...breakthroughs tend to emerge from a relatively well-defined process modeled on the basic principles that drive evolution in nature: variance generation, which creates a variety of life-forms, and selection pressure to select those that can best survive and reproduce in a given environment. The approach, called emergent discovery, is a structured and disciplined process of intellectual leaps, iterative search and experimentation, and selection.
Afeyan, N & Pisano, G. "What Evolution Can Teach us About Innovation: Lessons from the Life Sciences." Harvard Business Review. September-October 2021.