"Thinking outside the box" has been fashionable for quite some time, and it seems to have lead to some interesting advancements in many industries. It may have been necessary and may still be necessary when business operations become stagnant or products lose appeal. "TOTB" is often called on to provide support to change management, process improvement, and related activities. Thinking differently than "normal" is considered valuable when vision changes are necessary.
One assessment of the current situation suggests that change management has become "all things to all people". Now, change management is being offered as the cure-all to any corporate issue and has become a commodity service offered by anyone who may have taken a Six Sigma course.
Yet, there are firms that have well established and effective change management programs. These businesses are beginning to look for more ways to create value within their operation. They are beginning to see some diminishing returns in continuous improvement, as they begin to gain control over the macro events and processes that are needed to run their business. In these companies, there is less need to be looking for vision changes, but still a need to execute at optimal levels.
In many firms, it may no longer be about changing processes, but assuring that processes are followed and each step in the process is maximized for efficiency.
If the process is "the box", firms must begin to consider how to think inside the box and use that focus to assure every small bit of waste is removed and all transactions that occur within the box are optimized.
This new focus on thinking inside the box will require that all process participants begin efforts at self-directed micro management or individual transaction management. Every transaction that occurs within the process and which is influenced by the participant, must be evaluated by the participant and determined to have value.
