Get in the box

In our eagerness to think outside the box, we sometimes forget the box.

Everyone, it seems, wants to get out of the box.

Crawl out of the box, jump out of the box — or leap and spring out of the box. Walk around the box. Get away from the box. Think outside the box. Live outside the box. Stand on the box, look down on the box, kick the box.

Whatever. But we don’t want to live in the box, or stay in the box.

From corporate boardrooms to church offices, the talk is all about escaping the constraints of business-as-usual and to discover broader visions, fresh perspectives, new strategies and creative innovations. A leader who can “think outside the box” is considered to be a priceless asset for any organization.

But what happens when you get too far outside the box?

In the endless rush to embrace new ideas, too many groups have forgotten who they are and what they are supposed to do. Fast Company magazine (November 2005) offers us some cautionary tales about organizations that have lost touch with their core identity, and have suffered in the process.

Consider...