Subway Platforms, Serendipity, and the Power of Chance Encounters
What do Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz, and Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe all have in common?
Not only are they well-respected artists, musicians, photographers, and poets, with partnerships that led to a considerable body of impactful work, but their initial introduction was through a random encounter on a subway platform.
Although the examples provided above are not the only ones in which two well-known creatives (in most cases strangers) met in an unlikely and inauspicious place, a few valuable lessons can be learned from these situations.
The Nature of Collaboration
To begin with, there are all types of collaborations. They run the gamut from forced partnerships, like the one mandated by your teacher or your boss, and then there are ones that happen by chance.
Also, there are people and organizations with whom you may co-create with only once, and there are entities that you work with for your entire career or life.
Then again there are people and organizations with whom you may collaborate on some types of projects, but not on others.
Undoubtedly there are better and worse places to seek out a potential collaborator. For example, numerous on-line spaces and platforms provide a mechanism for creators to search for partners, and many formal in person networking opportunities (e.g., professional conferences), are designed in whole or in part to facilitate collaboration.
How to Foster Serendipity That Leads to Co-Creation
That being said, we don’t need to spend more time on subway platforms, hoping that we will run into someone with whom we can have a lifetime of productive and rewarding co-creation, but we should avail ourselves of the multiple opportunities for collaboration that serendipity may bring us.
How do we enable this? I’m not suggesting that you should interact with ever single person you meet in random places.
But we should occasionally let our guards down and keep our eyes open for the chemistry we may have with another person.
We should not operate with tunnel vision, but instead be open to opportunities that these situations may present to us.
This includes:
- Follow Your Interests and Passion/s: Eventually this brings you into contact with like-minded people and organizations, increasing the chances of discovering someone with similar goals and complementary skills.
- Take Initiative: Don’t wait for others to approach you- take a risk and reach out to those who inspire or interest you.
- Nurture Relationships: Spend time building and maintaining your connections (i.e., send a quick e-mail, have coffee, meal, etc. with them), even if this interaction does not lead to anything.
- Be Open to the Unexpected: Avoid tunnel vision. Sometimes the come from people and contexts you least expect.
The lesson
Overall, the lesson is to be open, proactive, and receptive to unexpected opportunities and connections that may come our way.
Photo Credit:
Photographer: Susan Jane Golding
Times Square Shuttle
