Thinking outside the box in your business

What does this term mean? It refers to the approach to a certain aspect, or in this case, your business. This term can also be clarified by referring to it as creative thinking, unconventional thinking or an approach from a new perspective.

By thinking outside the box and questioning the norm, you will constantly be considering how you could improve a service, product or an experience. This ensures continuous growth and can lead to intelligent and forward-thinking decisions in business.

More opportunities and possibilities suddenly appear when an outside-the-box approach is adopted. With this approach in your business, you enable yourself to be adaptable to your industry, which is of utmost importance as the business environment experiences changes as we speak. Without being adaptable to the constant changes, you will stagnate.

The following three “W’s” can come in handy to help you to constantly think outside of the box and seek growth:

1. Where

This is an important question to ask yourself throughout the whole lifespan of your business. It is not a once off thing to tick and go on. With a constantly changing business environment, you need to assess your position in relation to your competitors on a regular basis to ensure that you are still moving forward and not backwards. There are various models to help with this very important step.

2. What

As soon as you know where your business is in the market, you need to clearly determine what the future goals are and what is needed to get there. The steps to get there may adjust as time goes on, but it is important to work towards the business goal.

3. When

This is one of the most important aspects of growth for any business. Time – without this, it is impossible to evaluate the growth strategy and whether targets are met. Each target needs to be linked to a timeframe in which it needs to be met and evaluated to ensure that the process is on track and whether there are any adjustments needed.

To ensure that the business, as a whole, is constantly thinking outside of the box, the following characteristics needs to be taught to your employees:

1. Intuitiveness;
2. Consciousness;
3. Reflectiveness;
4. Creativity and open-mindedness;
5. Timeous;
6. Resourcefulness;
7. Independence; and
8. Positivity.

To conclude, think about the following – when standing still while the rest of your competitors are growing, you are actually moving backwards, which is the wrong direction for any business.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. (E&OE)