Wikipedia describes ‘thinking outside the box’ as a metaphor that means thinking differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective.
The concept is an extremely common catchphrase in societies throughout the world, both in business as well as in life. This commonly refers to novel or creative thinking. The term came to light in the 1970s when some management professionals presented a nine-dot puzzle that could be solved only with lateral thinking.
Thinking outside the box can save a manager and his team the trouble of pursuing an obvious problem and ending up with ineffective solutions. Therefore, instead of running behind shadows, the manager can work his or her way around the issue to resolve a problematic situation. Also, thinking outside the box is a good way to use other resources available.
Creativity is frequently linked to a personality type, artistic pursuits, specific vocations, and crafts. Some regard it as a waste of time, while others regard it as a strange concept unrelated to their interests or talents. The truth is that, even among those who are familiar with it, the true significance of this skill has always been misinterpreted. As a result, many people miss out on the opportunity to learn more about and develop this critical mental skill.
As corporate executives, we have been encouraged to think outside the box constantly. The issue, however, is that humans are creatures of habit and often choose their comfort zone, particularly when performing official duties. Lateral thinking in business means challenging long-held beliefs and practices. Hence, usually, people are reluctant to radically change their way of thinking.
Radical thinking
In the workplace, radical thinking can be used for the benefit of customers, fellow staff members, the organisation, and all other stakeholders in a particular business operation. For example, by thinking differently, a staff member specialising in customer service can improvise a more attractive solution to a customer’s complaint and make the relationship better by thinking differently.
Companies, at times, prefer to avoid risks by holding on to traditional thinking patterns, fearing negative impact even when there are plenty of success stories illustrating out-of-the-box thinking. Despite the chance of failure or rejection, risks are essential for the growth of a business. However, decisions taken based on lateral thinking must be taken with adequate analysis.
Usually, people with independent and creative thinking are resilient and not afraid to act on impulse. They are mentally strong and do not fear failure. This allows them to persevere, manage stress, and face challenges with a positive outlook.
People with resilience are authentic and understand their human qualities more as their life experiences are used to find solutions to problematic situations. They know that their decisions can go awry, yet are not afraid to act on such decisions. More importantly, these people disregard imperfections and discard worries about their negative impact.
They do not think that failing makes them failures as individuals and believe that mistakes can lead them to positive outcomes.
Flexible people
People with out-of-the-box thinking are almost always more flexible than others and do not struggle with negativity.
They know that negative thinking is immensely counterproductive. Although they think radically, they rarely make assumptions or jump to conclusions hastily.
They gather the facts first and then move around obstacles and confront them head-on. Flexible people can control whatever aspects are related to the issue.
Another characteristic of these strong-minded people is that they are mostly optimistic. Optimism is a mental attitude characterised by hope and confidence in success and a positive future. Optimists are those who expect good things to happen.
Creative thinkers are always optimists who think that everything happens for the good and are confident about any, positive or negative, outcome they may receive.
They may also derive a number of other benefits, such as better coping skills, lower stress, higher persistence, and improved physical health.
Positive people who think differently in business situations In the business world, one thing business leaders can count on is inconsistency with constant ups and downs. The obstacles they face on a daily basis become obstacles. Hence, strong thinkers are strong inside and outside and make decisions boldly, but rationally. Those who think outside the box most often cultivate inner strength to weather the possible storms in the business world.
Interpersonal skill
Thinking creatively is particularly useful in business problem-solving. Creative problem solving, which results in different and more effective outcomes, is an interpersonal skill that allows a group to continue successfully deriving mutual benefits.It provides the ability to come up with unique and innovative solutions to problems in a specific situation.
When a person thinks outside the regular framework, past experiences and knowledge help them come up with a better solution.
Creative problem-solvers think strategically about a problem based on previously understood information combined with the pros and cons of the problem.
Resilient people reach out to others to find solutions to problems or uncertain situations. There is a misconception that people with lateral thinking are bold and stubborn in decision-making. On the contrary, they never make irrational decisions. Instead, they consult the right people at the right time to ease doubts and to find the most appropriate action.
Similarly, they coach themselves by challenging their own knowledge of commonalities in business or in life. Applying flexibility traits to reduce stress in a problematic situation and navigate effectively is a learned skill that can be applied successfully. Radical thinkers study others who possess similar traits deeply and extract experiences from such personalities.
Contradictory views
Even with many positives, the advice of thinking outside the square is not without contradictory views by a section of intellectuals. Because of the vagueness of the phrase, ’think outside the box’ is sometimes confusing for them. What is the ‘box’ exactly? In business, this phrase is sometimes used to convey that our end product, service, or solution must be different from what is already available.
The ‘work outside the frame’ concept is frequently given when a group becomes stagnated in thinking about the practical aspects of a situation. The person who tells the team to “think outside the box” is allegedly attempting to convince them to forget about the problem’s practical limits or boundaries. People sometimes believe that these limitations control their inventiveness.
However, despite these contradictory views, thinking outside the box is a phrase popularly discussed in business circles. Lateral and divergent methods can lead to the best results. It gives an opportunity to find out what the most critical constraints are and why they occur in a specific situation. When a person understands the reasons and constraints, he or she can see the bigger picture and formulate new strategies to solve the issue.