Thinking outside the box?

You might want to think again, or so says Rasul Sha'ir poses the question in June 2007 saying:

"Thinking outside the box is no longer the golden rule. It kept you on the cutting edge of creative problem solving for sourcing, making and marketing goods in a manufacturing based economy. Ladies and gentlemen, if in 2007 this phrase is still rolling off your tongues, please consider yourself outdated ... Today’s challenges require thinking for a post-industrial economy. A new market where proliferating technologies, changing business models, and the shifting dimensions of globalization are the order of the day. For platinum status you have to think at the intersection." (emphasis mine)

A favourite activity for me is provocative inquiry--and I figure that's a great example! Tony Nguyen comment's on the blog, "there is no box" and adds a great origami metaphor--brilliant.

But, thinking outside the box is still a stretch for many organisations. The tried and true, the checklists that eliminate the risk that staff may actually think and proact instead of react and obey. Processes that inhibit change are de rigeur in risk averse cultures and risk averse cultures may be more the norm than not. It is a sometimes overwhelming thought for those of us who strive to liberate the potential of individuals and groups.

"Thinking at the intersection" has great resonance from our perspective at IRM Strategies where we place the person at the centre of building capacity. That relies on a conscious awareness of the myriad factors and attributes that can be brought to bear in a given context, and application of knowledge and skills to make the most of opportunity.

I see it as a continuum from very controlled environments replicate past success to very capable environments that draw what works from the past and integrate it with what works today--and holds potential for tomorrow.

There's a cost, however. When one is working with people in a hierarchically driven risk averse culture, those who risk growing into themselves and realizing their potential also risk isolation and growing apart from their social networks and familiar frame of operation. It's not an overnight journey, but there is no going back.

For some, just as they are climbing out of the proverbial box, they discover that it is smack in the middle of the intersection. A roadmap helps!