Inside the Box Exercise

Here's an exercise to go with my post on the idea of thinking INSIDE the box. This is especially designed for those of you who are struggling with ideas for a new career, hobby or passion in your life!

For those of you who like written steps, here it is, broken down for you:
1. Take a sheet of paper and draw a square;
2. Around the square, write all the "givens" about YOUR life, nothing is too insignificant -if you fill the page then tape some more paper and keep writing;
3. All the things you've written are your BOX. Notice that this exercise ALWAYS allows you to expand your box, there's always room to write MORE life experiences -as they occur;
4. The INNER square is where you get CREATIVE;
5. Taking into account all the items in your BOX -come up with creative ways you can use your past experiences and/or the "givens" in your life to come up with a new career, hobby or passion. Enlist the help of your TRUSTED friends and family to help you if you are having trouble.

Have fun unleashing creativity in your life and please share your results!!

Please, Stay Inside the Box

How many times have you witnessed a leader, hopped up on caffeine, standing in front of a room and exhorting everyone to, "think outside the box, people,"??

What does that mean, exactly? I think when a leader says "think-outisde-the-box" that, they don't really know what they want.

I think that those leaders sense that their endeavor needs to move in a new, fresh, different or exciting direction-but they don't know how to effectively guide people to that amazing place.

So, basically that leader is saying, "I've run out of ideas. Impress me."

Most people have enough anxiety about coming up with any ideas but, when forced to impress, they shut down completely.

In the end, the leader walks away, thinking he/she is surrounded by lazy-good-for-nothing-slackers except that one person. That one suck-up person who knows everyone, listens in on every conversation and isn't shy about sharing anyone and everyone's private ideas with the big cheese. The leader loves that person and can fall down the rabbit hole after that person - just because that person was confident and stupid enough to "think outside the box".

I think JCPenney is a great example of outside the box thinking that went awry. Their "box" was creating great sales that customers loved. They moved outside their box and decided to just price things as low as they could and end their sales. They tried to move into WalMart's "box" of low prices and it has failed miserably. Why didn't JCP just take their "box" and make it even more amazing for their customers? Bigger sales? Better sales? More creative sales??

People think that improv is a crazy, free-for-all, when really, there are specific rules and parameters. Those rules allow the improviser to know where the edges are and keep the entire scene from running off the rails. I think there's so much more focused power in being as creative as possible inside the box!

Here is a fabulous video to illustrate the power of staying INSIDE the box, using your limitations to inspire excellence: