Thinking Outside the Box

We've all heard the phrase, "Think outside the box."  It is probably one of the most overused terms in the business world.  I have heard this phrase so many times that now when I hear it, I tend to think, "yeah whatever."  Unfortunately, I actually catch myself saying  to other people, "hey, we need to think outside the box on this one." 

So what exactly does it mean to think outside the box?  The web definition says:

"Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel, creative and smart thinking."

At our company, we encourage people to think free.  We encourage new, fresh ideas.  So many times we can get bogged down in make-believe walls that we feel we can't get out of or get around.  In an earlier post, I mentioned that sometimes people feel like they can't spread their wings and are too afraid to fail.  Unfortunately, the same goes for thinking outside the box.  

In all of our jobs, we all know that there are things we could be doing better.  At Lockard, we wouldn't be where we are today without team members being creative day in and day out.  When we are creative, we can achieve things we never thought possible.  Some companies have idea jars where people can stick an idea in and if it gets implemented, that person is rewarded.  Check out what Google has to say about their culture:

"At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office café, sitting at whatever table has an opening and enjoying conversations with Googlers from different teams. Our commitment to innovation depends on everyone being comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. Every employee is a hands-on contributor, and everyone wears several hats. Because we believe that each Googler is an equally important part of our success, no one hesitates to pose questions directly to Larry or Sergey in our weekly all-hands (“TGIF”) meetings – or spike a volleyball across the net at a corporate officer."  

When creativity flows and we can knock down the barriers of thinking we "can" rather than thinking we "can't," the sky is the limit.  In order to have an effective company, we must continue to think beyond what we feel are constraints.  

In our company, I always want to encourage my team to come up with creative ideas to make our company better.  There are a lot of ways to get to an end result and, as a manager, I can't say that my way is the only way to get to there.  One of my main goals at Lockard is to make sure we are in the black and to make sure we bring revenue into the company.  I don't want to be the guy that says, "this is the way we've always done it" and not look at new, creative ideas from my team members that could really improve the bottom line.  Believe me, I still have a long way to go in this area.    

Continue to be creative and think outside the box.  Who knows what's out there that you or I haven't even tapped into yet.