How to get lucky

How do you land the ultimate scoop? Many a journalist would love the recipe for that, and these 50 strategies for increasing luck, devised by Tom Peters, might just get you there.

For one, it's a reminder to all journalists not to end up talking to the same heads all the time, but rather cast their nets wider – and applicable to most other lines of business as well. In fact, these strategies were intended for management and entrepreneurs, but they sure put a smile on my face - and improving luck wouldn't hurt anyone, especially not those hungry for the scoop of their lives. As Peters' said: "Innovation is a low-odds business – and luck sure helps."

Each will probably have his or her favourites among the 50, depending on their background. And I do realise that I'm quite enamoured by most of these ideas because I'm a bit of change-addict, I'm sometimes taken in by things just because they are new and innovative, whereas someone with a different disposition might find all of these notions rather ludicrous (too bad for them, 'cause change is what creates innovation and an integral part of life). My favourites:

#31 Spend 50 per cent of your time with 'outsiders'. Distribution and vendors will give you more ideas in five minutes than another five-hour committee meeting.

#48  Nurture peripheral vision. The interesting “stuff” usually is going on beyond the margins of the professional’s ever-narrowing line of sight.

#50 Avoid moderation in all things. "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess," according to Edwin Land, Polaroid's founder.

However, perspectives do change. When I was 20 I certainly was a big subscriber to the latter slogan, but now, fast approaching 30, I'm not quite as convinced of its wisdom anymore, though it still appeals to me.

Link via Brand Autopsy