It is quite important to think outside the box to find out solutions and alternative ways to our daily problems inside our company. It is a well-known popular metaphor when facing creativity and its main aspects. But recent and major worldwide problems (the financial crisis, climate change, etc) have been requiring from us, new ideas and approaches to overcome them as a whole. And doing that requires more than a just “thinking-outside-the-box”. We must go further to find reliable solutions. The great idea is to go beyond looking for new aspects in other companies and environments. Our presentation is aiming to point out some aspects of the business theory “thinking-outside-the building” and how could a leader learn new ways of thinking and developing innovation inside his business environment.

1. Think Outside the
Building

2. Introduction
• Thinking outside the box is a
popular metaphor for
creativity.
• But recent major systemic
challenges (the financial
crisis, health care reform,
and climate change, among
others) require new ideas
significantly bigger than a
mere box.

3. Important
• The greatest future
breakthroughs will
come from leaders
who encourage
thinking outside a
whole building full of
boxes.

4. Inside-the-building
Thinking
• Inside-the-building thinking is
the hallmark of establishments,
whose structures inhibit
innovation.
• Once the architecture is set,
vested interests divide up the
floors and reinforce existing
patterns and practices.

5. Developing
New Solutions
• They pay most attention to
similar-looking competitors
in markets already served.
• They focus on enhancing
the use of existing
capabilities rather than
developing new solutions
to emerging problems.

6. Steps Outside the
Building
• In contrast, even small steps
outside the building facilitate
productive change.
• Many technology companies
place engineers in customers’
facilities to shorten feedback
loops for rapid prototyping of
new products.

7. Business Cases
Brazil
• The Bank Santander in
Brazil increases its
attractiveness to top
talent by mounting crime-
reduction and cleanup
efforts in bank
neighborhoods.

8. Business Cases
Japan & USA
• At Japanese electronics maker
Omron, sales representatives
identify product development
opportunities by finding customers’
unsolved problems.
• IBM educates future global leaders
outside classrooms, sending
diverse teams to unfamiliar
countries to tackle tough
challenges.

9. Business Cases
USA
• To speed innovation at P&G,
former CEO A.G. Lafley
looked well outside the
building.
• He built on Peter Drucker’s
concept of the meaningful
outside and had employees
identify consumers’ needs by
living in people’s homes.

10. Conclusion
• To foster innovation and
transformation, leaders should
focus on impact, not inputs.
• They should identify unsolved
problems, map the wider system
influencing results, and determine
weak links to strengthen or gaps
to fill.

11. Conclusion
• But to do all that
effectively, they must
first jump out of the
box and leave the
building.

12. Lico Reis Consultoria
& Línguas
Roberto Lico Reis
Feel free to send us suggestions
about new presentations,
that can help you to face your life or professional
challenges.
www.licoreis.com
licoreis@licoreis.com
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