
*The Viagra Story!*
*Be open to accidental discoveries.*
In March 27 1998, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Viagra as a cardiovascular drug and for its ability to lower blood pressure. About 20 years down the line the drug as being used to change the sex lives of over 100 million men. HOW?
*"Originally, we were testing sildenafil, the active drug in Viagra, as a cardiovascular drug and for its ability to lower blood pressure,'' Dr. Brian Klee, senior medical director at Pfizer, told French news agency, AFP. "But one thing that was found during those trials is that people didn't want to give the medication back because of the side effect of having erections that were harder, firmer and lasted longer.''*
In science, the occurrence above is called serendipity; when scientist set out on a course but discover something else which is also very pleasant but different from what they initially set out to achieve.
Often times we are tempted to approach life like an excel sheet. We input the formulas and expect a result exactly based on the formula. Sadly life is not like that, while we may be sure of certain outcomes when we apply ourselves to some principles, we never can fully understand how or in what form results will come.
Most times when we are set on a course, our mind is so focused on a kind of result that anything contrary to what we expected leaves us disappointed. Worst still, many refuse to pay attention to
outcome of such event since it was not what they expected.
Dear friend, Imagine how much Pfizer; manufacturers of Viagra would have lost if they dismissed the report of Viagra’s ability to cause harder firmer and longer erections because that was not what they set out for. I believe life is designed to sometimes lead us to places we did not set out for or lead us in directions we did not plan for, however our success may be dependent on our ability to make the most and take advantage of such events or places.
You cannot afford to have a rigid or one way approach to life, business or career. Who says you cannot change/tweak your product line seeing that there is a market demand for it or a possibility that the market would turn in that direction.
Change management, flexibility and agility is an essential skill needed to succeed in the 21st century. Seeing that the world has changed in the last 10 years than it has in the last 100 years and will change in the next 5years than it has in the last 10 years, you cannot afford to be a rigid, “one way traffic” person, neither can your organization remain an epitome of bureaucracy and resistance to change.
Like the Pfizer scientists, we must keep our mind open in our pursuits and not only embrace or adjust to change but leverage on it to make progress.
Success sometimes is as a result of serendipity (accidental discovery of opportunities), life is not a one way traffic.
Be Sensitive…Be Flexible…Success may not even come the way you have mapped it out!
Viagra is one of over a thousand stories of serendipity including the microwave oven, super glue, gunpowder, cornflakes, etc you may even have yours
P.S. Viagra was discovered in the journey of drug discovery, Accidental discoveries that leads to success only happen to people who are on the journey of success. So don’t sit back, like Johnny Walker keep walking, you might just find your “Viagra”
Mamora Olaoluwa
Pharmlaolu@gmail.com