Thinking Outside the Box
Yesterday I overheard a tester being told they need to “Think Outside the Box”. We often find this phrase being referred to when we talk about people who we believe excel in their roles. For example, “Jane is such an excellent tester, she really knows how to think outside the box!”. I find this to be very interesting as when you get right down to it no one seems to be able to define how someone should go about thinking outside the box.
For simplicity I pulled Wikipedia’s definition and found:
“Thinking Outside the Box is to think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel, creative and smart thinking. This is sometimes called a process of lateral thought. To think outside the box is to look further and try not to think of the obvious things, but try and think beyond that.
Hmmm, I find myself still scratching my head as I wrote an article last year on how dangerous the word obvious can be. If to think outside the box is think of things that are NOT obvious it begs the question…obvious to whom? When a person shares their brilliant idea it may appear to have come from “out of the box” thinking; however it may in fact have come from “in the box”, obvious thinking for them. Thinking outside the box for me is not going to produce remotely the same results as someone else. So what box are we trying to think outside of?
I believe that to think outside the box is really to understand the confines of your current thinking. Each of us has our own consciously and unconsciously defined box that our thinking exists within. These boxes are framed by our cultural, intellectual, geographical, environmental and personality differences and further shaped by our life experiences. To think outside of our own box requires us to learn a more about how and why we think the way we do.
Have you ever examined your thinking process to understanding the point in time in which you stopped thinking? I find it interesting to consider the reasons why we settle on that decision. I like to challenge my thinking using Jerry Weinberg’s Rule of Three: Before responding to any one interpretation of the clues, think of at least two other possible meanings. This can be useful to see the many ways we may be limiting our thinking process.
Thinking about thinking is known as “Metacognition”. Metacognition refers to having knowledge concerning your own cognitive processes. I have found understanding how and why I think the way I do about something to bring valuable insights. It allows me to challenge myself when I better understand the ways I am likely to be led astray or hindered with my own thinking.
Improving your ability to think outside the box is about having the desire to understand what intrinsically and extrinsically motivated you to arrive at your current perspective, and to willingness to extend the possibilities. You may just have the next revolutionary idea … if you think outside your own box.
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This is interesting, Lynn. In her book “Conventional Wisdom,” Rebecca Staton-Reinstein talks about people having limiting frames of reference. She also describes how some folks can see other people’s frames and not recognize that they may have the same self-limiting frames.
Now combine that with Michael Bolton’s Test Frames and there is an idea that I may have to look into.
Of course, once you discover one limiting frame (box) and remove it (climb out of the box) there is nothing to say that you are simply in a slightly larger frame/box, no?
Lynn’s Reply: Thanks for writing Pete! I appreciate the reference to Rebecca’s book. I will have to check it out as I had not heard of it before. I absolutely agree with last comment and would say essentially we are extending our frame of reference.
Great blogpost Lynn – appreciate it!
Here’s a little test for you
http://twitpic.com/3rtfrm
Keep’em coming
Lynn’s Reply: Thanks for reading Jesper!
Interesting read Lynn!
That someone can state about someone else that they “think outside the box” is really only a reflection on the person saying the phrase and not the subject person – how can they know(?).
Telling someone that they need to think outside the box is not so constructive (as it’s a subjective judgement) – it would be much more constructive to coach/guide them in different thinking models (if needed).
The phrase reminds me of a recent link someone post (I can’t find it now
) about someone being fired because they didn’t get the big picture – and the person doing the firing didn’t really explain what “the big picture” was.
So, the next time you hear someone talk about “thinking outside the box” – especially when talking about someone else – ask the question: “What exactly do you mean”.
Lynn’s Reply: Excellent! I absolutely agree. “Thinking Big Picture” is certainly another heavily used phrase and it is definitely context dependent. As I mentioned in the article referenced above, we need to be cautious of expecting others to have the same interpretation of what we are saying. Thinking big picture for me not only differs from other people’s use of the phrase but also will differ for myself from project to project.
Another point I think is important is that I have found “Thinking Big Picture” is not something everyone finds easy to do. As you mentioned it can be that new thinking models need to be introduced to help folks with seeing the bigger picture. However, I also think we need to be cautious in expecting everyone to see the big picture. Most teams are comprised of a complimentary combination of people who are innately good in different ways. I think the Meyers Briggs model is one way of appreciating the different skills within our teams. Some folks are far more inclined to stay focused in the weeds than others who easily see the big picture. Over the years I have found it is important to identify with folks who are “in the weeds” and help share big picture perspective (whatever that might be given your context) with them opposed to demanding that they see it themselves. Conversely, if you are a person who tends to see the big picture easily you may be missing a great deal of information about the weeds. Be sure you spend some time getting the details you need from those who easily work from that perspective.