I hate corporate-isms. My book makes fun of some…it’s about change management, and I titled it Change (the) Management.

So I squirm when a leader says “Let’s think outside the box.”

My advice: Don’t think outside the box. Ever.

Live there.

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By definition, people who think outside the box are coming from the box.

They go to work each day as usual and focus all day on their checklists. They don’t create, dream up, solve, find new ways, motivate, lead, inspire, think anew, decide.

Inside the box is the lawyer or accountant or communications person or HR pro or finance bro who reflexively tells us “no” instead of seeing themselves as a business partner, having the curiosity to ask what we’re trying to achieve, and helping us achieve it.

A lot of people like the box. It’s comfortable in there. It’s safe…no one laughs at the ideas of those in the box. There’s little change in there, too.

But change, it’s a coming.

You see, the box is where Ai is getting entrenched, land-grabbing, growing, pushing others out. Ai can spit out a press release, ad, financial analysis, HR manual, business contract. It can balance the books, edit, design, market, schedule us, keep us on task.

It cannot (yet) dream of a new world. Create a new business. Set an example. Serve others. Shake a hand. Pick someone up. Inspire others to move outside the box.

So, if (like me at times) what you do is inside-the-box stuff, worry. And run. Figure a way to get outside the box. And stay there!

***

Also, stop using corporate-isms. They tell us you’re still inside the box!

Let me know what you think. I look forward to being in touch.

Al Comeaux