Then it came to me.
Thinking outside the box has enormous value - in every part of my life. And it's easy. All it takes is a shift in behavior. Not a big shift, but a significant one.
And that shift is driven by Acceptance - the belief that allows me to to accept as valuable the contents of other people's boxes - and the belief that lets me see the boxes of others as different - not better or worse - than my own.
The following is a conversation between Me and some interested Box People..
Box People: What a concept! You mean all I have to do to think outside the box is to accept the content of other boxes and share mine with others? Yeah! That's it! Hold on a minute. If it's that easy, why don't more people and organization's do it?
Me: Well, you gotta realize there are a whole lot of boxes flying around out there. Every one of us has a lot of different ones, every organization has a whole bunch of them, every part of every organization has a whole bunch of them. And most people and organizations are really comfortable with the SQ - the dreaded Status Quo. And the SQ is the arch enemy of Acceptance. Remember when you tried to stuff one of your boxes into a new situation - remember how it was received? I suspect Acceptance wasn't one of the outcomes.
Me: Some time ago I wrote a blog on the most feared words in business. The words are a question -"What do you think?" The blog is written as a conversation a manager has with himself as he goes through change in his company and career. It is meant to illustrate just how difficult this change in habits of thought can be - but also how negative the consequences of not doing it can be. You oughta read it.
Box People: OK. So let me understand. To think outside the box, all I have to do is accept and jump into other people's boxes. But all those other boxes were built - like mine - with the belief that they're right, and that the Status Quo is OK - a place of comfort. So those boxes have pretty tight lids - they probably won't let me in!
Me: Maybe yes, maybe no. There is always the risk that some may be shut tight. But if you really want to think outside the box, and gain the enormous benefits that comes with that skill, you gotta take some risks.
Box People: Well, you're the one writing this piece. How about some advice on how I get started so I can get at least some of those benefits.
Me: Here's some suggestions to start you thinking outside the box:
- Accept that you have biases that make it hard for you to accept input from other people - identify your biases and work hard to get rid of them. They are the single biggest thing standing in the way of out of the box thinking
- Accept the beliefs and behaviors of others as being as valuable and legitimate as your own. Stop judging and start listening.
- Open yourself to possibilities. Put "That will never work" and "We tried that and the wheels fell off" thinking behind you.
- Accept the question" What do you think?" and make it part of your own behavior.
- Accept that most people will resist or be skeptical or cynical about this kind of behavior. Their boxes don't like to be changed and challenged.
- Believe your world will change for the better as the outcome of this behavior.
Box People: That's a whole lot of challenging stuff, I gotta think about it.
Me: There's that Status Quo at work. Start - today
Written by Andy Cox, PresidentCox Consulting Group LLC, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: www.coxconsultgroup.com; Copyright 2007, All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment