Techniques For Encouraging Out-Of-The-Box Thinking

Sometimes, finding a compelling problem instantly inspires possibilities. Other times, crickets. Rather than waiting around for lightning to strike, we recommend that teams take a more proactive approach, and deliberately provoke their own imaginations. One of the most effective, powerful, and fun tools we have created for such self-provocation missions is what we call “Analogous Exploration.” Building upon the extensive research demonstrating the power of unexpected new combinations, we encourage folks to seek radically unexpected sources of inspiration to provoke their thinking. This means not only leaving the room, and not only leaving the building, but also leaving the industry and the conventional definition of “competitor set” behind. Analogous Exploration is not benchmarking. One early application of this radical tool was with a struggling Semiconductor Company whose sales organization had been refined over time to cater predominantly to its largest customers (who ordered hundreds of millions of units annually). The company’s senior leaders felt they needed to “reinvent the customer experience for smaller customers,” and asked for our help. (Story too long for LinkedIn tldr: they instituted a radical new information-sharing agreement with their largest distribution partner, which they believe is one of the largest supply chain innovations in their industry in the last 50 years.) The COO of the company jokingly confided later that they had been watching the competition closely… but the competition didn’t know how to solve their problems either! By deliberately seeking out unexpected sources of inspiration, the organization was able to jump-start revolutionary innovations that serve the smaller businesses every bit as well as they already did the large customers. Getting out of the box like this will not feel efficient. But it is effective. We have since seen Australian financial services organizations glean insights for how to establish trust with new customers from a barber shops & tattoo parlor (those are fascinating stories), Israeli tech companies learn from farmers’ markets, New Zealand fisheries take notes from prominent tea purveyors and bespoke coffee shops, and Japanese conglomerates attracting top-tier millennial talent based on insights from a rock climbing studio and a belly dancing instructor. Despite their differences, one critical commonality among each of these environments is that the teams positioned to solve the newly-defined problem lacked the requisite inputs to trigger fresh ideas. Imagination is fueled by fresh input, and yet all too often, teams are stuck in a conference room, post-it pads in hand, banging their heads against an all-too-ironically spotless whiteboard. Analogous Exploration is a tool to help folks get out of their context on purpose, with intention, to come back with the inspiration they need to fuel fresh thinking.

Progress begins when “I’m done” turns into “What else?” Here's why: You stopped too early, and that’s where the answer lives. Because progress isn’t an event. It’s a mindset. And it’s the foundation of real innovation. Too often, we treat testing like a checklist: ✔ Tried A. ✔ Tried B. ✔ Tried C. And when none of them work, we say: “We’ve exhausted the possibilities.” But here’s the truth: 🔎 You haven’t tested everything. 🔎 You haven’t looked between the lines. 🔎 You haven’t asked the question behind the question. Innovation isn’t about finding “the answer.” It’s about staying open-minded enough to see the answers that hide in unexpected places. The next breakthrough often comes when you stop forcing outcomes… and start exploring patterns, anomalies, and little sparks that others overlook. 💡 Testing isn’t about proving what you already believe. It’s about uncovering what you didn’t even think to look for. Here's 5 ways to implement a “You haven’t exhausted all possibilities” mentality: 1. Redefine testing as exploration → Don’t run a test just to confirm what you believe. → Run it to discover what you don’t know yet. → Every “failed” test is actually data pointing you toward something you missed. 2. Shift from Either/Or to Both/And → Instead of asking “Does A work or does B?” → Ask: “What if parts of A and B combined create something new?” → The in-between often holds the breakthrough. 3. Document assumptions, then flip them → Write down your “obvious truths.” → Challenge each one: What if the opposite were true? → This forces fresh angles that rarely show up in traditional brainstorming. 4. Zoom out, then zoom in → When stuck, step back to look at the bigger system: are you solving the right problem? → Then zoom in: small tweaks (like word choice, timing, or context) often unlock big shifts. 5. Stay curious longer than comfortable → Most people give up when testing gets repetitive or results feel flat. → True innovators keep pulling the thread, asking why again and again, until something new emerges. So the real challenge is this: ➡️ Are you open-minded enough to keep testing after you think you’re done? ________ ♻️ Repost to help others + Follow Jennelle McGrath for more leadership insights

Ever found yourself facing a team that might not naturally be considered "creative," but you know deep down there's untapped potential waiting to be ignited? That's where the real magic happens – when you transform a group of individuals into a powerhouse of innovation! Here are a few strategies to nurture creativity in even the most unexpected places: 1️⃣ Diverse Perspectives: Embrace the beauty of diversity within your team. Different backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets can create a melting pot of ideas that spark innovation. 2️⃣ Encourage Curiosity: Cultivate a culture of questioning and curiosity. Challenge your team to explore the "what ifs" and "whys" to uncover new solutions. 3️⃣ Collaborative Storming: Gather your team for brainstorming sessions. Fostering an environment where no idea is too outrageous encourages free thinking and inspires unique concepts. 4️⃣ Cross-Pollination: Encourage your team to draw inspiration from unrelated fields. Sometimes, the most innovative solutions come from connecting seemingly unrelated dots. 5️⃣ Empower Ownership: Give individuals ownership of projects and allow them to take creative risks. When people feel their ideas matter, they're more likely to contribute their creative juices. 6️⃣ Learning from "Fails": Embrace failure as a stepping stone to success. Encourage your team to share their failures and lessons learned – these experiences often lead to innovative breakthroughs. 7️⃣ Structured Creativity: Implement frameworks like Design Thinking or Ideation Workshops. These structured approaches can guide your team to think creatively within a defined framework. 8️⃣ Celebrating Small Wins: Recognize and celebrate every small burst of creativity. This positive reinforcement encourages more innovative thinking. 9️⃣ Mentorship and Learning: Pair up team members with differing strengths. Learning from each other's expertise can lead to cross-pollination of ideas. 🔟 Lead by Example: Show your own passion for creativity. When your team sees your enthusiasm for innovation, it's contagious! Remember, creativity is not exclusive to certain roles or industries – it's a mindset that can be nurtured and cultivated. So, let's harness the potential within our teams, empower individuals to think outside the box, and watch as innovation unfolds before our eyes! #InnovationAtWork #whatinspiresme #culture #teamwork #CreativeThinking #TeamCreativity #LeadershipMindset #bestweekever

#Nonprofits lack resources. We get it and we talk about it a lot. Probably too much. We have to pivot to creating a better future. How? I tried this "imagination and future-telling" exercise on a new project this week and loved how it helped to open up new thought which would typically be shot down by realizations like: "we don't have the team to pull that off" or "we cannot pay the salary for that type of role." Test out this Magic Circle exercise by IDEO: 🟩 Step 1: Pick a challenge Identify a project/initiative that’s been giving you a tough time. It could be anything from retaining staff, engaging new audiences, to stewarding #donors remotely. 🟩 Step 2: Acknowledge constraints Write down all the constraints you’re facing on sticky notes. This could include limited time, budget constraints, unsupportive leadership (😶), or too much varied input. This step is crucial for recognizing the difference between *real* and *perceived* constraints. 🟩 Step 3: Temporarily set constraints aside Once you’ve listed out constraints, put them away. Close the browser or remove the sticky notes from the whiteboard. This symbolically let's you free your mind from the limitations. 🟩 Step 4: Dream big & brainstorm outrageously With constraints out of view, let your imagination run wild. Think of the most outrageous ideas - the kind that involve creating a mascot for your org or launching a new vibrant online gathering space for interaction! The goal here is to explore the breadth of possibilities without the dampening effect of limitations. After this brainstorming, bring back your constraints and use them to sift through your ideas, refining the wild into workable solutions. I love this method b/c it DOES acknowledge real constraints but also leverages the collective imagination. It is far more effective to scale back a wild idea than to try and inject creativity into something boring. We need to reimagine what's possible ... this is one way to do it ✨ Please (please please) try it out and tell us if it worked!! _______________ #nonprofitleadership #fundraising #creatingthefuture

Leadership meetings designed to generate bold ideas and produce creative solutions MUST start a specific way, or they’re doomed from the beginning. Here’s an example: Last week, I facilitated a BREAK THE MOLD™ session with a client’s leadership team. After confirming goals with the CEO, I knew the intention of the session was to come up with a creative solution to enable the firm’s growth. Here’s the thing… The success of a session like this is often determined in the first 2 minutes. Many times, leaders will simply state the problem and open the floor to brainstorming. Here’s the issue with that approach: People are going to be blinded by all of their inherent biases, preconceived notions, and traditional ways of thinking. What you’ll get is a bunch of what I call “admiring the problem”. People dancing around the issue and assuming all the usual roadblocks are in the way. Instead, I opened this leadership session with the following: “I want everyone to assume we’re starting with a blank whiteboard. During this discussion, I don’t want you to think in terms of how we already do things. Instead, I want you to assume we’re building a firm from scratch. If we were building from scratch, how would you solve for this problem? Then we’ll address roadblocks later.” Now the tone has been set. We’ve framed the discussion in a way that gives everyone permission to think differently. Then, it’s your job, as a leader, to keep people out of the weeds and away from getting caught up on roadblocks. That’s another skillset and a post for another time… Try this next time and let me know how it goes. #innovation #leadership