What really is ‘Thinking outside of the box’?

Editor’s note: “The Angel Connection” is a regular feature in WRAL Local Tech Wire. LTW asked consultant Bill Warner to share advice for entrepreneurs seeking angel investors and/or venture capital investment. He is chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network with over 100 members throughout the southeast.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - Throughout the problem analysis process, CEOs have to force themselves to “think outside the box.” You’ve heard that, but what does it mean?

When you think you have asked the last critical question to get at the heart of a problem, be sure that you really are at the root cause of the problem by forcing yourself to ask a couple more questions.

When the answer to a question is “I don’t know,” keep digging and bring more people into the process that might know the answer.

It is often a great idea to bring people into the critical analysis process who are simply good problem solvers and who are not involved in the problem being analyzed. You will get greater objectivity in the analysis.

Sometimes younger or newer members of your team can come up with better questions or alternatives because they are not burdened with history, baggage, or ”we always do it this way” thinking.

In this critical analysis, don’t allow any discussion about a solution. Not only is it a waste of time, but it undermines the objectivity that is needed to really get at the root causes of the problem.

At this point it’s time to see if you really have it right. You need someone special to help you with this step. You need someone who can bring more insight to the problem(s), be able to see the big picture and be able to differentiate all aspects of the problem with all aspects of your business. The person can be a partner, executive coach or an insightful executive on your team. The process is to:

• Tell them about the problem, the questions you asked about it, the answers you came up with and how you prioritized them.

• Have them give you feedback by telling you what he or she heard and adding other questions and/or answers to what you came up with.

• This is an iterative technique of looping through all the aspects of the problem, the questions that were asked and the answers that were given.

Now you’re ready to circle the wagons and convert the answer or those answers into a solution.

Form a clear and concise statement of the problem as you understand it, including the rationale for its root cause. Get confirmation from the other participants in the process that they now see the problem as it is currently defined. This assures that everyone accepts and understands a single definition of the problem.

About the author: Bill Warner is the managing partner of Paladin and Associates, a business consulting firm in the Research Triangle Park area of central North Carolina, and is the chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network with over one hundred members throughout the southeast.