Thinking in New Boxes - Book Summary

Become the master of your own thinking: Uncover your hidden biases and learn how to surpass them

Your own mind can be your worst adversary. Be it hasty judgments you rue almost immediately, or the good ideas being obscured by a stubborn mental fog; it almost seems as if our own thoughts are at times our greatest foes!

But don't give in to despair just yet. Most of these internal machinations can be tamed, and even turned into your biggest strengths — after all, if these cognitive snares are common to all, then figuring out how to navigate them could be the secret to understanding those around us.

The concept of 'thinking inside the box' is a challenge that resonates with virtually everyone. It's an expression coined from the corporate jargon of the '60s and '70s, but it's all too real a manifestation of our cognitive processes.

This narrative will dissect what it really means to think inside the box, while offering an easy-to-follow, methodical guide to liberate yourself from its confines.

In this journey of cognitive discovery, you will uncover:

- Strategies to steer clear of tunnel vision;

- Why our traditional perception of the world as spherical might need a rethink; and

- How pens nearly proved fatal for Bic.

Thinking outside the box: An inescapable paradox

How often have you been urged to "think outside the box"? While the counsel has been with us for decades, its application is easier said than done, mainly due to the way our minds function.

Mental models, or "boxes" as we're referring to them here, are the tools our minds utilize to decipher our complex reality.

Our minds tirelessly construct simplified representations of the world around us — categorizing and discerning patterns, and developing complex structures like rules and paradigms. Without these models, our ability to think swiftly and efficiently would be severely compromised. In essence, it’s impossible to think without boxes — that’s just the wiring of our brains.

Let's consider this: if you reside in Germany, you've probably learned to identify light beige cars as taxis — this is an example of a "box" you've crafted for taxis. Now you understand that not all cars of that hue will transport you, but this mental shortcut enables you to bypass countless non-taxi cars in your search for a ride.

However, if you happen to visit New York City, this box won't serve you any longer. Almost instantly, you'll create a new box adapted to your surroundings, keeping an eye out for yellow cars whenever you're in need of a ride.

You see, there's not just one all-encompassing "box". Rather, we're dealing with a multitude of boxes, each shaped by your identity — and in return, your identity is itself an intricate arrangement of boxes. You could identify as an array of roles — for instance, an IT professional, an Australian, a woman, and so on — hence, there is an infinite number of boxes outside your particular worldview.

Boxes are the very scaffolding of our cognitive processes; they're unavoidable. When you step out of one, you're simply stepping into another.

Breeding ground for groundbreaking ideas: Embrace new boxes

If exiting one box simply implies finding oneself in another, then how is it possible to genuinely "think outside the box"? The reality is, you can't. Instead, innovation necessitates the creation of completely new boxes.

If you don't cultivate new boxes, you expose yourself to the deleterious consequences of old boxes: tunnel vision.

Tunnel vision sets in when you overlook the fact that your personal perception of the world is merely an interpretation founded on a subjective slice of information. After all, it's your perception - nobody else's experience can substitute it.

What you perceive is not an unambiguous reality, nor is it necessarily the most accurate interpretation of our intricate reality. Believing that your box is the 'correct' one circumscribes the universe of conceivable thoughts.

Consider, for instance, how long humanity clung to the belief that the Earth was flat, despite the evidence to the contrary. In reality, our planet is a sphere. In 2011, the notion of Earth as a round globe was further refined towards a model resembling a potato. And this conception too will inevitably evolve as forces such as gravity and rotation continue to shape our planet.

This tunnel vision poses a grave threat to creative thinking. Take the case of Bic, a company that, until the 1970s, primarily identified itself as a producer of plastic ballpoint pens. Such a narrow self-definition inherently restricted their innovation potential to differing colors and designs!

However, if we can overcome tunnel vision, we can construct new boxes that open up a myriad of exciting possibilities.

The transition from viewing the Earth as 'flat' to recognizing it as a 'globe' dispelled the fear of falling off the Earth's edge, sparking courage in people to voyage around the world and discover new lands.

Likewise, when Bic broadened its self-perception from being merely a pen producer to a plastic products manufacturer, it was able to venture into diverse product categories such as lighters, razors, and even mobile phones.

So, what's the secret to breaking free from traditional thought patterns and creating these new boxes? Stay tuned to uncover the answer.

The first step: Distrust your instinctive reactions!

If your "train of thought" was an actual locomotive, would you be merely a passenger or the driver? Grasping the concept of boxes and the constraints they impose on our thinking paves the way for us to move into the driver's seat and seize control.

The journey begins with the simple realization that it's comforting to stick with the familiar.

Our minds instinctively adhere to the existing array of boxes, subconsciously assimilating information that aligns with our worldviews and discarding information that seems contradictory. This makes shifting our perspectives a daunting task.

Take for instance the case of Dick Fosbury who, in 1968, established a new Olympic record for high jump. His unorthodox technique of jumping backward sparked ridicule, despite the fact that it enabled him to jump higher than anyone else. People were merely resistant to his method because it felt "wrong" to them.

Surprise, surprise: Since 1976, no one has clinched a gold medal in high jump without utilizing what's now known as the Fosbury Flop!

Secondly, it's important to recognize that the human mind has a faulty default setting. We're routinely deceived by a phenomenon known as cognitive bias — the subconscious programming that prompts us to prioritize intuitive simplicity over objective scrutiny. This results in logical blunders and frequent misestimation of probability, value, or risk.

To put this into perspective, envision a frozen pond in winter. Most people would feel safer ice skating on the pond if they observe others doing the same. However, their intuition couldn't be more misguided: it's actually less risky to skate alone, without the added weight.

Moreover, as revealed by studies in behavioral economics, cognitive biases also influence our financial and business decisions. For instance, investors often continue to cling onto stocks even after their value dips below the purchasing price, rather than acknowledging the loss and severing ties with a losing investment.

Continuing the first step: Constantly question your perceptions of reality

As we've realized, boxes can simultaneously fuel and hinder our thinking. But the moment you become aware that our individual and collective interpretations of the world, that is, our boxes, are inherently incomplete, you're well-equipped to scrutinize your own boxes.

Recognizing and questioning your boxes is the gateway to crafting new ones. Proactively seek answers from yourself and your peers about critical values, goals, aspirations, and fears in order to pinpoint the boxes you're entrapped in and identify the beliefs and assumptions that could be impeding your progress.

It's not about categorizing boxes as "right" or "wrong". Instead, the question you need to be asking yourself is: Will this box retain its utility tomorrow?

For several decades, it was a widely accepted notion that video games primarily catered to teenage boys and young men. This assumption went unchallenged. After all, why meddle with a successful formula?

Well, the reason is simple. A gaming company could potentially triple its customer base by extending its focus to other demographic groups, including women, the elderly, and even toddlers! But unless gaming companies acknowledge the existence of this box, they won't be able to surpass its boundaries.

Even when innovators succeed in creating new boxes, these novel paradigms are not designed to stand the test of time.

Let's say a gaming company has managed to successfully engage new target audiences such as women and young children. Well done! However, in the interim, the company's most faithful clientele — teenage boys — have evolved. As they grow up, their gaming preferences also change. So, what games are they interested in playing now? Responding to this question calls for a fresh box.

Remember, even the most groundbreaking idea is eventually destined for obsolescence. No matter how meticulous or deliberate your approach in shaping your boxes, you will invariably find yourself returning to the drawing board to start from scratch. The world is in a constant state of flux, and we need to persistently modify our mental models to either keep up with or, ideally, set the pace of change.

Step two: Equip yourself with new insights.

The notion that groundbreaking innovations are the brainchild of brilliant minds drawing from their inner wellspring of creativity is appealing, but largely a myth. As we've discussed, if we let our minds function on cruise control, it's unlikely we'll produce any transformative ideas.

Hence, we must commit ourselves to the task of gathering information to shake off the shackles imposed by our old boxes.

The authors highlight areas where we need to source information: the global environment encompassing society, economics, science, and more; your specific industry or domain, including customers, competitors, and the like; and your organization or context, which includes aspects such as products and structure. The purpose of this step is to provoke questions rather than procure answers.

To bring this process to life, let's revisit the video game industry through the lens of a fictitious company, Ultragames.

In terms of global trends, Ultragames is influenced by an aging consumer base in parallel with the advancement of internet and mobile technology. The company was rooted in the belief that gamers were chiefly teenage boys and young men. However, upon examining fresh data about their industry, they discovered that the average age of gamers has now increased to 37, and women account for 42 percent of the industry's consumer base.

To source information within the organization, Ultragames conducts a product survey. The results reveal that the newly-emerged adult gamer demographic is less focused on price, and more attracted to Ultragames' "no sex, no violence" policy as it simplifies finding and buying games for their children.

Now, armed with this data, it's time to formulate some questions. For example, upon reflecting on these newfound insights, one question that Ultragames might pose is: How can we design products that cater to all age groups while staying true to our family-friendly ethos?

Steps three and four: Formulate and evaluate hypotheses.

Picture yourself as a gold prospector in the Yukon during the nineteenth century. You wouldn't anticipate striking gold in your initial handful of sand sieves, would you? The truth is, you'll be spending a considerable amount of time sifting through the dirt before you discover a gold nugget. The process of unearthing innovative ideas works on the same principle.

At this juncture, your goal is to produce an array of potential new boxes. It's crucial not to stifle your creativity by dismissing ideas before they've had a chance to mature. Approach this exercise with the belief that there's no such thing as a bad idea, and motivate your team to examine the problem from every conceivable perspective, no matter how absurd or improbable it may seem.

For instance, when NASA was devising a way to land on foreign planets with minimum pollution from Earth-based chemicals, they certainly didn't foresee their multi-billion dollar spacecraft landing on the planet by bouncing within a shell composed of airbags. And yet, that's precisely how Pathfinder made its historic landing on Mars in 1997.

Once you've accumulated a substantial array of ideas, it's time to scrutinize them using distinct evaluation parameters. Your judgements should never rely solely on instinct, but should be guided by a methodology that mitigates cognitive biases that restrict your imagination.

So, what criteria should you use? Certain factors like budget limitations, technological viability, or regulatory requirements, are universally applicable. Others are more specific, such as your brand image, your areas of specialization, the intended timeline, and so on.

Take Ultragames, for instance. They might conclude that developing separate games for each new market segment is financially prohibitive. They need a concept that aligns with their financial criteria and also enhances their family-friendly corporate identity, like educational games designed for all age groups.

You may need to cycle through these two steps multiple times before you strike gold. Once you do, remember, even your successful ideas deserve skepticism!

Now that you're equipped with the tools to liberate yourself from restrictive boxes, our final section will guide you on how to generate the most creative ideas for your business.

The grander the box, the greater the potential.

Picture your business as a tower of cards: if you aim to renovate, your mental conditioning confines you to tinkering only with the top levels, fearing that the entire edifice might crumble. This limits the possibility of profound transformation, as you're unable to shake the foundations upon which your enterprise was constructed.

However, it's when you challenge the most basic elements of your business that you tap into the highest creative potential. Reflect on the turning point for Bic. They could have constructed more superficial boxes by, say, fabricating a variety of pens instead of just ballpoint, or even venturing into plastic office supplies.

But they opted for an even grander box: any throwaway plastic item.

Several other companies have made similarly dramatic changes by constructing new, expansive boxes. Nintendo, for example, transitioned from manufacturing playing cards to crafting video consoles, while LG metamorphosed from an industrial chemical manufacturer into a producer of high-tech appliances.

Venturing to fundamentally shift your perception triggers a domino effect of innovative ideas, and you'll realize that each box is nestled within another box within another box.

For instance, Bic's expansive new box encompasses all the previously mentioned boxes (pens and plastic office supplies), including its original product. Once they fashioned a new grand box that established their company's identity, they could fill it with medium-sized boxes, which could then be stuffed with smaller ones, thus fostering a myriad of new products.

Similarly, Nintendo's reimagining of its identity opened the gates to ventures like video game production, merchandising, and even film production.

Thinking on a large scale isn't straightforward when it comes to crafting new boxes. However, if you can construct boxes expansive enough, you'll dramatically widen your horizon of opportunities.

Prepare for an unpredictable future.

What sets apart companies that are caught off guard by transformative changes from those that benefit from, or even lead them? In essence: Their capacity to switch boxes in real time.

Achieving long-term success in business necessitates maintaining an open mind towards numerous potential futures. Be wary of the ever-present pitfall of tunnel vision: we often plan for a single vision of the future — one that is likely rooted in our current understanding. Essentially, we employ predictive thinking in preparing for the future.

In contrast, we should utilize prospective thinking, which poses questions like: What might happen? What could I influence to happen?

By visualizing a range of possible scenarios, your business can remain adaptable and well-prepared with not just a plan A, but also contingency plans B and C.

There are two types of reasoning available when plotting a course for the future: deduction and induction. Deduction involves fitting information into an existing box. For example, you might pose the question: "What are the most significant trends that will impact our industry?"

The drawback with this mode of reasoning is that the scope of potential responses is restricted, concentrating too heavily on current knowledge.

In contrast, induction operates in reverse: you gather information and seek an appropriate box for it. Inductive thinking encourages creativity by breaking free from common associations and asks questions that yield an endless array of answers.

For instance, you could ask: "How could scenario XY emerge as the most impactful trend affecting our industry in the future?" This approach allows you to uncover opportunities that other competitors simply haven't considered, i.e., truly innovative approaches.

Take, for example, executives in the high-quality glass industry would probably concur that devising screens for mobile communication devices would be one of the most significant market innovations in the near future.

But wouldn't it be wiser to initiate a technological revolution while the competition scrambles for a share of that pie? How about creating materials that render glass redundant? Or something completely novel?

Concluding synopsis

The crux of this book is:

Our ability to think creatively is often hampered by our restricted viewpoint. But overcoming this limitation is crucial if we want to foster innovation. To trigger creative thinking, we need to relentlessly question our worldviews — the "boxes" that encase our perception of what's plausible — and use strategies that prevent our subconscious from thwarting our efforts.