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Management guru Peter Drucker talks about taking advantage of the unexpected in The Daily Drucker: 366 Days of Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done (New York: HarperBusiness, 2004).  In part he observes…

“Fifty years ago, a friend and mentor invented a system used in a big company that has become very successful….  Every manager, down to the first line supervisor, sits down every month and writes a letter with one subject �" the unexpected.  Not what went right or what went wrong, but the unexpected.  Then they have a meeting and ask, “Does this tell us something?”  The great majority of surprises don’t, but there are usually three or four that are relevant.

“And out of this, the company �" a pharmaceuticals company �" has grown from a fairly unimportant producer to one of the world’s leaders.  And it has come out of surprises, like when a physician prescribes a medication for what it was not originally developed for and has amazing results.  You have to focus on success, especially unexpected success, and run with it.”

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