Thinking Inside the Box

We all know about the now ubiquitous idea “thinking outside the box”. By now you’ve heard it so many times both in work and school it’s hard to give the concept any credit. Well, even if it’s overused it’s a good concept. Thinking outside the box simply suggests that you take off your blinders and look beyond the comfort walls you’ve created because that’s where innovation happens and that’s where the next big idea lives.

I’m a big believer in that strategy, but I’ve also come to realize the opposite approach mustn’t be overlooked because in some cases thinking inside the box is the best thing you can do. Think of it this way; if your always looking out in the distance for something bigger and better you might miss what you’ve got right in front of your nose. That lesson is more commonly taught in relationships or other personal aspects of your life, but in business it is just as important.

Sometimes the biggest and best ideas are right in front of you, inside the box rather than outside and the best thing you can do is stop looking out into the distance and just look down at what’s right in front of you. There is a good chance you might have missed something big.

On top of that implementing things from within the box is going to be far easier and have a much greater probably of success because it falls in your core competency. Something inside the box can’t be a big departure from what your already doing or it wouldn’t be in the box. So successful execution is much easier and probably faster with higher quality and therefore becomes an asset. If you weigh those things against the cost, effort and potential risks of going outside the box, it may make a hell of a lot of sense.

Like anything, don’t get stuck in one or the other. Balance is key. Balance between thinking both inside and outside the box and you’ll likely see some pretty cool things come to fruition.