I hate the phrase “think outside the box”, it’s such a cliche. Anyway, why not look harder inside the box first? According to the authors Drew Boyd and Jacob Goldenberg*, the solutions are often closer than we think. 

Download this worksheet then follow these steps.

Inside the Box & SCAMPER.pdf

There’s a video at the bottom of the page to help.

1. List all the elements of your project (people, resources, etc) that are inside the box. These are things that you have control over. Be as expansive as possible. Write down things you don’t normally think about, like office furniture, emails, coffee breaks. Anything you control – put it inside the box.
2. Now write around the box all the elements (people and resources) that are not part of your project but are close to hand. These are outside the box, but near enough that you could grab them. For example, your customer’s social media, your suppliers, things in your local neighbourhood. Again, it’s important to be as expansive as possible. The more elements you write down inside and outside the box, the more options you’ll have in Step 3.
3. Mess around with these elements, asking “What if we…” Try combining one element that’s inside the box with one that’s outside. What would that be like? Try eliminating one element you think you need from inside the box and substituting another from outside. Use the SCAMPER technique: this gives you seven different ways to mess with things that are inside and outside.
4. SCAMPER = Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Rearrange. Check out the full SCAMPER technique here.
5. After half an hour of messing about inside and outside the box, check if any of the new ideas are viable? What’s new and interesting, what’s worth trying?

Watch this video guide to working Inside the Box.

Credit: Inside the Box, by Drew Boyd and Jacob Goldenberg and to Bob Eberle for SCAMPER.