Powerful Concept
The notion ‘thinking outside the box’ is far more than just another management cliché. It is a very powerful concept worthy of deeper consideration in today’s complex and rapidly changing world.
Leave Your Comfort Zone
Thinking outside the box is never easy, nor is it merely a reflection of mental brightness. To leave your psychological comfort zone and explore “solutions in the unknown world on the outside requires large measures of mental agility, boldness, and creativity – and/or a leader who makes life in the old box so uncomfortable that getting out is the only option. The future rests in those willing and able to do so.”
Challenge Assumptions
Challenging assumptions means questioning the everyday things you take for granted. “The best assumption to have is that any commonly held belief is wrong,” says Ken Olson, CEO of DEC.
The natural thing to do is the thing you have always done. Every time you approach a problem you bring your accumulated experience, knowledge and training to bear on it. But this includes you accumulated assumptions and biases – conscious and unconscious. The more experienced and expert you are, the more likely you are to assume outcomes by extrapolating from the known facts and experiences to predict a result. This mental baggage can prevent you from accepting innovative ideas.
Sometimes the way you frame a problem contains an assumption that prevents you from solving it. In Middle Ages the definition of astronomy was the ’study of how the heavenly bodies move around the Earth’, i.e. the Earth was considered to be the centre of universe which resulted in the chain of wrong explanations of various phenomena. “Similar ideas exist in most businesses – assumptions that underpin most strategies and decisions, and that are so fundamental that they are never challenged.”
Break Free of Routine
Falling into a routine can destroy your life. Routine is so dangerous and so powerful that even the best of intentions can be knocked down for good because of it. Recognize if you are in a routine and break free. Sometimes it’s a matter of an attribute we all seek in life – confidence. If you wish to change yourself and achieve more, you need courage and a strong belief in your ability to succeed.
Being successful means being a leader of your life. A leader does things differently, a standard higher than normal individuals. And in this post, it clearly shows what thinking out of the box can do to a person who wants success in life. Like said earlier, thinking out of the box is thinking of what an ordinary person would think. Even turning a problem in hand to a perfect opportunity for success. Now, thats a leader. Yes, you might ask “what if we fail?”
The only reason that we might fail is because we lost track of vision as we get too deep into problems, thinking of how to slove them instead of moving forward. Remember, a leader turns every problem into an opportunity for success. And to allow you to understand the last point of breaking free of routines or cycles means, if you just keep on failing, unable to get up, get someone you trust that can help you. Its no fun running a race alone. Maybe your teachers, parents or seniors that have already succeeded in life. this is what I would have done. Every teenager can succeed.Its up to them, its a choice.
article from http://1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/thinking_outside-the-box.html on 29/1/2008
