Thinking Inside The Box - Are you able?

[Peter (IMC)]

Thinking outside the box, the cliche that is used a lot and was just mentioned in another topic, seems such a simple logic that everybody agrees with it. But to think outside the box, you first need to know what´s inside.

Do you know what's inside your box? If you think you do,.. think again. How big is your box? How small is your box? How many different areas are there inside your box? How do you really do the stuff that you do?

Anybody with enough travel experience will be able to tell you that what they really learned from all their travels is that their knowledge about their own culture has grown more than the knowledge about the other cultures they visited. You'd be amazed how much you learn about your own ways while traveling the world. And if you´re really honest, you won't always be that proud of your own county,. :)

Same thing applies to your business. In order to think outside the box, you need to first step out your box and look arround and get some experience. Then you will find out what it is you´re doing your self. And only then you will learn enough about your own box to actually think outside the box.

Are you able to think inside the box?

Are you willing to learn by looking what others do?

Are you willing to accept you are not what you think you are?

[carlos_p]

Actually, what you're reffering to is "thinking outside the box" — the concept which psychology and cognitive science calls "lateral thinking". This is what you are describing and it amounts to change your frame of mind and get a whole new perspective at things.
What you're calling "thinking inside the box" is what is usually reffered to as "vertical thinking".
To get a pretty good insight into these concepts and the underlying reasons/theories check Edward de Bono's books on the subject.

[h2cm]

You might find the site below of interest, a conceptual framework comprised of four 'boxes'. Ideal for individual and group reflection helping to furnish sociotechnical perspectives and answers to:

"Are you able to think inside the box?

Are you willing to learn by looking what others do?

Are you willing to accept you are not what you think you are?"

Originally created in the UK by Brian E Hodges -

Hodges' Knowledge Domains Model

http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk

- can help identify and map ideas, issues, problems AND solutions. The model takes a situated and multi-contextual view across four knowledge domains:

* Interpersonal;
* Sociological;
* Sciences;
* Political.

Our links pages cover each care (knowledge) domain e.g. Interpersonal:

http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/links.htm

- Knowledge Management, Accessibility, HCI, ideas, education, accessibility, e-learning...

Peter Jones
Hodges' Health Career - Care Domains - Model
h2cm: help 2C more - help 2 listen - help 2 care

[Peter (IMC)]

That´s all very scientific, but I was trying to provoke some thought by the average marketer and/or business (wo)man... :)

For example, we have so many webmasters here that sooner or later are told to think outside the box, but never really do, because they are stuck inside their own box, without realizing it.

Going to a conference is a good, but not everybody can do that, so how do you get to experience what´s outside the box? What kind of advice can we give to people to actually experience the world outside their own business?

[Keimos]

Hi Peter (IMC), and geeks,

Thinking inside the box, " why would I buy my product from myself with the information I put out"

Keimos

[Feydakin]

Interesting topic Peter.. It's difficult for anyone to think inside the box since they spend all of their time in it.. It's an old trick, but what still works is to find someone that is totally illiterate in your field.. In this case the web.. Grandma, Grandpa etc., and sit them in front of a computer and have them try to do whatever your site wants them to do..

Watch them.. Learn from them.. See where they have issues.. Things we take for granted as common knowledge may not be so common..

[florabalance]

Yes, it is an interesting topic.

I think it is not really about thinking inside of the box which is what we habitually do, but seeing what our box is, defining it so to speak. Then we can see what thinking outside of the box might entail.

This is where the real opportunities lie, and also perhaps the most discomfort.

[Skywoolf]

I was recently told that I don't just believe in thinking outside the box but I don't even believe in pidgeon holes :)

When I was running a previous site I worked on it night and day for years and hardly ever visited any other sites. I felt like I was in a prison cell and eventually gave the site away. Now I am developing new sites and enjoying the time to research, compare, learn the skills I always wanted to learn and never had time, etc.

It is now easy to see that if I spent more time learning from other sites and less time in my "cell" with the previous site I could have had a lot more free time or could have developed a more efficient web site.

Reading Peter's example of traveling is what really made me realize what I have been doing. I am English but have not lived in the UK for 34 years. Travelling and living around the world does make you see your own country in a much clearer perspective.

My problem now is that I have been away from the UK for so long I hardly know what the UK (the box) is like anymore:)

[mantawebsolutions]

Peter, this is a very intresting topic. We sometimes have to stop to evaluate where we are, whether inside or outside of this box.

We get so wrapped up on the inside that we forget (or simply don't know) what's outside or we live outside of the box forgetting our "responsibility" for what's inside...

Like you said, only when we have gained some experience on the outside can we take what's on the inside out.

Sometimes I feel like a rope jumper skipping in and out (playing it safe) never venturing further outward or facing the dark places on the inside.

[HostEBiz]

Very interesting topic and I actually think that "thinking outside the box" is the secret to a successful business. Whether I actually do it is another matter but I consciously make the effort to do so. Quoting from Skywoolf above:

Originally Posted by Skywoolf

It is now easy to see that if I spent more time learning from other sites and less time in my "cell" with the previous site I could have had a lot more free time or could have developed a more efficient web site.

I've found that to be absolutely true and by far and above the best way to go about things: There's no point in trying to re-invent the wheel ; Better to look at what others are doing, figure out where your place is among them and what you can do differently. I think that's basically it.

Regards,

[PARoss]

It is true that it is difficult for fish to see water because it is the "box" they live in. And similarly it is often difficult for us see our own boxes.

However, thinking outside the box is impossible until one masters the skills necessary to think within his/her own box. Creativity is a skill as much as it is a gift.

I wrote an article about this several years ago. It's on another site that I own (http://www.paross.com/outside.htm). Let me know what you think.

Phil

[Feydakin]

Interesting article Phil.. There are many great examples of talented people being able to do "outside the box" work because they have mastered the box.. To add to your Picasso reference there is Frank Lloyd Write.. He understood the box so intuitively that when he went outside the box he stunned everyone with the results..

But when you look at the mimics all around all you see is poor copies.. I think that the web webt through that when flash first hit the scene and everyone had to have flash spinning flaming logos on their sites.. Unfortunatly many forgot to actually work on the site..

Which brings us back to Peter's original post.. Thinking inside the box.. But to do that you need to truly understand your box, a thing which many people are simply not capable of because they spend more time chasing trends rather than perfecting the basics..

[h2cm]

Hi again,
Although the model I posted previously appears 'scientific' Peter, it is not evidence based. The website is geared towards trying to promote interest in some collaboration / research.

In terms of the boxes to highlight points already raised, health professionals spend several years getting to know their 'box'. The SCIENCES anatomy, biochemistry, physiology... Now the doctors spend more time on communication skills, because if they treat people as a diagnosis, as a physical 'machine', then the quality of care as perceived by the patient and an independent observer will be of likely poor quality.

Some nurses (to stereotype) are models of efficiency, but most though are prepared to 'travel', i.e. to put themselves in the patients (carers) shoes and see the world through their eyes. Taking IT in health as an example, you can manage a project with PRINCE or other methodology, but if you don't look beyond the processes (trends) and how people are responding things may become very 'difficult'. Maybe that's why there's so much emphasis on words and disciplines like - integrated, transdisciplinary, socioeconomics, interdisciplinary, psychosocial, geopolitical, neuromarketing....

neuromarketing - e.g.

INTERPERSONAL box: behaviour, experiments, freewill, ethics, personal choice, memetics
POLITICAL box: consent, security, legislation, costs, public health, governance-control, measures
SCIENCES box: brain imaging, bioinformatics, research programmes
SOCIAL box: media, languages, social nets, cultural acceptance, public perception

Using the model and 'travelling' you don't have to think of it as being in or out of boxes. Take Hodges model on A4 paper:

http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk

- and mentally fold it.

Suddenly disparate ideas, issues, techniques are thrown together. As the physicists show (in theory only alas) your previous journeys (new experiences - role plays, placements, secondments...) mean you don't have to travel the full distance*: you can warp space. In addition I'm better equipped to take the patient / carer with me and (try) to get their engagement. It's true that many of these combined horizons may not work, but that's the nature of creativity and risk for you...

*People do need timeout, refresh training, change of role/team periodically

[NJ]

I have heard the "inside the box" - "outside the box" mantra for about 10 years. There is no inherent good in being either inside or outside. What's important is what the box is and whether we still need that box. Some boxes are based on years of trial and error of what works best. Some boxes are formed by situations that are unique and no longer fit the current situation. Other boxes are built by "we are going to do it my way because I'm the boss."

As I work with small business owners on developing a web strategy, I find that some businesses have a confining box, others have a good box and others have a flexible box. Some people are willing to dump a bad box, and others dump a good box, just to be "outside the box!"