Why Is There So Little Outside The Box Thinking?

We often hear someone use the expression, outside the box, but are we ever really sure what they actually mean? For many, referring to outside the box is simply a technique they employ to make others believe that there is something special or unique about their idea or suggestion. However, if outside the box was so readily and easily obtained, so easily understood, or so obvious, then perhaps it is not so outside the box, at all. In order to qualify, one must sit back, relax, forget much, if not all of the conventional points of view, and simply look at discovering and finding a solution that meets a need. But, it also requires, taking a broader view at that very need, and understanding that short term fixes are rarely effective in the long run, and that expedience is often not a good enough reason to do something in some specific way.

1. Very often, especially as it relates to leadership scenarios, someone refers to themselves as being receptive to outside the box solutions, yet we rarely witness that type of process. Perhaps the reason is that it sounds good to say it, and it often makes one feel good about himself to believe it, but in order to actually be an effective alternative thinker, he must forget about the conventional or ways things have always been done, and rather mely truly think. True leaders understand that there is a need to continuously evolve his organization. Historically, organizations that failed to think ahead, and thus did not evolve, eventually faced crises, generally stemming from losing their relevancy. Any organization that loses relevance eventually faces issues related to sustainability. In order to truly be an alternative thinker, a group must embrace a strategic planning process.

2. Strategic planning must be more than a rhetorical exercise, but a serious process of introspection, needs analysis, a vibrant and vital vision, embracing an organization's mission, while still attempting to evolve it and make it more relevant. The strongest groups are invariably those who have leadership that are not satisfied with the status quo, who never make excuses, and whose goal is to make their organization the best that it can be. This only happens through analysis, insight and much effort, combined with persistence and perseverance.

When leaders truly think outside the box, their groups generally become the strongest and most sustainable. The reason we so rarely witness this process used is that it requires wit, wisdom, effort, commitment, inner strength, understanding of the short and long term needs, and the willingness to do the right, rather than expedient thing!