Strategic Opportunism and Organizational Learning

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

In his article on "Crafting Strategy," Henry Mintzberg provides a good insight to how strategies and innovative actions evolve and compliment each other in top-performing organizations: "Out in the field, a salesman visits a customer. The product isn't quite right, and together they work out some modifications. The salesman returns to his company and puts the changes through; after two or three more rounds, they finally get it right. A new product emerges, which eventually opens up a new market. The company has changed strategic course."
But in most organizations that salesman would be told to get back out and "do his job" by selling the customer the original product or some high priced add-on or support service. If he did make modifications, he'd be shot for not following the standardized process. In other cases, he'd be told to submit a Product Modification Input Solicitation form sending copies to product development, strategic planning, and three other committees to review. His regional manager would need a copy attached to his Call Report explaining where, when, who, why, and how he was spending each day of his time.
Successful strategies and innovations that evolve and cash in on unexpected problems or opportunities are part of a dynamic, organization learning process.
Experiences, expertise, ideas, market and customer shifts, feedback, input and the like shape the emerging strategies and point the way to innovation pathways.