Inside the box

Use creativity systematically and achieve innovative results.

Contrary to what business wisdom commonly asserts—that to forge original and powerful solutions to problems, we must think outside the box—Drew Boyd and Jacob Goldenberg show, based on their experience in the corporate and academic worlds, that this isn't necessarily the best solution. Although it may seem counterintuitive, innovation and creativity are the result of working with what's familiar (yes, inside the box), using a series of models that channel the creative process in ways that make us more—not less—creative.

The authors use techniques based on a surprising set of common patterns shared by all innovative solutions. These form the basis of the Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) method, now used by hundreds of companies worldwide, including industry leaders such as Johnson & Johnson, GE, Procter & Gamble, SAP, and Philips.

The five SIT techniques for innovation include:

• Subtraction (removing a component from the product or process and understanding what is left).
• Division (dividing an element into several parts to understand how it works).
• Multiplication (modifying components from their copy).
• Task unification (limiting or restricting the possible options for solving an issue).
• Attribute dependency (combining attributes that previously seemed unrelated).

Many other books discuss how to make creativity a part of corporate culture, but none of them use the innovative and unconventional approach of Systematic Inventive Thinking. With "inside the box" thinking, companies and organizations of any size can solve problems creatively and reinvent themselves systematically and continuously.

You don't need to wait for a crisis to think of creative solutions: Inside the Box is a practical guide to help you start innovating right now.