Imagine yourself at a dinner party filled with people you don’t know. As you head to the appetizer tray to get another snack, there’s someone already standing there. You have two options: one, you could make boring small talk by asking how they know the host or what they do for a living. But according to Christian Busch, this is also a moment where you could create a serendipitous event. You could ask that stranger what their biggest passion in life is, what kinds of challenges they are facing, and the answers might lead the two of you to create a personal, professional, or creative relationship.

Christian Busch is the author of the books The Serendipity Mindset and Connect the Dots: The art and science of creating good luck, which outlines the psychology behind creating your own luck by opening yourself up to new experiences. Christian is a professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and also teaches at the London School of Economics.

Christian and Greg talk about how we can all create these serendipitous moments for ourselves and how the most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs embody this desire for serendipity. Christian explains how creating luck is like a muscle we need to exercise. They also discuss real world examples of organizations embracing change and instability as a way to learn and find success.

Episode Quotes:

Do you need to work hard to get more luck?

10:48: The traditional approach to luck is either luck or hard work. Or this idea that there's a tension between, if you're a hard worker, then you created that yourself, and you were in control to do that. And then luck is the thing that happens. And you know what our research shows: no, a lot of people work extremely hard to have more luck, and that's in a way in itself then a skillset. A skill set that you're able to cultivate serendipity.

02:32: Serendipity is really about smart luck. It's about the luck we create by how we react to the unexpected end, and how we can create the positive unexpected.

Informed vs. uninformed experimentation

15:23: There's informed experimentation, where you learn from mistakes and build on it. And then there's uninformed, which is just naive, and you kind of spend money. And that's what we all want to avoid in some way or the other.

It’s not a bad thing to cultivate serendipity

07:40: The old-school leadership style tries to legitimize this illusion of control that you pretend to always be in control. You think you get power by pretending that you know everything and do everything. But the shift is essentially saying, "No, it's not bad if you cultivate serendipity."

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Faculty Profile at New York University
Faculty Profile at London School of Economics
Professional Profile on Psychology Today
Christian Busch on LInkedIn
Christian Busch on Twitter
Christian Busch on Instagram
Christian Busch on TEDxConnecticutCollege

His Work:

The Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck (US Version)
Connect the Dots: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck (UK Version)

225. Create Your Own Luck feat. Christian Busch

unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc

225. Create Your Own Luck feat. Christian Busch