founder of naked leader
About Boxes
Please leave your comments in the comment box at the bottom
Time to Read: Just over 2 minutes
Time to Listen : 2 mins
Scene: Innovation Session
Present: You, and others
Outcome: As many new ideas as you can
What’s the first thing to do?
Talk about, define and build…
A Box
And then each idea is either “inside” or “outside” the box
I was speaking at a junior school, and a young girl came up with a fantastic idea, I said:
“That is really thinking outside of the box.”
To which she replied:
“What box?”
Magic – pure magic
If you want to be truly, authentically imaginative, as you, as a team or a project, leave the box behind:
Because…who is to judge whether an idea is inside or outside “the box,” when everyone has unique definitions of “boxes?” And “a box” sets an immediate limitation (and a pointless one) and most important of all, it’s the stuff inside the box that I believe organisations need to be addressing – the basics…
However, what’s “in” or “out” doesn’t matter
What matters…is what matters
and what you are going to do about what matters – what, when and how
Boxes are for storage, for theatres and for having great fun.
Not for transforming your organisation, project, or life.
X
Ah…out of the mouth of babes…don’t you just love kids for saying the ‘blindingly’ honest truth, (I do). Never mind by the time they have left school fully labelled and conformist (and now thinking in a box)…the best and most intellectually able will go on to lead our organisations…oh.
Perhaps we should be looking to those who rejected the box…
Absolutely right, boxes, no boxes, cartons even, it really doesn’t matter.
Kids are great at getting to the crux of the matter.
The magic and innocence of youth can often tell a much better story and gives us food for thought.
Why do we come up with processes and sayings that are meaningless and are shown to be so by infants? Mad!
I dislike that expression thinking outside the box.
As if that being creative isn’t in a box, when actually, you can think inside it and still come up with some good ideas.
The important thing is the thinking, wherever that may be.
Recevied by email…
My favourite cartoon along these lines has a team sat around a table failing to agree on the specification for the box!
Ian
Amazing how a post can prompt such a diverse reaction!
Thank you for all of the varied comments. I have been wanting to do something about “out of the box” for awhile, and the two triggers were the school “what box” comment (which completely floored me at the time)and the discovery of that hilarious video (click on ‘having great fun’). The ultimate irony is the sure fire way to kill ideas is to restrict them in any way e.g. “I only want ideas that are out of the box.” David
All this talk of boxes, and I’m moving house!
Me last week!