On International Coaching Week, Think Into the Box!

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸, 𝗜 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘅.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵.

This picture wouldn’t make you think that Bic is a classic case study in innovation. But they are! They’ve also become one of the world’s greatest sources of funding for creativity education, and are innovative in their processes in many ways…

And the image, believe it or not, shows the source of this.

See, Bic has been terrific at making cheap, plastic, disposable pens for more than sixty years. 

By the early 1970s, they had dominated the world market with this product. They didn’t invent it, but they made it the standard, and they expanded to reach literally every corner of the world in their first three decades in business.

So when they needed to come up with a way to expand more, they didn’t think “out of the box” – they thought into it.

They simply replaced the word “pens” with “lighters” and “razors” – and today their cheap, plastic, disposable lighters and razors comprise fully 2/3 of their profits. 

And yes – today their high-plastic, non-refillable model needs to change – so let’s see if they can think into the box again to cause a new shift. I bet they will.

Humans are terrible at thinking out of boxes, and companies are even worse at it. We survive by doing what we have already learned to do. 

So the quickest and most effective way to solve whatever challenge you are dealing with is to consider how can your existing boxes (ways of thinking and acting) help you solve it.

Innovation means thinking the way you already do? Well, almost! 

Just see how you can expand your boxes, combine them, or otherwise alter what you already know how to do.

What challenge are you facing today that needs solving? Just have a look at how thinking into your existing boxes can help you overcome it!

Because the most important innovation you will ever make is to innovate YOURSELF. And then those around you. Products come way down the chain.

Please share – what box(es) can you think into to solve your challenge today, and what solution does it offer you?