Latest

Thinking Outside The Box

December 1, 2021
By James Gussie

Thinking outside the box today is a key skill that contributes to creativity, innovation and productivity. The article explores how organizations might be able to benefit from fostering creative thinking in their employees

Thinking Outside The Box is a phrase that is often used in business. It’s usually used to describe an innovative idea or strategy that has been successful. Thinking outside the box can also be used as a verb meaning “to think creatively” or “to come up with ideas that are not traditionally thought of.”

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Do you ever feel that your marketing is missing in creativity? Let’s face it, it’s always simpler to follow the crowd or the leader than to come up with something unique. The wonderful thing about mavericks like Steve Jobs and Richard Branson is that they demonstrate the power of innovative thought! The issue, of course, is finding out how to access your inner creative genius. Here are a few helpful hints that will perhaps encourage you to think beyond the box.

Take a look outside of your field. I remember Troy White, a colleague and friend, telling me a tale about a lobster ranch in Maine. Rather of competing with the other lobster farms for local business, they created an unusual membership arrangement. Yes, you purchased a membership as well as a portion of your very own lobster trap. You could get reports on how your trap was doing, and you got your share of lobsters, of course. Of course, memberships aren’t new….consider time shares as a good example. The fact that this wonderful experience was integrated into a new market made it so unique.

Make services out of your goods or services out of your products. As a small company, are you restricting your services? Offering a complementary service or experience to a product, or a product to a service/experience, is a terrific approach to not only amaze your consumers but also keep them engaged. Consider Starbucks. Do you believe it’s their coffee that’s made them so popular, or do you think it’s the environment and flexibility of their product offerings? Of course, you must also consider Apple. Consider the adverts you’ve seen recently. Do they concentrate on the iPhone’s functions or on the applications that may make your life simpler, more productive, or just plain fun? A small firm may benefit from the same idea. Remember, these businesses began off little as well!

Put everything in the kitchen sink. Martha Beck’s basic yet powerful notion is one of my favorites. If you’re having trouble coming up with a creative solution to an issue, stop thinking about it. Instead, engage in a variety of activities. Read about the arts, business, and medical on this blog. Take your dog for a walk before beginning to knit that sweater. When you start focused on something else, you generally get those fantastic epiphanies.

Obtain comments from others. Someone once asked Malcolm Gladwell how he came up with his wonderful ideas, and I remember hearing him speak. He admitted that his first concepts were not very excellent. However, when we share our ideas with others and get their feedback, they become even better. The issue in business is that we are afraid to offer our ideas for fear of being inherited. Get over it and begin soliciting input to help you transform your ideas into gold.

While many of the instances or people described here are well-known or have gone on to achieve great success, that doesn’t imply you have to knock it out of the park with your creativity. But I am aware of this. Your company is unlikely to go to the next level if you stop attempting to think beyond the box. Success is defined by growth, which is defined by change, which is defined by adopting a new method. It’s time to put your thinking cap on.

Table of Contents

Watch This Video-

Thinking outside the box is a problem solving technique that involves using different perspectives to approach a problem. The “thinking outside the box” article discusses how this method has been used in business, and provides some examples of when it was successful. Reference: thinking outside the box problem solving.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does thinking outside the box means?

A: Thinking outside the box is when you look at a situation in an unusual or different way. It can be related to how someone might think creatively and innovative ideas, which would help them succeed when they are starting something new.

How do you demonstrate thinking outside the box?

A: I think outside of my box by doing everything that is not in the box.

What is an example of thinking outside the box?

A: Thinking outside the box comes in many different forms. One way to think of it is as something that you do regularly and thoughtlessly, without a lot of effort or planning. For example, when I have time between classes at school, I like to sit outside on the quad with my bookbag behind me and read for an hour or so