Put the Box to Rest

Twenty years ago, "think outside the box” was a powerful, new thought. Sparked by the nine-dot puzzle that required the breaking of assumptions, this way of thinking asked us to break through barriers and open our minds to fresh information. It helped us avoid judgment too soon. It was a good thing.

Today, however, it has become a cliché that actually limits thinking and produces its own barrier to innovation. Rather than staying rooted in its question-assumptions, delay-judgment origins, it has become the banner cry for a mindset of anything-goes, think-wild-and-crazy, and all-ideas-are-good-ideas. A google search of the term yielded over two million hits with companies from publishing to lawyering adopting the term as their own badge of creativity.

It’s time to lovingly pack this phrase away as it is now causing more damage than good and perpetuates the confusion between creativity and innovation. Innovation, defined simply as new products, services and processes that create value, must stay anchored on that creation of value. And, value is created from a laser-like focus on the needs of customers (internal or external) linked to the strategy of the organization. Within that laser beam, it is possible to be highly creative and produce new growth and value. Outside that laser beam, it’s just popcorn. “Think outside the box,” the way the term is widely used today, invites us to forget where we are and where we’re trying to go and just generate a lot of ideas. It results in a wall of sticky notes that no one ever uses and a growing dislike, distrust and resentment about brainstorming in general.

Tom Burk rethought the cliché years ago when he developed an amazingly effective process he calls, “Brainstorming in a Small Box.” His groups spend as much time developing a powerful challenge statement that has the possibility of creating new value as they do generating new concepts. The challenge sponsor launches every session with an overview of the issue and is there at the end to “buy” one or more of the few well-developed concepts that result from the process. The sponsor is delighted; in one or two days he or she has a viable opportunity or solution to a problem. The participants are energized because they have made a real contribution to a real issue … they have pride and bragging rights that are meaningful.

So, in memoriam: Here lies one of our favorite clichés: “Think outside the box.” It helped us greatly when we needed it and it is now time for it to rest in peace.

Comments

[Mike Dresel]

Please let TOTB die. It belongs with "Work smarter, not harder" in the class of things that people say to make other people feel bad. I agree with the earlier post that nobody ever thinks outside of their boxes, but boxes can change size/shape. Remember the classic 3 x 3 dot array and the task was to draw 4 lines to connect all of the dots, only solvable if you extend lines beyond the edges of the array. Well, I thought I was 'out of the box' because I knew that, but then I learned that there is a 3 line, 1 line and a point solution to the problem. My slogan is now: Slogans don't help.

[benedict]

Hi,

I was attracted to the headline 'RIP to 'Think outside the box.' You'll be surprised to know that the philosophy of my newsletter is 'jump outside the box'.

What this implies is that 'think outside the box' has served us well so far. It's now time to get more radical and it's tough to get radical sitting in the same box. Jump out and feel the fresh air and you might come out with something unexpected, different.

Haven't we heard our teachers tell irrereverant students - 'don't try your tricks here, go to somewhere else for that'.

I'd like some comments on my submission please

benedict

[david weeks]

I use this expression for the title of a series of workshops that I run. But it's a trick! We discuss what thinking outside the box means and then I tell them that I believe it’s not possible to "think outside of our mental box'. Pack up and go home! Not quite.

Physically I stand on a sheet of flip paper explaining that the edges represent the boundaries of my mental box or space.
I place objects outside the sheet and say they are the great ideas that apply to my current challenges. But they are just beyond my boundaries so I can’t reach them. Unless I think outside this box! But I’ve just said it’s not possible (it defines the rules that are us).

My punch line is “You can’t think outside the box – but you can make it bigger! “
By making this sheet of flip paper bigger, moving the boundaries outwards will put all those ideas that were outside, inside. Now I can access them within my box – a “why didn’t I think of that before!” moment.

I explain that the paper boundaries represent many things that are stopping us reaching those distant ideas. When we are exploring the challenge the boundaries could represent that the challenge is ill defined or a false assumption has been made. By spending time exploring the challenge, redefining, assumption surfacing and smashing we move the boundaries outwards, making the box bigger and up pops those once elusive ideas.
I use this as a constant theme throughout the workshop – always endeavouring to make that box bigger.

David Weeks, Mental Athletics Programme
http://www.mental.athletics.dsl.pipex.com/map.htm

[DON the IDEA GUY]

I respectfully disagree.
Perhaps the examples you provide on why the term should be put to rest have value, but I think there is far more value to reviving it. I don't believe "Think Outside the Box" is dead so much as on life-support. Let's shock a few thousand volts to the heart of the concept and get it back on its feet again!

I use "Think Outside the Box" (TOTB) as battle cry everyday in order to remind people that if they keep doing the same thing over and over, they will continue to get the same results. TOTB isn't just about the box being your workspace or company -- it's refusing to be boxed in by your experiences, instincts, and biases.

Sure, sometimes your ideas for solutions are bound by restrictions and it makes more sense to 'think inside a small box' (per the previous comment) -- but GENERALLY, thinking inside a small box willl only provide small ideas.

The vast innovations and creative breakthroughs are made by the creative minds who not only think outside the box -- they blow the box to bits!
~DON

[Linden Gossen]

Your commentary reminded me of a quote I once read (source forgotten): "everyone problem we face was once the solution to a previous problem".

It also made me think that creativity and innovation are about diverging (generating ideas) and converging (judging and selecting). Those are two polar opposite skills and I've found only a few people who can do them both with equal skill and passion. This is why innovation teams where team member differences are not just tolerated or accepted but actually valued and sought out are so important.

[Anders Jangbrand]

Great stuff about "Think outside the box". I have never liked that expression - and now
seems like a good time to bury it. Thanks!

The expression could be interpreted as "think WHEN YOU ARE outside the box" - implying
that you don't have to think all the time. And sometimes I see the "outside the box" as
standing aside from the problem/situation and seeing from above/aside. Unengaged.
I usually say: "Think! Even inside the box." - meaning that you should/could think all the time
and in all situations - even (especially!) when you feel you are trapped (in a box).

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