The “Think out of the box” Stuff

This is what we learn all the while

So many free advises, almost all companies keep talking about “Think out of the box”. It feels good to hear about this so often.

Teachers expect students to think out of the box and become leaders of tomorrow, but “please follow me in class”

Parents expect children to be independent and express their views, but “don’t argue with me, don’t raise your voice”

Companies expect excellent ROI from employees, but “please follow the system”

Ever tried attending an interview and telling them that your biggest strength is in questioning the norms and challenge status quo? That might be a requirement, but tell them that during the interview and you shall reap the “benefits”. While there are companies that truly appreciate this, a vast majority are just not ready. To prove my point, one of the requirement that keeps coming up - “To be able to work with cross functional teams without showing authority”. Great going!

Here’s my take on this. Cut the crap of the Think out of the box. Let’s get it straight. In most situations, we are not really in a situation to Think out of the box. Schools have rules, companies have policies, governments have regulations. So….

Think within the box. Be an Intrapreneur instead!

• What can we do within our 4 walls to make our house a home

• What can we do within the 2 of us to make us a lovable couple

• What can we do to ensure that our kids enjoy their childhood

• What can we do to connect better to our friends and family, we have enough out of the box technology, so no excuses here!

• What can we do to improve existing processes at work without asking for a replacement system

• Too many manual tasks, what can be done to reduce this?

• What can we do to cut the crap without breaking a relationship esp. at work

• What can we do to help someone else at work. May be someone needs help with technology

Again, remember the golden rules:

• Activity does not mean accomplishment

• We work with people and not for people

• We are in an era of collaboration and not just competition

A train with only an engine and no compartments is useless. The bogeys that follow the engine make it useful.

Leave the Think out of the box to the top few. There is way too much to be done “Within the box”.