Comments on: Damned Box

By: A. Nonymous

A. Nonymous — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:26:48 +0000

So often “thinking outside the box” is just redefining the size of the box.

Real innovation defies explanation or cultivation (i.e. box building). THe best you can do is identify it when it occurs and celebrate it.

By: david sable

david sable — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:07:18 +0000

I think my point is that in or out of the box — its the thinking that counts

By: Braden Kelley

Braden Kelley — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:05:09 +0000

I like the lid analogy.

Can I steal it?

By: Matthew Gyulay

Matthew Gyulay — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:41:28 +0000

I, like David don’t see anything wrong with the box. It happens to be full of the fundamentals that keep our feet planted firmly on the ground. The only problem, as I see it, is that we need to open the lid and look around a bit.

By: Glenn White

Glenn White — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:38:37 +0000

All this talk about inside the box, outside the box….

The focus should be on the right solution for the task at hand, whether it’s an old tried-and-true solution, or a bespoke solution derived from a moment of inspiration.

Imagine if, every time you went to the doctor, he or she decided he was going to try a new medicine, course of therapy, or technique? you know, he wants to think outside the box.

Would you send your child to a school that kept experimenting with new teaching methods, one right after the other?

There are probably a whole lot of other equally interesting scenarios.

An on-point “inside the box” solution executed flawlessly usually beats a poorly-executed “outside the box” solution done for the sake of being innovative. Of course, an on-strategy outside the box solution done well can revolutionize a way of doing something.

Perhaps you can view inside the box thinking vs. outside the box thinking as playing small ball vs. swinging for the fences each time you go to the plate. You can win the game either way, it’s just a question of which strategy to apply situationally. Sometimes you need to hit it out of the park to win, and sometimes you need to just get ‘em on base one at a time.

I’d imagine that both of them require different, complementary skillsets….

By: david sable

david sable — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:28:28 +0000

Great concept — guess its true of a lot of things — I always have belived that its easier to be creative on a blank canvas than on one that is partially started — read that to mean — in our business — an environment where you are constrained by someone else’s idea requires a greater degree of creativity.

By: Braden Kelley

Braden Kelley — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:17:28 +0000

Go ahead ‘Think Inside the Box’.

Prevailing innovation wisdom compels us to believe that innovation thrives in environments with constraints.

Starting a new innovation project and want it to succeed?
1. Give it massive political support
2. But only give it a small team and a small amount of financial resources

Give projects lots of money and they’ll spend it de-risking the project instead of pushing the boundaries. Give projects lots of people and they’ll spend most of their time in meetings or possibly even working against each other.

So despite all the space in popular press given to ‘Thinking Outside the Box’, there are just as many supporting points for ‘Thinking Inside the Box’.

Braden Kelley
http://blogginginnovation.com
http://twitter.com/innovate
http://innovationcommunity.ning.com (David Sable and others share their thoughts)