If you’re interested in research on chance, luck, and serendipity in management, we hope you'll join us at the related session at this year’s AoM Annual Meeting in Philadelphia! More information: bit.ly/AOM2026_LuckandSerendipity
What if what we call good or bad luck isn’t always as random as we think? Our research suggests there are patterns. In this new TED talk, I explore the “evil twin of serendipity”: bit.ly/TEDZemblanity
The hidden architecture of failure – understanding “zemblanity”
"Zemblanity emerges when small, seemingly unrelated vulnerabilities connect & compound, producing failures that, often in hindsight, appear both foreseeable and avoidable.."
@chrisserendip.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessrevi...
A little over a year ago, our house burned down in the LA wildfires. That experience forced me to confront zemblanity: making unhappy discoveries "by design": www.ted.com/talks/christ...
I hope it helps us all create a little more serendipity, and a little less zemblanity.
For over a decade I’ve studied serendipity: how people turn unexpected events into something positive. That work kept pointing me toward its opposite, zemblanity: the faculty of making unhappy discoveries “by design.” Here I explore why often "bad luck" isn’t purely random: bit.ly/psychologyto...
Around 20 years ago I was an intern in Mexico City, figuring things out as I went. The launch of Crea Tu Buena Suerte (LATAM edition of The Serendipity Mindset) was a wonderful excuse to return. Now available:
Mexico: bit.ly/creatubuenasuertemx
LATAM: bit.ly/Suerte_LATAM
US: bit.ly/SuerteUS
Looking forward to speaking at the @tecdemonterrey.bsky.social Innovation for Impact Summit next week! I’ll share science-based ways leaders & organizations can work with the unexpected rather than against it & will introduce the LATAM edition of The Serendipity Mindset: etrillas.mx/libro/crea-t...
Mexico City friends: on February 13 we’ll be introducing Crea tu Buena Suerte, the Latin America edition of The Serendipity Mindset, at @LibreriasGandhi.
If you’re nearby (or know someone who is), we'd be delighted to have you with us!
I’ll be in Mexico City for the official book launch in the week of February 8. If you have contacts there for media, events, educational institutions, or company engagements, I’d be delighted to connect.
The Spanish/Latin America edition of THE SERENDIPITY MINDSET is out now!
If you (or your Spanish-speaking friends) are curious about a science-based way of creating “active luck,” you can find it here: bit.ly/creatubuenas.... Shares, posts, reviews, and recommendations are very much appreciated!
Join us for the SMS conference symposium on the strategic role of chance, luck, and serendipity! A panel of inspiring thinkers and doers will explore how organizations can cultivate environments where chance encounters and unexpected connections turn into opportunities.
The book invites us to reframe how we see ourselves and the world, so we can stay composed in pivotal moments, sustain courage over time, and inspire what Ranjay calls “collective courage”. As he once put it at our Academy of Management serendipity symposium, “we should give luck a chance!"
Congratulations to Ranjay Gulati on today’s launch of *How to Be Bold*!
As Adam Grant puts it, it's "an engrossing, evidence-based, and actionable guide to acting in the face of fear": lnkd.in/gECPs7hj
Is serendipity really serendipitous? Henry Mintzberg just published a wonderfully playful reflection that grew out of our last Academy of Management session on serendipity.
A light, insightful read on how small, unplanned moments can shape organizations and careers: bit.ly/henrymintzbe...
What's the role of emotion and energy when it comes to serendipity? Great new paper by Nele Terveen in the Journal of Business Venturing Insights, well worth a read!
Well worth a read! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
How do chance, luck, and serendipity really shape strategy?
We’ll explore this question at the upcoming SMS conference in San Francisco.
We’d love for you to join, and to share with anyone else who might be curious about the topic!
Human agency embeds fragility into systems, creating misfortune by design.
Resilience depends on dismantling the patterns that make bad luck inevitable.
@chrisserendip.bsky.social
Many thanks for your kind words, @buildit.bsky.social, much appreciated!
If you are working on new research (or stories) on serendipity, please share below so we can keep the conversation going!
P.S. For those working on research related to chance and serendipity, here’s the SMJ special issue call for papers: bit.ly/smjserendipity
This paper is very close to my heart, shaped by many of these conversations. It develops a theory grounded in three elements (agency, surprise, & value) that clarifies how serendipity differs from luck & shows how individuals and organizations can create the conditions for it: bit.ly/JMSSerendipity
How do we turn the unexpected into something valuable? Over the past few years, I’ve been part of a growing community exploring this question. I’m thrilled that one outcome—a paper developing a theory of serendipity—has just received the 2024 Best Paper Award from the Journal of Management Studies!
One of the reasons I love academia: working with curious, hardworking students to prepare them for a meaningful (& lucky!) life by “cultivating serendipity.” This year’s MBA students in our USC Career Launchpad (Consulting Track) brought incredible energy, sharp thinking, and great questions.
A graphic showing how you find serendipity by Christian Busch, How to be lucky. https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-open-up-to-serendipity-and-create-your-own-luck
"You might think of serendipity as passive luck that just happens to you, when actually it’s an active process of spotting and connecting the dots."
psyche.co/guides/how-t...
Do you have a paper idea on chance, luck, or serendipity? We’re excited to invite submissions for our session at the Academy of Management 2025 Annual Meeting; deadline is tomorrow (July 15)!
Saturday, July 26, 14:00–16:00, Bella Center: Auditorium 10
Submit here: shorturl.at/P78Vj
What if the most transformative learning moments aren't planned?
A great new editorial by professor Sigrid Harendza in the GMS Journal for Medical Education explores the role of serendipity in medical education, and offers a powerful reminder for any field: journals.publisso.de/index.php/en...
“If this was the last day of my life, would I rather have dinner with the important customer or with her"? Steve Jobs' beautiful serendipity story (and our related research) featured in INC.: bit.ly/JobsSerendip....
More on our related research: bit.ly/nextbigideaclub
Delighted that Dan Wadhwani will be the next Director of USC's Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies! Dan is such a great person to carry the center forward.
If you’re interested in entrepreneurship research and practice in LA and beyond, this is your place! www.marshall.usc.edu/departments/...
Wonderful to see how much momentum the serendipity conversation is gaining at this year’s Academy of Management meeting:𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 won 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 & there are 20ish serendipity-related items on the agenda! If anyone still needs an excuse to explore this space, here it is:)
Some of my favorite moments:
- Neurodiversity as a driver of serendipity ("active luck"), and especially how people with ADHD can excel at connecting dots others might overlook.
- The reminder that small shifts matter; sometimes all it takes is asking a different question.
Life’s twists aren’t always in our control; but how we respond is.
It was a real pleasure to speak at the recent Learn-A-Thon hosted by PayPal, where we explored how "career luck" can be cultivated.
The idea isn’t to chase some forced notion of “always stay positive.” It’s about rational optimism.