Having spent his career at the forefront of communications technology innovation, UK entrepreneur David Cleevely knows a thing or two about how to catalyse fresh thinking and generate new ideas.

His book Serendipity: It Doesn’t Happen by Accident makes the compelling case for human factors in research and development. He argues technology innovation is fundamentally a social endeavour and something no amount of sophisticated algorithmic engineering can automate. This, in essence, undermines any conjecture that AI will wipe out jobs, as only fresh ideas can lead to innovation. 

Digital platforms and systems are optimised to increase efficiency, which reduces the opportunity for those serendipitous encounters and conversations that lead to novel thinking. In essence, Cleevely argues, innovation is about how, where and when knowledge is shared, noticed and made meaningful in context.

Communication, trust and collaboration sit at the heart of this.  Designing for innovation therefore means designing for human connection so that ideas can be shared, synthesised and brought to life. 

Here, human sociality becomes a meta-skill. The ability to successfully navigate the complexity of our times relies on human presence, openness and interdependence.

Serendipity is an important counter to the pervasive narrative that all-digital holds all the answers to our most urgent challenges. It’s vital reading for anyone interested in developing new human-centric systems and responses to what lies ahead.