What if the limits your company faces could be broken? When was the last time you recognised that the barriers in business operations were being melted away? Every company wants to stand out, and thinking outside the box has become the way to generate new ideas. It’s a metaphor used to describe a proactive approach to problem-solving. The aim is to forget company limitations and use unconventional and novel ways to expand businesses, and it’s proving effective.
Hva er å «tenke utenfor boksen»?
Educators have applied it to critical thinking classes, and businessmen now apply it as “agile methodology.” In the 1970s, management consultants gave clients the famous ‘ nine-dot puzzle ’ which perfectly demonstrates the method. The only solution can be found by identifying that the problem is not the shape or length of the lines, it is the box itself.
Companies often get stuck looking at today’s world through yesterday’s lens. Today we’ll get into outside-the-box strategies that have redefined the business landscape and how they can solve problems in your business.
Det er på tide å utvide horisonten vår og avdekke de uendelige mulighetene som følger med å tenke utenfor boksen.
Tenke utenfor boksen
Utvid omfanget ditt
Så noen ganger går økonomiene gjennom en skikkelig omveltning. Å utvide selskapets omfang er å tenke utenfor boksen i sin enkleste form, i bunn og grunn å bryte løs fra normen og utforske nye veier.
In 2007 (a seismic year for the housing market) Airbnb burst onto the scene with a wild idea. Rather than staying in a traditional hotel, travellers could bunk down in someone else's spare room. Sure, it sounded a bit out there at first—who in their right mind would stay at a stranger's place?
By tapping into the sharing economy and leveraging the power of the internet, Airbnb created a platform where homeowners could make cash using their spare rooms and travellers could find truly unique accommodations. Suddenly, your next vacation didn't have to mean squeezing into a standard hotel room. Now you could cozy up in a Parisian flat or snooze in a Costa Rican treehouse, all thanks to Airbnb's stroke of genius. Outside of the box? What box ?
Hjernedump
One method that's been gaining popularity lately is the classic Brain Dump. Think of it as a free-form ideation technique , or a ‘ brain-storm ’, but with a big emphasis on expressing thoughts and ideas uncritically. It could be a freewriting session where the team unloads anything on their mind onto a blank page. Anxieties, to-do lists, emotions – brain dump sessions promote bringing all of these things into the light.
By creating a judgment-free zone, businesses can apply the collective brainpower of their teams to even the trickiest problems. Take Google, for instance. They're famous for their " 20% time " policy, where employees get to spend part of their workweek on passion projects. An idea that came from a brain dump session. This freedom has led to game-changing innovations like Gmail and Google News, proving that giving staff the space to explore off-the-wall ideas can pay off big time.
Så det å omfavne «hjernedump» fremmer mer enn bare å tenke annerledes, det bidrar til å fjerne begrensninger og får inn i en innovasjonsmentalitet. Det handler om å tørre å drømme stort og omskrive reglene for hva som er mulig.
Be om innspill fra utenforstående
Now let’s aim to give your company's creativity a boost. Instant internet connectivity now means companies don’t have to rely on in-house designers forever. How many times have we seen companies scratching their heads over a new marketing campaign? They've gone through each stage of brainstorming internally for ages, but every idea seems to hit a dead end. That's the cue to reach out beyond the office walls.
Dette kan være den perfekte muligheten til å komme utenfor boksen (av intern tilbakemelding) og få noen visdomsord utenfra. Invitasjoner kan gis til verdsatte kunder, eller bare produkteentusiaster. De kan dele tankene sine i en fokusgruppe eller slå seg sammen med et særegent markedsføringsbyrå kjent for sine utenfor boksen-idéer. Ved å ta i bruk innspill fra utenforstående, injiserer de et utbrudd av noe nytt.
LEGO nailed this approach with their "LEGO Ideas" platform . Instead of sticking to their own designers, they opened the floodgates to LEGO enthusiasts worldwide. These eager beavers pitched new ideas for LEGO sets and came up with tons of fresh new concepts. By embracing outsider input, LEGO shook up the toy industry, proving that people who operate outside of the box can help companies understand it better.
Spillifisering
Gamification infuses game-like elements into routine tasks to make them more engaging and enjoyable. It steps beyond the usual boundaries and promotes creativity through games .
How about the innovations of Duolingo, the language-learning app everyone's been using for years? Instead of slogging through textbooks and endless grammar drills, they turned language learning into a game. Users earn points through ‘streaks ,’ unlock levels, and even compete with friends, all while mastering a new language. In the same way that a teacher gives stars to a standout student's performance, this app rewards productive work with in-game items.
Tenk deg nå at flere bedrifter tar utgangspunkt i Duolingos strategi. De kunne ha ansattopplæring som et spill med belønninger og utfordringer. Eller hva med å injisere litt sunn konkurranse i salgsteam med poengtavler og insentiver?
Ved å omfavne spillifisering viser bedrifter at de ikke er redde for å tenke annerledes, og at de forstår prinsippene bak belønningssystemer. De er villige til å droppe de gammeldagse tilnærmingene og bli kreative. Når teamet ditt har det gøy, hvem vet hvilke geniale idéer som kan dukke opp? Du vil kanskje oppdage at de ansatte er bedre i stand til å bryte seg løs fra normen og slippe løs den innovative ånden.
Arbeid bakover fra målet
La oss si at teamet ditt har dette store oppdraget: å lansere en splitter ny programvareapp på bare seks måneder. Høres ut som en strekning, ikke sant? Men her er hvordan det å snu manuset og jobbe baklengs gjør det fullstendig gjennomførbart.
Først, se for deg den store finalen: det er måned seks, og pang! Du har denne elegante, feilfrie appen som er alt brukerne dine noen gang har ønsket seg. La oss nå spole tilbake derfra:
- End of the line, month 6: The app's out there, dazzling users left and right.
- Stretch from month 5 to 6: It's crunch time with user acceptance testing. You're making sure the app doesn't just work but wows.
- Roll back to months 4 and 5: Here's where the app's in the hands of early testers. They're poking around, and you're on standby to zap any bugs they find.
- Back up to months 3 and 4: All the app's features are in place. Now you're on bug patrol, squishing any that pop up.
- Reverse to months 1 through 3: You're building the heart of the app, focusing on those must-have features first.
- All the way back to month 1: This is where it all kicks off. You're sitting down with the stakeholders, getting a crystal-clear picture of what they want.
Ved å starte fra seiersrunden din og gå tilbake gjennom hver milepæl, har du en klar plan. I tillegg betyr det å oppdage potensielle feil tidlig at du alltid er et skritt foran. Ganske fin «ut av boksen»-strategi?!
Fire dagers arbeidsuker
Å ha en firedagers arbeidsuke er en ny måte å endre ting på i arbeidslivet. Det går bort fra den gammeldagse rutinen fra 8 til 16, mandag til fredag, og gir alle mer rom til å puste. Det gir ansatte en ekstra fridag til å få ting gjort, uten nødvendigvis å spare på arbeidet som må gjøres. Når folk er lykkeligere og mindre stresset, har de en tendens til å gjøre jobben sin til en realitet uansett. Det er en vinn-vinn-situasjon som handler om å jobbe smartere, ikke lenger.
In 2019, Microsoft Japan took a bold step with their " Work-Life Choice Challenge ," opting for a four-day workweek without cutting pay. The outcome was surprisingly positive:
Teamets produktivitet, målt etter salg per ansatt, økte med nesten 40 % fra året før. De så også en betydelig nedgang i ressursbruk: strømforbruket falt med 23 %, og papirutskriften stupte med 59 %. Dette sparte ikke bare kostnader, men var også bedre for miljøet.
Kanskje mest talende var de ansattes respons: hele 92 % foretrakk denne nye timeplanen fremfor den tradisjonelle femdagersuken.
Denne studien beviste at det å forkorte arbeidsuken kunne føre til lykkeligere ansatte og et mindre miljøavtrykk. Microsoft Japans satsing utenfor den konvensjonelle arbeidsplanen demonstrerte de mange fordelene med fleksible, innovative arbeidsordninger. For en flott måte å tenke utenfor boksen!
Leveringsforstyrrelser
I dag er bedrifter stadig på utkikk etter nye måter å endre ting på. La oss se på leveringsforstyrrelser – et begrep for å tenke langt utover de vanlige leveringsrutene. Det kaster forsiktighet ut i lyset og leverer pakker på måter du aldri ville forventet. La oss være ærlige, tradisjonelle systemer trenger litt endring nå og da.
Take a gander at Amazon. They've got their wild delivery system called Prime Air , where drones swoop in to deliver (lightweight) packages. Currently operating in Lockeford California and College Station, Texas, 2024 has plans for new locations in the UK and Italy. It's like a sci-fi movie come to life, and it's redefining how we think about getting goods from point A to point B. By embracing these out-of-the-box delivery methods, Amazon’s drones deliver packages while delivering innovation into the logistics industry.
Ved å hoppe på toget av leveringsforstyrrelser kan bedrifter hjelpe fremtidige logistikkteam med å utforske utenfor boksen. Etter hvert som nye leveringsalternativer blir tilgjengelige, viser det at du er klar til å omfavne nye leveringssystemer verden at du ikke er redd for å bevege deg utenfor forretningsgrensene.
Abonnementsfokus
In recent years, there were thousands of companies that used to sell goods one time and hoped for repeat customers. Traditional payment systems meant that a focus on ‘subscription’ wasn’t really part of public consciousness. Now the game has changed, and it hasn’t been this way for very long. Let’s take a little look at how Dollar Shave Club did it .
Shaving. A process as old as time. What they did was imagine from the customer’s perspective. Instead of scrambling to remember to buy razors every few weeks, they could wake up each Monday morning to find a fresh batch waiting for them at their doorstep. No hassle, no fuss - the delivery process is as straight as a razorblade.
Dollar Shave Club redefined the entire shaving experience. By offering a subscription service, they turned a mundane chore into a seamless and hassle-free process. For their customers, it wasn’t just about convenience either. DSC established trust and loyalty with points schemes, and customers knew they could rely on them to deliver products when needed, without fail.
By thinking outside the traditional payment box and embracing subscriptions, companies can forge deeper connections with customers and stay ahead of the curve in today's shifting marketplace.
Legg vekt på etikk
De fleste selskaper ser på bunnlinjen sin som selskapets viktigste «livsblod», men det finnes et våpen som noen smarte merkevarer har mestret, nemlig å legge vekt på etikk. Ved å gjøre dette viser de at deres oppdrag ikke utelukkende handler om profitt – og TOMS er et lysende eksempel på hvordan det å tenke utenfor boksen endret spillet.
TOMS introduced a model that aimed to create a huge impact. Their " One for One " model wasn't just a marketing gimmick – it was a bold move to address a global need. For every pair of shoes sold, TOMS pledged to donate a pair to a child in need. They combined practicing good business with planting good karma.
Ved å sette etikk i høysetet for merkevaren sin, vant TOMS hjertene til forbrukere overalt. TOMS inspirerte en bølge av sosialt bevisste selskaper til å følge etter, som Patagonia og Nudie Jeans.
For businesses looking to stand out in a crowded marketplace, emphasizing ethics can illustrate a deeper longing for a closer customer connection. It shows they want to do some good , not just do well , and it shows staff that bottom lines do not have to create a business box.
Hvorfor ikke tenke utenfor boksen på et nytt sted? Prøv en av våre teamutflukter!
Sometimes it’s hard to get outside the box if you’re always in the same location. So why not consider a fantastic cure, a team retreat ?! Imagine the usual confines of your office settings melting away on a sandy beach or taking the time to appreciate nature on a countryside retreat. A quick change of environment can be as revitalising as a complete office overhaul. Think outside of the box? What box?
Liker du denne idéen, men er usikker på hvordan du skal sette det hele sammen? Ikke noe problem, det er her Surf Office kommer inn i bildet.
We've had the pleasure of organizing over 700+ retreat experiences , including remote teams , for many different companies. Here’s how what we offer:
- Stressfrie overføringer? Vi fikser det for deg! ✅
- Kvalitetssikret overnattingssted? Sjekk! ✅
- Engasjerende teambyggingsaktiviteter ? Our speciality ✅
- Restaurantreservasjoner? Det tar vi av oss! ✅
- Ekspert bistand til utfluktsplanlegging? Selvfølgelig har vi dette dekket! ✅
- Støtte på stedet, skreddersydd til dine behov? Absolutt ✅
Not only this but we also have access to 150+ locations around Europe, APAC, the US and now Latin America , meaning the sky is your limit when it comes to choosing the right location for you and your team.
Allow your mind to leave the box of ideas and allow us to sort out the tricky logistics! Book now , spaces are limited!
