Thinking in New Boxes

Thinking in New Boxes Plot Summary

Introduction

In today's rapidly changing world, traditional approaches to creativity often fall short. The common advice to "think outside the box" presents a fundamental paradox: we cannot truly escape our mental models, yet innovation requires transcending current limitations. This tension between necessary structure and creative freedom lies at the heart of human cognition and organizational innovation. The framework presented offers a revolutionary perspective on creativity that acknowledges both the necessity of mental models and their inherent limitations. Rather than attempting the impossible task of thinking without any structure, true innovation comes from consciously creating new mental frameworks—new boxes—that better serve our evolving needs. This five-step methodology transforms creativity from a mysterious talent possessed by a few gifted individuals into a systematic practice that can be cultivated by anyone willing to question their assumptions and embrace a continuous cycle of mental renewal. By understanding how to create and recreate these boxes as circumstances change, individuals and organizations can navigate uncertainty with confidence and transform challenges into opportunities.

Chapter 1: The Paradox of Mental Models: Necessary Yet Limiting

Mental models—or "boxes" as they're metaphorically described—serve as the fundamental structures through which we interpret and navigate reality. These cognitive frameworks allow us to process the overwhelming complexity of our world by categorizing information, recognizing patterns, and making predictions based on past experiences. Without these mental shortcuts, we would be paralyzed by the sheer volume of sensory input and decision points we encounter daily. When we observe a rainbow, for instance, many of us automatically see seven distinct colors, though physically it's a continuous spectrum—this simplification exemplifies how our minds naturally create boxes to manage complexity. The paradox emerges when we recognize that these essential mental models simultaneously enable and constrain our thinking. While they provide necessary structure and efficiency, they can also trap us in rigid assumptions and outdated perspectives. Industry conventions, organizational traditions, and personal biases often become so deeply ingrained that we no longer recognize them as constructed models rather than objective reality. This explains why established companies frequently miss disruptive innovations—their existing mental models prevent them from seeing emerging opportunities that don't fit their current understanding of the market or their business. Traditional approaches to creativity that advise "thinking outside the box" fundamentally misunderstand this paradox. The instruction is flawed for three critical reasons: first, it's nearly impossible to completely escape our mental models; second, we often don't know which of our many boxes we should think outside of; and third, even if we could temporarily escape our existing frameworks, we would immediately need to create new ones to make sense of our thinking. The space beyond any box is simply too vast and undefined to be useful for practical innovation. The revolutionary insight is that true creativity doesn't come from attempting to abandon all mental models, but rather from consciously creating new ones that better serve our purposes. Just as Adam in the Garden of Eden began by naming (categorizing) the animals to create order from chaos, innovators must actively develop new frameworks to organize their understanding of challenges and opportunities. This process of thinking in new boxes acknowledges our cognitive limitations while providing a practical path forward—one that marries analytical rigor with imaginative exploration to generate genuinely novel perspectives and solutions that would remain inaccessible through conventional approaches to creativity.

Chapter 2: Doubt Everything: Challenging Existing Assumptions

Doubt serves as the essential catalyst for innovation by creating the mental space necessary for new thinking to emerge. This first step in the creative framework involves systematically questioning the assumptions that underlie our current mental models—not as an exercise in negativity, but as a deliberate practice of intellectual curiosity. By challenging what we think we know, we open ourselves to possibilities that would otherwise remain invisible behind the veil of our existing beliefs and conventions. The process begins with identifying the mental models or "boxes" that currently shape our thinking about a particular situation or challenge. These might include industry dogmas (like "banking requires physical branches"), organizational traditions ("our customers value reliability above all else"), or personal biases we've internalized over time. The most powerful boxes are often those we've forgotten are boxes at all—assumptions so deeply embedded in our thinking that they seem like immutable truths rather than constructed perspectives. A beliefs audit can help surface these hidden assumptions by systematically examining what we consider "given" or "obvious" about our business, customers, or competitive landscape. Once identified, these assumptions can be deliberately challenged through structured questioning techniques. The Cartesian method of systematic doubt provides a philosophical foundation for this approach—temporarily suspending belief in everything except what can be clearly and distinctly proven. In practical terms, this might involve asking "What if the opposite were true?" or conducting thought experiments that deliberately invert key assumptions. When a European energy company questioned its focus on investigating dwindling oil sources, executives realized they had neglected educating customers about their innovations in alternative energy—a strategic oversight revealed only through deliberate doubt. Cognitive biases present significant obstacles during this phase. Our brains naturally seek confirmation of existing beliefs and filter out contradictory information—a tendency psychologists call confirmation bias. Additionally, we tend to overvalue our current possessions and perspectives (endowment effect) and give disproportionate weight to information that's easily accessible (availability bias). Recognizing these natural tendencies allows us to counteract them through structured approaches to doubt. Optical illusions provide excellent demonstrations of how perception can override knowledge—even when we know two parallel lines are straight, diagonal intersecting lines can make them appear bent, illustrating how our minds can mislead us despite better knowledge. The practice of doubt requires both intellectual courage and humility—the willingness to acknowledge that our current understanding might be incomplete or flawed. This can be uncomfortable, explaining why many individuals and organizations resist questioning their fundamental beliefs, even when evidence suggests they should. However, the most innovative leaders cultivate this capacity for doubt as a strategic advantage, recognizing that the willingness to question today's certainties creates tomorrow's breakthroughs. When Dick Fosbury questioned the conventional wisdom about high jumping technique in the 1960s, he developed the revolutionary "Fosbury Flop" that transformed the sport—demonstrating how doubt can lead to transformative innovation when applied to even the most established practices.

Chapter 3: Explore Widely: Gathering Diverse Perspectives

Effective innovation requires a solid foundation of knowledge and diverse perspectives that extends far beyond conventional market research. This second step in the creative framework focuses on becoming what the authors call "a Magellan of uncharted seas"—investigating the world with heightened focus and sensitivity to gather the raw materials needed for creative thinking. Without this deliberate exploration, even the most imaginative minds risk developing "pie in the sky" notions disconnected from reality rather than truly valuable innovations. The exploration process encompasses three primary spheres: the broad global environment, your specific industry or field, and your particular organization. Within these spheres, three areas of inquiry prove particularly valuable: deep consumer insight that goes beyond superficial preferences to understand fundamental needs and motivations; competitive intelligence that examines not just direct competitors but potential future rivals from adjacent industries; and megatrends analysis that identifies large-scale social, economic, political, environmental, or technological shifts likely to reshape your operating context over the coming years. Consumer insight can transform an organization's entire strategic direction when pursued with genuine curiosity rather than confirmation-seeking. The Jungheinrich Group, a German forklift manufacturer, discovered through in-depth focus groups that customers weren't primarily drawn to their equipment's power and reliability as executives had assumed. Instead, customers fundamentally wanted to feel comfortable and well-treated—one participant even drew himself relaxing on a comfortable couch while everything was under control. This unexpected insight led Jungheinrich to place bright yellow sofas in each sales office for customers only and to prioritize remote diagnostics and service—a strategic shift that dramatically increased profits by addressing the actual needs customers valued most. Competitive intelligence requires transcending preconceived notions about who your competitors are and what distinguishes them. While PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are often viewed as direct rivals, their actual competitive landscapes differ significantly—nearly half of PepsiCo's revenue comes from food businesses like Frito-Lay and Quaker, while Coca-Cola derives essentially all revenue from beverages. This distinction fundamentally changes how each company should view competitive dynamics and potential threats, which often emerge from unexpected directions. The most valuable competitive insights frequently come from examining organizations in entirely different industries that excel at capabilities relevant to your challenges. Megatrends analysis provides the broader context essential for long-term innovation. Unlike short-term fads, megatrends represent substantial shifts that unfold over extended periods and have wide-reaching impacts across multiple domains. The growing urbanization of our planet, for instance, creates cascading effects from infrastructure demands to consumer buying power concentration to new needs for urban vehicles and agriculture. When identifying relevant megatrends, focus on those with strong potential impact on your specific context, sufficient longevity to inform strategic decisions, and the capacity to open multiple strategic response options rather than dictating a single path forward. This exploration phase benefits from structured approaches that ensure both breadth and depth of investigation. Techniques might include immersive customer observation, cross-industry benchmarking, scenario planning workshops, or trend-mapping exercises. The key is approaching this process with genuine curiosity rather than seeking mere confirmation of existing beliefs—being willing to encounter information that contradicts current assumptions and remaining open to surprising discoveries that might initially seem irrelevant but ultimately provide the seeds for breakthrough innovation.

Chapter 4: Diverge Creatively: Generating Multiple Possibilities

Divergence represents the expansive, generative phase of the creative process where multiple possibilities are explored without immediate judgment. This third step builds upon the foundation of doubt and exploration established previously, using that preparation as a springboard for imaginative thinking that can lead to genuinely new mental models. The essence of effective divergence lies in suspending critical evaluation to allow a wide range of ideas to emerge—focusing on quantity and variety rather than immediate quality or feasibility. Creating the right conditions for divergence requires both physical and psychological preparation. The environment should ideally be removed from everyday work settings to help participants break free from conventional thinking patterns. Clear expectations must be established about how ideas will be captured and when the shift to convergence will occur. Most importantly, ground rules should explicitly encourage "yes, and..." responses rather than "yes, but..." reactions that prematurely shut down creative thinking. When someone proposes tinting glass for windows, a "yes, and" response might suggest "Yes, and maybe some models could provide both tinting options," while a creativity-killing "yes, but" might counter "Yes, but our budget wouldn't allow it." NASA's Mars Pathfinder program exemplifies successful divergence in action. When engineers proposed using airbags to allow the spacecraft to bounce on Mars during landing—a radical departure from traditional approaches—they likely faced initial skepticism. However, by overcoming this discomfort and pursuing the unconventional concept, they created an innovative solution that enabled the successful 1997 landing, with the spacecraft's first bounce reaching an impressive 51 feet high. This example illustrates how divergence often requires transcending initial discomfort with ideas that challenge established conventions. Various structured exercises can facilitate productive divergence by helping participants see challenges through different lenses. One approach involves describing your organization without using five key words that normally define it—forcing new perspectives to emerge. Another technique explores what might happen if your company disappeared entirely or was broken into two separate entities. Imagining forced joint ventures with companies in entirely different industries can reveal unexpected synergies and possibilities—what might result from a partnership between a coffee shop chain and a fitness equipment manufacturer? Perhaps exercise bikes that generate electricity for coffee machines, or caffeinated protein shakes served in gym-café hybrids. The divergence process benefits from specific techniques that help break established patterns of thinking. "Crushing" ideas involves deliberately transforming them through operations like making them bigger, smaller, faster, slower, or combining them with other concepts. With each round of crushing, another person can suggest another twist, expanding ideas with new features and suggesting other ways they can be stretched or consolidated. Another approach involves adopting different perspectives by imagining how various stakeholders or even fictional characters might approach the challenge—what would a five-year-old suggest? How would a science fiction writer solve this problem? The final stage of divergence involves editing and consolidating ideas—not to eliminate options but to refine and strengthen them in preparation for the subsequent convergence phase. Throughout this process, maintaining an atmosphere of openness and possibility is crucial, avoiding the creativity killers that can prematurely shut down innovative thinking. The goal is not just to generate a high volume of ideas but to produce genuinely novel perspectives that challenge existing mental models and open pathways to breakthrough innovation that would remain inaccessible through conventional thinking approaches.

Chapter 5: Converge Strategically: Selecting the Right New Box

Convergence transforms creative possibilities into practical action through structured evaluation and selection. This fourth step requires a fundamental shift in thinking—from the expansive, generative mindset of divergence to an analytical, evaluative approach that identifies which new mental models offer the greatest potential value. While divergence relies predominantly on right-brain functions that embrace imagination and possibility, convergence engages left-brain capabilities focused on logic, judgment, and implementation planning. The process begins by establishing clear criteria for evaluation that reflect both objective constraints and subjective priorities. Practical "make it or break it" constraints might include budget limitations, technological standards, or regulatory requirements that any viable solution must satisfy. Beyond these basic thresholds, subjective criteria typically address alignment (with strategic objectives, organizational values, and competencies), feasibility (considering resources, timing, and implementation requirements), and impact (on reputation, competitive advantage, and operational efficiency). Additional dimensions might assess potential for change, leap in value, or credibility with key stakeholders. Decision-making during convergence requires balancing analytical rigor with creative intuition. While data and logical analysis play important roles, convergence is ultimately an inductive process that involves making judgments under uncertainty. The goal is not to identify the "one right answer" but rather to select the most promising direction based on available information and thoughtful consideration. This often involves creating matrices or other visual tools that help compare options across multiple dimensions, making the evaluation process more transparent and systematic. Testing potential new boxes for creative robustness helps ensure they represent genuine innovation rather than incremental improvements. Key questions include: Did we have to fight for this idea? Will it require taking meaningful risks? Does it represent a paradigm shift rather than a minor adjustment? Is it simple enough to be clearly communicated yet special enough to generate excitement? Will there be a clear "before" and "after" distinction when implemented? The answers won't always be affirmative, but considering these questions helps confirm you're moving toward something genuinely transformative. The composition of the convergence team significantly influences outcomes. While divergence benefits from diverse perspectives regardless of organizational position, convergence typically requires deeper domain knowledge and decision-making authority. The authors recommend including individuals who understand the organization's capabilities, market realities, and implementation requirements. However, this doesn't mean excluding creative voices—the best convergence processes maintain some creative tension while focusing increasingly on practical considerations. Many successful collaborations throughout history have paired divergent and convergent thinkers, from Hewlett and Packard to Gates and Allen. Multiple rounds of evaluation and refinement often characterize effective convergence. Initial screening might identify several promising directions, which are then subjected to more detailed assessment. This iterative approach allows ideas to be combined, modified, or expanded before final selections are made. Sometimes the most valuable new box emerges not from selecting a single idea generated during divergence, but from recognizing patterns across multiple ideas or identifying an underlying principle that connects seemingly disparate concepts. This requires maintaining openness to unexpected insights even while applying rigorous evaluation criteria—balancing focus with flexibility throughout the convergence process.

Chapter 6: Reevaluate Continuously: Adapting to Changing Realities

In a world of perpetual change, no mental model remains valid indefinitely. The final step in thinking in new boxes acknowledges this reality by establishing practices for continuous reevaluation and adaptation. This step transforms innovation from a one-time event into a sustainable discipline that allows individuals and organizations to remain creative over the long term by recognizing when existing boxes—even those that once represented breakthrough thinking—have become limitations rather than assets. The reevaluation process begins with implementing selected ideas while simultaneously establishing mechanisms to monitor both their performance and changes in the broader environment. Several signals indicate when existing boxes may need reconsideration. The most dramatic is what the authors call a "Caramba moment"—a sudden realization that current approaches no longer work, often triggered by disruptive market changes or competitive moves. More subtle indicators include paradoxes (when observations contradict existing models), weak signals (early indicators of potential change), or deteriorating performance metrics. Netflix experienced a profound Caramba moment in 2011 when customer backlash to its planned separation of streaming and DVD services revealed that its understanding of customer preferences was fundamentally flawed. Organizations that excel at reevaluation develop specific practices to counteract complacency and detect early warning signs. Some establish regular review cycles where key assumptions are deliberately questioned—essentially returning to the first step of doubting everything on a scheduled basis. Others create mechanisms to amplify weak signals that might otherwise be ignored, such as dedicated trend-spotting teams or regular exposure to perspectives from outside their industry. Still others cultivate what the authors call a "prospective mindset"—an orientation toward future possibilities rather than past successes that keeps them alert to changing conditions and emerging opportunities. The practice of continuous reevaluation requires both vigilance and humility. Leaders must be willing to acknowledge when their current boxes are no longer serving them well, even when those boxes represent their own past innovations or have been sources of significant success. This can be psychologically challenging, as humans naturally develop attachments to ideas and approaches that have worked well previously. Kodak's failure to capitalize on digital photography—despite having invented the technology in 1975—exemplifies how attachment to existing boxes ("we are a film company") can blind organizations to transformative opportunities, even when they themselves create the disruptive technology. Contrast Kodak's fate with companies that have mastered continuous reevaluation. Ferran Adrià, the renowned chef behind elBulli restaurant, exemplified this mindset by closing his world-famous restaurant for six months each year to reinvent his culinary approach, despite being repeatedly named the world's best restaurant. Similarly, Reuters has maintained relevance for over 150 years by repeatedly reinventing its methods of delivering news and information—from carrier pigeons to telegraph to satellite to internet—while maintaining its core purpose of providing timely, accurate information. The ultimate insight of this final step is that sustainable creativity requires embracing constant change rather than seeking permanent solutions. The goal is not to find the perfect box that will last forever, but to develop the capacity to create and recreate boxes as needed. This ongoing cycle connects back to the first step—doubt—creating a continuous loop of creative renewal that allows individuals and organizations to remain relevant and innovative in ever-changing environments. By institutionalizing this process, making reevaluation a regular part of operations rather than an occasional crisis response, organizations develop what might be called "creative agility"—the ability to shift perspectives quickly and effectively as circumstances evolve.

Summary

The essence of creative innovation lies not in escaping mental models but in consciously creating better ones. Thinking in new boxes represents a paradigm shift that acknowledges both the necessity of structured thinking and the imperative for continuous renewal. By systematically moving through the five-step process—doubting existing assumptions, exploring diverse perspectives, diverging to generate possibilities, converging to select promising options, and continuously reevaluating even successful approaches—we transform creativity from a mysterious talent into a disciplined practice accessible to individuals and organizations alike. In a world of accelerating change and increasing complexity, this framework offers more than just a methodology for innovation—it provides a fundamental shift in how we understand the relationship between structure and creativity. Rather than viewing these as opposing forces, thinking in new boxes reveals them as complementary aspects of effective thinking. The capacity to create, evaluate, and recreate mental models as circumstances evolve may be the most valuable skill we can develop in the twenty-first century, enabling us to navigate uncertainty with confidence and transform challenges into opportunities for meaningful innovation and growth.

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Luc de Brabandere

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