Secrets of Successful Innovation Five Tools for Thinking Outside the Box

“Thinking outside the box” has become a cliché in today’s business lexicon. Media overkill, however, does not relieve businesses of the very real need to solve problems and add value for customers in new and innovative ways.

But according to Vistage Speaker and innovation expert Charles Prather, human physiology makes it inherently difficult to get beyond our normal ways of thinking. Without specific tools to overcome human hard wiring, corporations may find it almost impossible to achieve real innovation.

“The human brain is very good at forming patterns from sparse information,” explains Prather. “This pattern-forming ability helped us survive and evolve as a species, but it also creates the box we think inside. To get outside the box, we have to recognize the patterns that exist and then break them.

“The first step in breaking patterns is to empty the box of all ideas through brainstorming — exhaust your ability to think of ideas. Then use a ‘kicker’ to mentally escape your comfort zone and venture into the realm of uncomfortable ideas. Next, identify the concept behind the idea and figure out how to use the concept to solve the problem.”

According to Prather, kickers are practical tools that help people think in a more right-brained, nonlinear fashion. Examples include:

• The outrageous idea. Ask, “What would we never do to solve the problem?” Come up with answers so far out that you would never consider using them to solve the problem. Then identify the concept behind the idea and ask how you can use it to solve the problem.
• Forced associations. Force an association between your problem and something not at all related to your problem. For example, select a page from a standard dictionary and then — closing your eyes — point to a word on that page. Identify the concept and ask how you can use it to solve the problem. Other sources of associations include pictures in a magazine or a bag of toys.
• Reverse hidden assumptions. Make a list of all the things you assume about your product or service. Turn them around and say they are not true. Then see what you can get from the concept to solve your problem.
• Metaphoric thinking. Liken your system to something found in everyday life, like a train or a garden. Look at the component parts of the metaphor and ask what is missing in your system.
• Other points of view. Ask how some very provocative person, personality or group would attack your problem. For example, how would Al Capone or Saddam Hussein solve this problem? What would Mother Theresa or the Pope do in your situation?

“These kickers may seem illogical,” says Prather, “but that’s precisely the point. You can’t innovate by thinking in a logical, linear manner. Innovation involves breaking patterns and coming up with ideas that at first glance often seem preposterous at best and downright dangerous at worst. You can’t force people to come up with creative ideas. But when you give them the tools to identify and break the patterns that are keeping them inside the box, you will come up with breakthrough solutions.”