When it comes to social change, companies need to make their own luck

I've had a lot of conversations recently about the role of luck in big social changes like the ones I've been describing in this series. Any recipe for change is certainly enhanced by a large dollop of serendipity, but it is hardly ever the sole ingredient.

Take the story of the physician John Snow, and the contribution he made to reducing cholera in 19th Century London. He was a local doctor working in Soho in the 1850s. London was then the biggest city the world had ever seen. It was a pretty unpleasant place by all accounts – cess pools in basements and cows in attics created a fetid environment. And it wasn't just the smell; the lack of hygiene resulted in low life expectancy and disease, including cholera epidemics.

Snow was a doctor but also a researcher. For years he had been trying to convince the authorities that cholera was waterborne. The received wisdom was that it was spread through the 'miasma' (bad air). So the Nuisances Act was passed, where everyone had to empty their cess pools into the river to reduce the smell. Given that everyone drank from the river, this naturally resulted in the number of incidences of cholera increasing.

So Snow bided his time to prove his theory and persuade the local authorities to focus on clean water. In August 1854 his moment came. A new outbreak started with a baby in Broad Street, near Snow's practice. Within seven days, 10% of the neighbourhood population had died (it would have been more if people had not fled the area).

Snow suspected that the cases were connected by a single water source, the Broad Street Pump. So he and the local vicar, Henry Whitehead, talked to people to find out where the victims had sourced their water. The innovation came in Snow's ghost maps – beautifully described in Steven Johnson's TED talk. Rather than list the incidents, he put them on a map so that the authorities could clearly see that the concentration of deaths around the Broad Street Pump. The local council was left in no doubt that the pump was the cause, and dramatically smashed off the handle to stop people using it. By the time of the next major cholera outbreak in 1866, people were told to boil their water, and the construction of the Victorian sewers was already well underway.

For me there are three things to take away from Snow's story. Firstly, as change agents, we need to be prepared. Snow's actions were deliberate and opportunistic. This is different from luck; it is about being ready to act when your moment comes. Toyota's Prius is a classic example. Toyota developed the technology in the 1970s, but it wasn't until the emergence of the green consumer years later that it really invested in developing and selling this car. Toyota honed its approach, so when the moment came, it capitalised. It is important to have space to experiment, like many companies do with their venture funds. That way you can respond when the market is ready.

Secondly, it is important to think collaboratively.Snow's work was just one of the things that contributed to the creation of the full closed sewerage system in London (and in fact he suffered more setbacks and scepticism once the Broad Street epidemic subsided). Sanitary reformers such as Edwin Chadwick were also campaigning to make the case for clean water and contained sewerage, and leading engineers were working hard to provide the right solutions. Stepping back, you can see that there was a whole system of change happening. Snow probably didn't see himself as part of the wider system. If he (and others) had, then perhaps they could have brought their work together to speed up the improvements in health and sanitation that they wanted to see. These days collaboration is a bit of a buzz word, but that's because it really helps solve the bigger challenges that companies face.

Thirdly, the story is another reminder of how important communication is. The ghost map was one example of a creative way to make a case. Chadwick, meanwhile, worked with Charles Dickens to tell stories of the terrible conditions. We all need to be constantly sharing our insights, telling stories and finding creative and better ways to influence.

So if you are thinking about making your business better, or creating a big change, you need to make your own luck. You need the right conditions for change – for customers to want your sustainable products, for policy to be supportive of your low-carbon agenda or whatever you are focused on. Sometimes that just happens, but more often than not you need to help create these conditions. Unless you are innovating better ways forward and constantly honing your argument, you might miss your Broad Street Pump moment.

Click here to read the original published article in Guardian Sustainable Business, 21st July 2011.