Creative solutions

“Think outside the box.” Personally, I hate that saying. It implies that there is only one correct way of thinking.

I agree with the idea of coming up with creative, unique solutions. However, the philosophy puts too much pressure on finding a solution that is creative enough to be considered “outside the box” thinking. And for some reason it is always used in some weird, complicated class problem. Personally, I would always think, “How do I know if my answer is ‘outside the box’?”

I want to challenge people to not think outside the box but to come up with their own unique solutions. How you get to Times Square from Stevens might be different from how someone else gets there, but it doesn’t matter as long as you reach the destination. There is a reason why companies like diverse teams, because then there are creative solutions that come out of those teams.

A few years ago, I had a small Christmas tree in my room. When I brought the Christmas tree from home to my dorm, I had not realized I was missing one of the legs of the trees. So, safe to say, my tree was a little unbalanced. I wasn’t going to let this stop me from spreading my holiday cheer, so what did I do? I did the most obvious thing to me.  I took a mug, placed the tree base inside it, and put the mug in the center of a heavy roll of duct tape — this way the mug wouldn’t tip over from the weight of the tree.

To me, this seemed like the simple and obvious solution. So when people pointed it out and laughed at it, I was a little confused. I couldn’t understand the problem. After all, it solved my problem, and it worked. I’m not saying it was the world’s best solution, and there were probably better, cleaner solutions. But, it was my solution.

I know most of us are very technical people and are used to having a step-by-step process. But that’s not how the real world works. Sometimes we need to step back from detailed procedures and use our knowledge and experience to come up with the answer.

So maybe it’s time to stop using the expression, “Think outside the box.” Instead, let’s simply come up with creative solutions.