THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
"We owe most of our great inventions and most of the achievements of genius to idleness
—either enforced or voluntary. The human mind prefers to be spoon-fed with the thoughts of others, but deprived of such nourishment it will, reluctantly, begin to think for itself-and such thinking, remember, is original thinking and may have valuable results."
Thinking outside the box (sometimes erroneously called "thinking out of the box" or "thinking outside the square") is to think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking.
This is sometimes called a process of lateral thought. The catchphrase, or cliché, has become widely used in business environments, especially by management consultants and executive coaches, and has spawned a number of advertising slogans. To think outside the box is to look further and to try not thinking of the obvious things, but to try thinking beyond them.
"I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains along with the imprints of coral and plants and seaweed usually found in the sea. Why the thunder lasts a longer time than which causes it and why immediately on its creation the lightning becomes visible to the eye while thunder requires time to travel. How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone and why a bird sustains itself in the air. These questions and other strange phenomena engaged my thought throughout my life."
‘Real, constructive mental power lies in the creative thought that shapes your destiny, and your hour-by-hour mental conduct produces power for change in your life. Develop a train of thought on which to ride. The nobility of your life as well as your happiness depends upon the direction in which that train of thought is going.’
ANALOGY
A simplified definition for paradigm is a habit of reasoning or a conceptual framework.
A simplified analogy is "the box" in the commonly used phrase "thinking outside the box". What is encompassed by the words "inside the box" is analogous with the current, and often unnoticed, assumptions about a situation. Creative thinking acknowledges and rejects the accepted paradigm to come up with new ideas.
‘All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.’
‘Thoughts give birth to a creative force that is neither elemental nor sideral. Thoughts create a new heaven, a new firmament, a new source of energy, from which new arts flow. When a man undertakes to create something, he establishes a new heaven, as it were and from it the work that he desires to create flows into him. For such is the immensity of man that he is greater than heaven and earth.’
TECHNIQUES FOR THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
The difficult part about challenging assumptions is identifying the assumptions. Designing a new motorcycle might mean writing down assumptions like "speed matters," "it has to run on gas" and "it needs two wheels," not because you expect to prove these wrong, but because challenging these can lead to creative possibilities. Besides, maybe the time has come for an electric three-wheeled motorcycle.
You can also get out of the box by "assuming the absurd." It is either a fun or annoying exercise, depending on how open-minded you can be. Start making absurd assumptions, then finding ways to make sense of them. An easy way to do it is by asking "what if." Time for another example.
What if my carpet cleaning business was better off with half as many customers? It seems absurd, but I work with it for a while. Hmm...less stressful. Could be more profitable if each customer was worth three times as much. How is that possible? Commercial jobs with large, easy-to-clean spaces (theaters, offices, convention halls) make more money in a day than houses, with fewer headaches. If I focused on getting those accounts, and stopped soliciting new house-cleaning accounts...hmm. That could be the most profitable way to go - not so absurd.
For more innovative ideas try to literally do your thinking out of the box. Leave the house or the office and get out into the streets. Notice how others are doing things, and ask yourself how you can apply that to your own problems. In Ecuador, salesmen get on the bus and put a product into everyone's hands. They let them hold it while they do a sales pitch, after which you have to give back "your" product or pay for it. It's very effective. Is there some way you could you use the principle in your business?
Daniel kemka is a motivational speaker and a strategic development consultant. he constantly speaks in organizations, business training programs, conferences and seminars as keynote speaker. you can book him for your next event. simply send him a mail on this site or his face book page. or preferably, you can book him on his email daniel.kemka@gmail.com. You can also follow him on twitter. HTTP.twitter.com/cutedaniel
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