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Pop Goes the Weasel: Thinking Outside the Box
from:Thinking outside of the box, also known as derivative, breakthrough or lateral thinking, is a mental process that involves the generation of new ideas or applying different associations to existing ideas. In other words in means looking at things from different angles and adapting them for practical, every day use.
Thinking outside of the box is normally associated with creative people. However, there are ways and means that even a non-creative person can think outside of the box.
Here, then, are some techniques that you can apply when you want to start thinking outside of the box:
1. Always ask your customers and your employees about what they want and expect from you. Learn to listen to everyone. When you know what is expected from you, thinking outside of the box becomes simpler.
2. Remember, that thinking outside of the box is a creative process and no one should be (psychologically) shackled while 'ideating'. Also, the work atmosphere and culture has to be really conducive and friendly in order to encourage and stimulate the thinking process.
3. Spend about an hour daily trying to think outside of the box about an existing problem.
4. Do not lose sight of the ultimate goal. For example, if you have to think of new ways to get more customers in, then stick to thinking about ways that will benefit the customers (better pricing, innovative rewards schemes, etc.), don’t fly off the handle (For example: launching new products to bring in newer customers and ditching the regulars).
5. KISS (Keep It Simple & Sweet). No intellectual jargon, no complicated, analytical, fundamental theories, no information overload. Your out of the box idea must always be simple, concise and to the point.
6. If you’re brainstorming in a group, play the devil’s advocate. Ask questions starting with the letters “w” and “h” What If, Why Not, Which, When, Where and How. These questions stimulate the out of the box thinking process and you never know, you might end up with a real zinger of an idea!
7. If you’re in a position to do so, reward excellent outside of the box ideas and develop an out of the box culture. Maybe, you can even create a small fund in your company to invest in such ideas or even start an idea bank.
8. Always analyze the short-term and long-term implications of an idea before implementing it – no matter how great the idea sounds on paper.
9. Do not give up thinking outside of the box if an idea fails. Instead, conduct a post-mortem and figure out what went wrong. Chances are you’ll hit the nail on the head and come out with a better idea.
10. Always remember that there are no boundaries to thinking and the thought process does not end. Do not finalize an idea in just one sitting – discuss the idea over two to three sessions.
These are some techniques you can follow if you want to think outside of the box. Remember that, in the beginning, an idea may seem to be no good, but may develop into a cutting-edge idea if you keep improvising and rationalizing it. Remember, there’s nothing in the caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly*!
*Quote by Buckmister Fuller
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