Free-Range Thinking

I'm fascinated by the hold that the notion of "thinking outside the box" has on business speak.  I wonder if anyone has taken a moment to consider what the converse of that might be. I would imagine that having considered the converse, TOTB would be considered de rigueur and we could, maybe, stop talking about it as though it were some great and wonderful thing instead of the most natural thing in the world.

What is a box? It's a container.  It is a thing limited in size and capacity.  But what is a thought? It's an idea or notion.  It may be transitory or permanent depending on the thinker's evaluation of the idea.  It is as wide or as narrow as the mind that thinks it.  It can be unlimited in size and capacity depending on how much energy its 'owner' gives it.  So here's my question: why in the world, would I squeeze that which is, by nature boundless into any container that is by its nature, bounded and therefore constricting?

Humans seem to like little sayings that embody general truths or perhaps it is tag lines that we like as they help us better understand the world.  TOTB has become a favorite tag line, a hot phrase that folks use when the limitedness of limited thinking is finally beginning to show in business and organizational performance. So here's my big idea: why not start with unbounded thinking? Why not start discouraging boxed thinking and start encouraging free-thinking, in all times and all places?  Why don't we all just start thinking freely and letting others do the same?

It occurs to me that the idea of thinking outside the box is at its core, about empowerment.  Empowered folk naturally think outside the box because they're free.  They are free to do and be whomever it is they are.  Boxed folk, on the other hand, have to be encouraged to think freely.  So here's my advice: get a box cutter, cut the box to shreds and then just think. And don't be afraid to share the thought.  Waste little time dissecting the thought down to nothing.  Just think.  It's quite liberating.

If free-range chicken is good, can you even imagine how good free-range thinking might be?  Try it some time. That's what I'm going to be doing (more of) for the New Year: Free-range thinking. Now go on and open up that box.