The box is the box; standing outside of it gets you nowhere

High on any list of shopworn phrases is the demand to think outside the box.  It passes for high-level thinking in marketing and communication circles, and it is absolutely wrong-headed.  The box is what it is and no matter what anyone tells you, we all live and work inside of one.  Let's look at it from a business standpoint - consider your industry; that is the box in which you operate.  What you do inside that box, not outside, is what will separate you from the pack. 

Here's a simple illustration:  give 100 interior decorators identical 10 x 10 rooms; in other words, identical boxes.  Chances are extremely high that the end products will be 100 unique styles of design.  That is redesigning the box to fit your goals.  That is creativity.  Any artist can put something on a blank canvas; a more true test comes when a person is given limits within which to work. 

A former colleague of mine encapsulated the notion of creativity in a simple phrase:  it's not art, it's work.  And that is so true.  The notion of thinking "outside the box" emerged as a means of encouraging folks to think beyond their usual bounds.  Maybe it was a case of  being too clever by half; perhaps more plain-spoken terminology could have led to something other than a cliche.

As it is, the thought process is hardly revolutionary; so-called lateral thinking is about considering ideas and methods that are not immediately obvious and has been around for some time.  The trick is not what to call it but to actually do it.  This is where the box comes into play.  Consider the box to be the industry in which you are employed.  It's okay; every industry has parameters. 

Every widget does specific things and is used by specific people, often for specific functions.  But, inside the box is where you can change the perception of the widget and perhaps spark new markets.  Here's an example:  chocolate milk is being re-positioned as perhaps the ideal post-workout drink because of its protein-to-carb ratio.  Now, chocolate milk is hardly new but who thought of it as a drink for adults, especially for health-conscious adults?  The people behind the choco campaign are the same ones who came up with the "Got Milk?" messaging for the white stuff. 

It's thinking differently within the box.  Same applies to social media in a sense.  It is one more tool for professional communicators to use.  It's still communication; the message still has to be appealing and meaningful, but the idea remains to impart a message onto a prospect.  A slight difference is that social channels allow for interactivity, something lacking in legacy media.  Without a strong message, however, social media is simply one more lost opportunity.

So, stop worrying about the box itself and start focusing on how to rearrange what is in it.  Two decades ago, no home had the open floor plan concept.  Today, it is practically the industry standard.  The box, that would be the house, is largely unchanged.  What has happened inside it, however, is markedly different.  What are you doing to reshape your box?