Think outside the box - how to do that? My experience tells
me to look to others, ask the key question "what do you
think?" and then use collective thinking to form a solution
no one person would be capable of coming up with. The most
important belief in thinking outside the box is that the
product of focused thought and collaboration and
communication of a knowledgeable group is the best way to
arrive at new and unique solutions.
That belief starts with the understanding that each of us
has our own set of experiences, beliefs, attitudes and
values - and each is different. Sometimes very different.
And those differences are where strength and competitive
advantage can be found.
A story to illustrate the point:
In an aircraft component manufacturer, safety was a big
issue. Lots of accidents, lots of lost days of work for
valuable employees. The Safety Director was hauled up to
monthly Safety meetings and given verbal beatings about the
bad performance. He did all the safety things - posters,
reports, supervisor training - but nothing changed.
And then the leadership of the organization changed -
safety was just one of many performance problems.
The new leader saw safety improvement as a first priority.
He also saw that outside the box thinking and behavior were
needed. The first act of outside the box thinking was to
recruit the collective genius of the experts already
working in the company. Teams were established to deal with
the safety issues that had caused the most injuries. The
first question each team was asked was " What do you think
is the cause of the problem, and what do you think can be
done to fix it?" The teams were composed of the people that
knew the most about the issues, the people most affected by
the issues, and the people that could most effect change in
the behaviors and conditions that caused the safety problem.
The Safety Director became the administrator and
coordinator of the various team's efforts; the managers of
the areas where accidents, unsafe conditions and unsafe
behaviors existed or had occurred became accountable for
the record of safety in their area; the periodic safety
meetings were conducted by the leader of the organization.
No additional talent was added to make all this happen.
Within a year of this outside the box thinking and
behavior, this business unit became the safest business in
the corporation. I know that happened - I was the new VP of
Administration that worked closely with the new President
to make the changes that made safety performance a real
success. That kind of outside the box thinking - new to
what had been a very authoritarian business - was also
introduced into quality issues, information systems
changes, process improvement and a host of other areas.
In all these cases, the key question that started the
process of improvement was " What do you think?" Behind
that question was the belief that virtually all the issues
in the organization could be solved - or improved - through
the people in the organization. The result was an
improvement in all areas of measurement - safety,
productivity, on time shipments, reduction in scrap and
rework, and increased profit. It wasn't easy - and a number
of people simply weren't able or willing to change their
own behavior and beliefs. They were replaced.
When it comes to outside the box thinking, this approach is
outside the box for many organizations. But it works. And
the challenges of making it work are minimal compared the
the improvements in so many measures of success.
Here are some suggestions to make it happen:
-Start with a problem, issue or condition that has high
visibility
-Assemble a knowledgeable team of experts - the people
closest to the problem and to the potential solutions - the
people who do the work
-State the problem, and make it clear that all
possibilities will be honored
-Ask the question " What do you think?"
-Create opportunity for communication and collaboration
-Assure that filters to communication are removed - assure
that communication flows in every direction - not just
through one point of authority
-Be patient - particularly in organizations where
individual initiative has been squashed
-Be ready to accept some findings and solutions that will
be out of the ordinary
And then watch the energy and accomplishment grow.
Start today.
----------------------------------------------------
Andy Cox helps clients align their resources and design and
implement change through the application of goals focused
on the important few elements that have maximum impact in
achieving success - as defined by the client. He can be
reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com or
acox@coxconsultgroup.com
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