by John Brooker | Mar 28, 2016 | Collaborate, Develop Opportunities, Facilitate meetings, Innovate, Overcome Challenges, Tools
“Before thinking outside the box, perhaps you might make the box bigger.” John Brooker Understanding and widening the boundaries of a situation can help you to create more options and potentially, better solutions… When I am facilitating workshops, I ask people what they want me to do to make the workshop outstanding. Someone will usually say, “Help us think outside the box”, i.e. facilitate the team to be more creative. While “thinking outside the box” is a valid request, I like to respond, “Before you think outside the box, how might you make the make the box bigger?” This question usually produces puzzled looks and no wonder, as “think outside the box” derives from the old nine dot puzzle of how to connect all nine dots with a single unbroken line. No matter how big you make that box, you are still going to have to go outside the box to obtain a result. To avoid confusion, let me explain that in my response, I mix box metaphors. My metaphorical box has six sides. It is a constricted thinking space people create in their mind because they: Apply “rules” that may not apply for this new situation, e.g., “HQ pay for training.” Make assumptions that may prove unfounded, e.g., “There is no budget for this.” Bring their biases and prejudices to the situation, e.g., “That level of staff could not be trusted to do that.” Allow their egos to impact upon the situation, e.g., “Only we can do that.” Take a narrow perspective on the situation, e.g., “Our cost centre can’t afford this.” Unnecessarily shorten their thinking time etc. e.g.,...
