Thinking Outside the Box - How to Do It
Thinking outside the box means coming up with creative ways
to solve problems - new ways to look at things. How can you do
it? First you have to understand what the "box" is.
Then you can look at how to get outside of it.
The "box" is the normal way of looking at things,
doing things, and all the assumptions that almost everyone involved
is making. Your best way to start thinking out of the box then,
is to identify and challenge all the assumptions that make up
the thinking inside the box. An example might help.
A major brand of liquor was faltering years ago, and the company
couldn't seem to boost it's sales. More promotions, lowering
the price, and getting better shelf placement were the "in
the box" solutions. They didn't work. Finally someone challenged
the assumptions, by asking "What if we stopped the promotions
and just raised the price?"
They raised the price as an experiment, and sales soon doubled.
Apparently some types of liquor are bought quite often as gifts.
The customers don't want to buy the most expensive one, but they
also don't want to seem cheap, so they won't buy it if it doesn't
cost enough. Imagine what happens to your profit margins when
you raise the price and double the sales - that's the power of
thinking outside of the box.
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 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?
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