmosphere has turned into a constate state of negativity, this book definitely raises hopes  and brings fresh air and positivity for people to lead their lives happily.

An interesting way to gauge the book is to look at the 200 testimonies of different successful people, which the author has used to advance his reasoning. One handpicked situation from the book would be the one in which the author explains how keeping eyes open and not driving one’s mindset in a framed way helps. So, historically, there used to be a problem called angina (unusual chest pain) for which medical scientists were trying to develop a drug called sildenafil. However, when the results transpired, a problem of penile erection was a common phenomenon. A typical response by any good scientist in this situation would be to identify the problem and then work to deliver a rectified and successful solution to the existing problem. However, the scientists used this problem to solve a previous and different unrecognised problem, which was erectile dysfunction. That is how one of the most successful innovations occurred, which is Viagra. BesidesViagra, such a mindset is crystally evident through the success of Nylon, Velcro, Post-It notes, penicillin, rubber, X-Rays, microwaves, sandbox, and IKEA. Another notable example would be of Özlem Türeci, founder of BioNTech. The company that spent more than a decade working on mRNA technology, partnered with Pfizer on a $2bn project to develop vaccines for COVID-19. Little did they know,  by connecting the dots, an unexpected would be turned into an eventful positive outcome. “This book uniquely tells us, how social capital cultivated over the years can be leveraged in a meaningful way.”

 Inter alia, it is crucial for entrepreneurs in fast-changing environments to not stick with a concrete target destination. Perhaps if they, instead of predicting the future every now and then, kept track of their resources, skills, and connections, and applied them in control and adjusted key parameters, that would incentivise them heavily. For leadership, the differentiation between the old vs. new school of leadership style is relevant. Under the old school, leaders were not receptive, subordinates were not encouraged to ask questions, therefore no room and space for deliberation and advancement. However, in the current trend, leaders have started encouraging inquisitive mindset and the fear of rejection seems to have reduced drastically. For instance, the glass door theory and calling senior by first name are major breakthroughs for corporate culture. “Therefore, having a serendipity mindset can break through barriers of adversity.”

Nevertheless, if the book could be made a little more crisp and precise and a shorter version were to be shared, it would become more reader-friendly and, hence, would be a more gauging experience for all its readers. Secondly, one dimension that this text does not cover is the interrelation between serendipity and spirituality. Therefore, if one was to ponder upon how spirituality can be directly linked with the notion of chance encounters becoming stories behind any successful event in life, an interesting and detailed point of view could have been given by the goggles of the author, therefore, as it appears, it might be interesting to see if the author pens down another piece which deals with spirituality and serendipity together. Another interesting idea would be to link serendipity with the success of nations and how profound this interlinkage is, so far as, the bounds of leadership is concerned.

 Foremost, if the book could offer more on the negative side of serendipity, which is what can possibly go wrong if everything is not planned before-hand, that would result in the readers being able to compare the pros and cons of adopting such a mindset.

 Nevertheless, the timing for the launch of the book could not have been more perfect. Caught by the hazards of the COVID-19 pandemic, the book can offer a lot for people to deal with problems of mental health and how years and years of planning cannot be the only way through which success can be driven. 

To conclude, the text by Dr. Busch supports the reasoning that highly successful people, for their greatest success, do not always follow a step-by-step plan executed to perfection; rather, they focus on how, with persistence, luck can be invited or allowed to make the science of serendipity function. Therefore, it is true to say, “Serendipity cultivates a mindset that gives rise to winners.”

(The author is a leading consultant and columnist working on Market Entry, Innovation & Public Policy. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Financial Express Online.)