One of the original MBA buzzwords, think outside the box means to seek a solution to a business problem through creative thinking rather than typical lateral thought. The term originated from a management consultancy puzzle called the Nine Dots.
The goal of the Nine Dot puzzle is to draw four or fewer straight, continuous lines through each of the dots without lifting your pen. You should try it now.
Typical lateral thinkers believe it can’t be done, and will spend lengthy amounts of time agonizing over the results. Creative members of a group may jump straight to the conclusion that the only way to solve the puzzle is to break the parameters set by the outer dots, and they would be right.
Thus, the way to solve the puzzle is to be creative by thinking outside the box.
Caution – think outside the box is one of the most overused buzzwords in the MBA world. You should be aware of it, but not necessarily use it often.
A straight line is a geodesic to a surface. Thus with the appropriate (maybe large) surface, the nine dot problem can be solved with one straight line.
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