Such a popular phrase….
Certainly you have heard and said this phrase, “you need to think outside of the box”. This is a common euphemism for mistakes business owners and developers make everyday. Typically thought of as a narrow focus and lack of targeting that can result in many missed opportunities!
Often, the origin of not thinking outside of the box begins in our families. We may have been discouraged to have relationships with other cultures, neighbors, schools, where to shop, what sports to engage in, the religions to participate with even the selection of a pet! Once we are biased and branded our brains default and stay the course. As we move into our careers that default stays in place.
I learned about this issue very early in my business. My business is dedicated to eldercare and healthcare education. One of the business divisions encourages businesses in the field of aging to meet and become active in our monthly networking meetings. Over time, I became increasingly encouraged as the group grew and became more diverse with of services, programs and products, however they were specifically in the field of aging. I noticed we were lacking representation from supportive businesses each of us needed like web design, accounting, marketing, printing, promotional products to name a few.
I have heard many times over the years, “I’m not in the field of aging, so that group isn’t for me”. My immediate response is “you don’t want to be in a room full of business owners?” I have also emphasized the diversity and size of the organization and how most of my personal and professional needs have been fulfilled from my organization (that is designed to support professionals in the field of aging). After 23 years, I continue to encourage people to think outside of the box.
The closed world principal
Another way to look at this inside the box phenomenon is to understand certain principals. The closed world principal forces a person to only use existing resources. It is exactly opposite of thinking outside of the box. Thinking outside of the box is believing there are no constraints and anything is possible.
The reality is that we do have constraints, however if we dig in we often realize we possess creativity and resources we didn’t know we had. As a counselor and coach, I have commonly witnessed this play out with my clients. When a person perceives and believes they can change and/or accomplish their goal, they do. For those who only see the constraint and the obstacles, change is very difficult.
Thinking outside of the box is also about narrowing our focus to something that is untapped by our competition. A business owner who is focused on thinking outside of the box can think so broadly and creatively that opportunities are missed. Thinking outside of the box is also about finding a very small widget/niche that meets the needs of a very specific issue/problem. Finding a solution to an issue that noone else has because their focus is too broad. Being creative and thinking outside of the box can be about narrowing focus. Being more specific can also result in how people perceive you. “She, is so creative!”
As you are starting to design your next strategy, ask yourself, “how can I make this more specific?”, “what can I add to an existing process to improve it?”, “how is what I do, different from what my competitors are doing?”, “how can I reduce my focus to one element and refine it so it saves time, money and effort?” Thinking outside of the box can look very different to everyone.
When you are faced with an employee who is constricting their focus, introduce these concepts and don’t solve their problems. Encourage them to expand their mental bandwidth until it’s specific and creative enough you can implement it into the business.
In Conclusion
Thinking outside of the box requires creativity and reduction of constraints. Challenge yourself throughout the day no matter what the circumstances may be. If you are in the grocery store buying the same food you always do, think what you might try and pay attention to how your thinking responds to that. Do you feel internally resistant to new and changed ideas? If you want to explore this and expand your ability to think more creatively, call me for a free 15 minute coaching session @ 440-212-4987.