The Box

Copyright © 2004 by Don Blohowiak
Don@LeadWell.com www.LeadWell.com

"Think outside the box!" Heard, or passionately proclaimed, this odd imperative recently?

The trite "think outside" commandment confuses many people.

Some folks don't understand the metaphor at all. They don't know what their "box" is supposed to be.

Others decode the vague, over-worn phrase as: "Ignore our policies and procedures. We know they aren't very good. But, frankly, management cannot do any better. So you'll have to --while, of course, we hold you accountable for strictly adhering to current procedures."

That's not how the edict is stated in any executive speech. But it is the damning, counterproductive, mixed message that many employees nevertheless receive.

ACTION to Take

• Define your current "box" -- the assumptions and parameters that specify your mission and the processes to accomplish it.
• Assess the current state with candor and rigor. Commit to improving the status quo, to *changing* the box!
• Charge people with responsibility for specific tasks such as reinventing a process; recommending new work procedures, or cost-cutting or time-saving measures; or identifying means to improve customer satisfaction. An unfocused mandate will lead only to muddled outcomes.
• Encourage your associates to be innovative and constrained by neither history nor habit. Direct them to question, challenge, and reinvent.
• Provide both a wide berth and adequate support to the people undertaking this important work.
• Take seriously the resulting recommendations. Implement as many as you can.
• Explain thoroughly your reasons for passing on any new ideas.
• Save today's rejects. You may need them tomorrow.
• Strike the lazy, fuzzy, "box" phrase from your lexicon.

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Don Blohowiak, a management consultant and popular conference speaker, is the author of several business books. The executive director of the Lead Well® Institute in Princeton, NJ, he may be reached at http://www.LeadWell.com/.

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Copyright © 2005, Don Blohowiak, Lead Well Institute

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