by Steven Gillman
When innovators talk about thinking outside the box, they mean coming up
with creative ways to solve problems - new ways to look at things. How
do they do it? How can you do it too? We first have to ask what the
"box" is. Then we can look at how to get outside of it. The "box" is
the normal way of doing things and looking at things. It is the
assumptions that almost everyone involved is making. The best way to
start thinking out of the box then, is to identify and challenge all the
assumptions that make up thinking inside the box. One of the major
liquor brands was faltering years ago, and they couldn't seem to boost
their sales. Promotions, lowering the price, getting better shelf
placement - these were the "in the box" solutions. Then someone
challenged the assumptions, by asking "What if we stopped the promotions
and just raised the price?" The price was raised as an experiment, and
sales soon doubled. As it turns out, some types of liquor are bought
quite often as gifts. Buyers don't want to buy the most expensive one,
but they also don't want to seem cheap, so they won't buy products that
don't cost enough. Now imagine what happens to your profit margins when
you raise the price and double the sales. That's the power of thinking
outside of the box.
