Think Outside The Box - A Key Question To Make It Happen

Think outside the box - how to do that? My experience tells me to look to others, ask the key question "what do you think?" and then use collective thinking to form a solution no one person would be capable of coming up with. The most important belief in thinking outside the box is that the product of focused thought and collaboration and communication of a knowledgeable group is the best way to arrive at new and unique solutions.


That belief starts with the understanding that each of us has our own set of experiences, beliefs, attitudes and values - and each is different. Sometimes very different. And those differences are where strength and competitive advantage can be found.


A story to illustrate the point:


In an aircraft component manufacturer, safety was a big issue. Lots of accidents, lots of lost days of work for valuable employees. The Safety Director was hauled up to monthly Safety meetings and given verbal beatings about the bad performance. He did all the safety things - posters, reports, supervisor training - but nothing changed.


And then the leadership of the organization changed - safety was just one of many performance problems.


The new leader saw safety improvement as a first priority. He also saw that outside the box thinking and behavior were needed. The first act of outside the box thinking was to recruit the collective genius of the experts already working in the company. Teams were established to deal with the safety issues that had caused the most injuries. The first question each team was asked was " What do you think is the cause of the problem, and what do you think can be done to fix it?" The teams were composed of the people that knew the most about the issues, the people most affected by the issues, and the people that could most effect change in the behaviors and conditions that caused the safety problem.


The Safety Director became the adminstrator and coordinator of the various team's efforts; the managers of the areas where accidents, unsafe conditions and unsafe behaviors existed or had occurred became accountable for the record of safety in their area; the periodic safety meetings were conducted by the leader of the organization.


No additional talent was added to make all this happen.


Within a year of this outside the box thinking and behavior, this business unit became the safest business in the corporation. I know that happened - I was the new VP of Administration that worked closely with the new President to make the changes that made safety performance a real success. That kind of outside the box thinking - new to what had been a very authoritarian business - was also introduced into quality issues, information systems changes, process improvement and a host of other areas.


In all these cases, the key question that started the process of improvement was " What do you think?" Behind that question was the belief that virtually all the issues in the organization could be solved - or improved - through the people in the organization. The result was an improvement in all areas of measurement - safety, productivity, on time shipments, reduction in scrap and rework, and increased profit. It wasn't easy - and a number of people simply weren't able or willing to change their own behavior and beliefs. They were replaced.


When it comes to outside the box thinking, this approach is outside the box for many organizations. But it works. And the challenges of making it work are minimal compared the the improvements in so many measures of success.


Here are some suggestions to make it happen:


Start with a problem that has high visibility


Assemble a knowledgeable team of experts - the people closest to the problem and to the potential solutions - the people who do the work


State the problem, and make it clear that all possibilities will be honored


Ask the question " What do you think?"


Create opportunity for communication and collaboration


Assure that filters to communication are removed - assure that communication flows in every direction - not just through one point of authority


Be patient - particularly in organizations where individual initiative has been squashed


Be ready to accept some findings and solutions that will be out of the ordinary


And then watch the energy and accomplishment grow.


Start today.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot,com/

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