Think fruitfully from inside the 'box'

What comes to mind when you hear ‘Think outside the box’.? Being creative; doing things differently; challenging the status quo?. Organizations often tell employees to think outside the box but there is often no definition of what this means in their context. To do this first;

BE CLEAR THE NATURE OF THE 'BOX' THAT EXISTS: The ‘box’ tends to be accepted longstanding ways of doing things. Some ‘boxes’ continue to serve a purpose; others are clearly outdated. Knowing the type of ‘box’ helps determine what are viable options in a given situation

STRATEGISE HOW TO GET OUTSIDE THE BOX: There are often defenders and protectors of the way things have been done. Take an approach that acknowledges any existing points of view and work out how best to pitch the options you’re proposing. Do your homework and making sure your suggestions have a sound basis and not mere opinions.

DON'T THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX FOR THE SAKE OF IT: Change for the sake of it should never be your aim. Alternatives to what exists must help to solve real problems or get the organization to a better place . Sometimes it’s more a question of widening the box rather than going outside of it.

The above said here are some suggestions on how to do some bold and fresh thinking;

CHALLENGE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS REGULARLY: Interrogate things you have taken for granted and learn to hold your assumptions lightly. Stop looking at things from only your point of view; Test run your proposals with a few people and fine tune before sharing more widely.

MAKE 'WHAT IF' AND 'SO WHAT' YOUR LENS: Be willing to experiment. Use open ended questions to explore the issue at hand. Don’t impose your direction on things. How about throwing the nucleus of the idea out there and getting others to work it up into something more interesting?.

KNOW WHAT REPRESENTS UNUSUAL THINKING: Some organizations are very traditional and happy to continue. What is normal in one place is cutting edge in another. Check the readiness of the organization or team to adopt different thinking and what that looks like for them. Explore connections between alternatives that are not immediately obvious.

EARN PEOPLE'S TRUST AND EAR: Your proposal will not fly just because it is good or you think it is. People have an unconscious aversion to change and your ideas do not necessarily have more legitimacy than people’s fears. So figure out how to calm any fears before launching out.

LOWER THE THREAT AND RISK LEVEL: Getting acceptance for an out of the box approach is one thing, achieving smooth implementation is another. Consider breaking things down. Ask yourself: What is an safest version of this unconventional action we can take now? That way you earn small victories incrementally in order to get more radical when the time is right.

Now take action: Choose a regular activity. That's an unusual way of handling it