I've been there. You've been there. There are people there right now. The always hyped, sometimes glamorous workshop designed to create breakthrough ideas to solve an important business problem. A room full of flip-charts, Post-It notes, markers, and whiteboards. A witty facilitator kicks off the meeting with a few logistics for the day, and then turns it over to the sponsor who uses a variety of business cliches to rouse the participants into a frenzied froth of innovative energy.
"Today more than ever, we are at a critical juncture in the life of our company. We need to become a leading provider of {your product or service here}. Our competition..blah, blah, blah....The future of our existence hangs in the balance. We need to have a paradigm shift, use best practices, and grab the low-hanging fruit...Let's gain some synergy, maximize our leverage and, at the end of the day, be innovative to push the envelope for seamless integration across the enterprise. Going forward, think win-win. Focus on the 80% we can impact...." (create your own cliched speech)
Then comes the dreaded phrase, "Let's all think outside the box". Blank stares.
The problem with "thinking outside the box" is that everyone has a box and each person has a box for a reason. Each individual's box is the cumulative effect of experiences over a lifetime. It is individual perspective. It is the lens through which each person views life, work and the world. Thinking outside the box is an extremely difficult, daunting, and painful task for most people.
So, what do you do? Instead of thinking outside the box, work to "make boxes bigger".
How do you make a box bigger? In the long-term, it is straightforward...more and varied experiences. From reading different types of books to work assignments in different cultures to employee swaps among strategic partners, the more varied your experiences, the bigger your box will become. Be a student of the world, soak in the unusual, stimulate your curiosity, and search for new ideas off the beaten path.
In the near-term (e.g. for a workshop or meeting) it is more difficult, but not impossible to expand boxes. First, you will need to redirect minds away from solving the presenting problem and towards observing the world around them. Staring at the problem too long will blind people to creative alternatives. Next, get people to "overlap" their boxes through collective interaction and building on ideas. Collective action and building on ideas creates a much larger footprint for alternatives. The best answer is rarely a new idea created from scratch. More often, it is maturity of an idea that has been built upon by many people and made relevant in ways that are truly valued by those we serve.
How big is your box? What are 3 things you can do today to start making your box bigger? What can you do to help others make their box bigger?
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