Thinking and Acting "Outside the Box."

 

If Thinking And Acting “Outside The Box,” Is The Thing To Do, Why Is It That So Few Do?

 

We’re all put in “the box.” The purpose of the box is to control our thinking and actions and to make sure we conform to the established and accepted norms. The most often heard rejoinder in the box is, “You can’t do that.” It’s a strong box with high sides intended to keep us confined, but (except for the box they put us in when we die) it is possible to get outside the box. But with the vast majority passively accepting life inside the box, what would possess you to even want to think about getting outside the box?

Well, successful entrepreneurs and business executives come in all genders, ages, shapes and sizes. They function in a wide variety of industries, they have vastly different personalities and leadership styles, but if you look closely you will discover that despite all their differences, they have one thing in common. They each fought and found a way to think and act outside the box. And once outside the box, they were able to build great companies, transform industries and, for some, even change the world. (Not to mention accumulating great wealth.)

If life outside the box is so much more freeing and rewarding, why is it that so few try to escape it?  

Well, it’s not that easy. To start with, you will have to accept being chastised and criticized for even attempting to escape from the box. Then, even if you can accept that, you have to overcome the two cardinal principles of the box: Rules are rules as in, “You can’t do that” and tradition prevails as in, “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

That means to escape the box you have to be willing to cheat on the established rules. That does not mean cheating in a dishonest way but identifying and challenging the rules of the box that have become outmoded and inherently dishonest. That is, breaking the rules that cause more harm than good.

Box Escapees

There can be no doubt the winners in business are those who found the way to get outside the box to chart new, creative courses of action. Think of Fred Smith of FedEx, Steve Jobs of Apple, Bill Gates of Microsoft. And more recently Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Tim Cook of Netflix.

And let’s not forget Elon Musk of Tesla. Love him or hate him, would we even know his name today if he had not escaped the box that contained and constrained the entire automotive industry? His thinking and actions outside the box not only disrupted the automobile industry but, like the others, he changed the world.    

Join The Group

If you want to join these escapees from the box, you’ve got to start by learning and adopting their common traits of thinking and acting that they consistently employ.

The best tool to use to get outside the box is relentless curiosity. Those who do escape consistently question and challenge the deeply engrained processes, procedures and mores that are all too often used to keep us boxed in. They constantly rebel against the dogma, “We have always done it that way.”

Successful box escapees often exhibit other attributes as well, such as:

A willingness to bring new perspectives to doing old things differently.

A compelling drive to explore new ideas to test their potential value.

An eagerness to solicit the input of others and profit from their input, regardless of who receives the credit for success.

Respect for and support of others when they propose new courses of action.

Life outside of the box

Life outside of the box is challenging, but so much better. Certainly, thinking and acting outside the box will expose you to the risk of ridicule and criticism from those who are happy as captives of the box. But you know what? When you do go outside the box and succeed in implementing new ideas and find ways to do things better, the rewards and personal satisfaction far outweighs any initial resistance and criticism you may have initially received, and it’s not even close.

Look at it this way: Living in the box may offer acceptance, consistency and a certain type of security, but you will never do great things, let alone change the world.    

                                                         ###

Bob MacDonald -- Former CEO of ITT Life, founder of LifeUSA, retired chairman and CEO of Allianz Life of North America, author of numerous books on business, management and leadership. bobmac5201@gmail.com

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