Many people believe that great ideas arrive in sudden flashes of inspiration—those classic "Aha!" moments. In truth, most new ideas are actually formed by combining things you already know.

Steven Johnson delves into this in his book, "Where Good Ideas Come From," drawing on the concept of the "adjacent possible," a term introduced by biologist Stuart Kauffman. “The Adjacent Possible” suggests that, at any point in time, only certain innovations are achievable within science, technology, culture, or politics (and crucially for us, within businesses). This idea helps explain why similar breakthroughs often emerge in different places at once. Instead of being random, good ideas are assembled from existing pieces, building on what already exists.

If that sounds all very fluffy, it isn’t. It’s very practical and very actionable.

Something Changed will deploy this principle as part of a basket of innovative strategic development tools.

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