Same words, different meanings

Think outside the box. A new paradigm. Cutting edge. Breakthrough thinking. Highly creative.

We have all heard these phrases before. But their meaning changes depending on who is using them.

A business that has been using the same color blue in their communications for 50 years may view the use of a new shade of blue as “Outside the Box.” But if a creative professional is asked to develop work that is outside the box, the results could be a more dramatic and significant change than is expected.

Establish a common frame of reference, and seek to understand the definitions of terms being used. Dig deeper for the reasons behind the request for new thinking. Determine whether the requested solution will solve the problem as defined. Then dig deeper to see if the defined problem is the real cause, a misidentified difficulty, merely a symptom, or imagined.

So when you are asked to think outside the box, first you need to find the limits of the box.