Get Back in the Box!

Written by Dr. Michael Hudson

OK, everyone who is tired of being told to “think outside the box,” please raise your hands.

WOW…that is a lot of hands, but its no wonder…this shorthand phrase seems to dominate discussions of creativity, innovation, and ideas. Its used by facilitators to encourage people to reach beyond their comfort zones in brainstorming sessions, its used by leaders who want their teams to discover new ways to produce results, and its used by outside of the box thinkers to try and get people to understand their sometimes off-the-wall ideas.

But like many other phrases, it has been overused to the point where it often becomes merely a comment that is part of the script, instead of an exultation to actually think in new ways.

Today I would like to put a slightly different spin on the question of out of the box thinking by imploring everyone to get back in the box!!

My logic is straightforward and simple. Before anyone can actually escape a place where they are trapped (the box), they need to know where its boundaries lie, they need to know what it will look like when they are outside, and they need to have a clear context of the limitations that are being posed by remaining where they are at the moment.

And that, my friends, is the problem with telling people to think outside of the box…most of us don’t know what the box even looks like, so it is difficult, if not impossible, to get out of it!

The solution?

Before engaging your team in getting out of the box and thinking differently, take time to clearly define the box you are currently residing within. In other words, what is your current state?

You can begin this process by reviewing some basic questions that every business needs to answer…

What is your reason for existence…your mission, your vision, your values?
How do you currently define success…measures used to distinguish good performance from poor performance?
What limits are currently in place…real or perceived boundaries that define what will and won’t be done?
What is unique or distinctive about where you are today…specific reasons why you are better than the competition in one or more specific ways?
Where are you heading at the moment…if nothing changes, where will you be in the future?

Armed with clear responses to these questions, you can describe your current box…which is the first step that must be taken before you can get your team to think outside of the box.

So take action today…define your box and get back in it BEFORE you try to get out of it. You’ll create more powerful solutions because you are working from a common point of departure, and you’ll find a great deal of potential that lies within the current box that people were not seeing because they did not clearly understand where they were in the first place!