Don’t think outside the box, find new boxes. Bringing Strategic Change

The ability to survive in a world of rapid change and challenge requires increasing creativity, and that requires a change in the way we think. We cannot simply “think outside the box” as the buzzwords suggest. We have to “think about new boxes” to affect the transition we want and generate a real competitive advantage.

Psychologists tell us that behavior is a function of antecedent events or, more simply, how we have behaved in the past guides or governs how we will behave in the future. This also applies to thinking that by trying to find a new box you are starting with a blow against yourself.

To further complicate the process, we build models to legitimize and corroborate these preconceived constraints. We work to frame complex issues in ways that simplify them, making them more easily understandable, and often, sadly, we obfuscate them. And who hasn’t been told that, “we’ve always done it this way” after all is what brought us the success we now enjoy.

Thinking outside the box is mentally stressful because when we step out of the box we also step out of our comfort zone. An all-new box brings you back to the early stages of your business. Will our customer base leave us? Is our pricing model correct or adaptable? How will the competition react?

Why would you put yourself and your company to the test of creating a new normal? You’re doing it because the old normal isn’t working or has disappeared entirely. A daunting but doable task.

During the COVID shutdown, we’ve seen restaurants delivering full or sometimes limited menus to curbside customers, art galleries showcasing their wares to potential buyers via video, and books delivering via online reservations and curbside delivery. . Social distancing and meeting size restrictions are pushing apps like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams into the lexicon and standard operating procedures. Telemedicine is also expanding. This only scratches the surface.

But what if you don’t have a virus as a propellant? What if you simply recognized the need to revitalize or change your business model? But how remains the big question. It can be as drastic as redefining the business. A car company becomes a transportation company, justifying a move toward trucking. A bank becomes a more ambiguous financial institution and begins to make speculative investments. It could mean:

• Finding new customers or a new market for old products,

• Create new products for old customers, or

• New products for new markets and customers.

Achieving these changes may require testing and/or unknown methods. There are a number of tried and true methods that will increase the likelihood of getting what you want, but consider the following.

• Ask one or more people, without vested interests, who know absolutely nothing about your business, what they think or what they recommend. They are thoughts that are not affected by what you have done in the past or what you think will or will not work.

• Consider using a design firm, consultant, or someone else who specializes in ideation. You are not the first business forced into this position.

• Hire a facilitator versed in change management techniques.

• Ask existing customers what they want or would like to see you do.

• Ask potential new customers what problems they are experiencing, their effects, and what solutions they would like to see.

This is not an exhaustive list, and as far-fetched or outrageous as it sounds, it might work for you. Remember, someone invented Pet Rock, and someone thought of putting a man on the moon. Also remember, if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.