ExoBlog - The box is a container

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The box is a container

Location: Blogs ExoBlog (by John)What is the "Box", really?
Posted by: exocubic	3/3/2007 4:13 AM
Boxes contain things. No new revelation there. The original term 'Outside the Box' refers to the container - what is our current [situation, context, industry, whatever]. The resulting paradigm somehow became translated into a negative view of the box: "the box is a bad thing." Think about the alternative, however, and you will realize that this is almost insane - the box is there for many very good reasons, not the least of which is to keep stuff out! The whole idea of a box is so very core to a business (or any organization, family unit, even a personal endeavor) that it has a whole lexicon associated with it. Consider the significance of a "Mission Statement" - it is box defining. An athlete training for the Olympics can compete in several events, but not even remotely possible to compete in ALL events - therefore they train within a certain box. Not just anybody can come to your house for dinner uninvited any time they choose, (unless, no offense and bless you for it, you run a soup kitchen) because it is limited to your "family and friends" - someone must be within that box to partake of your meals. Boxes are not only important, they are abosolutely critical. So embrace the box, understand it, and allow it to serve the purpose of containing things. Of important note: if boxes contain people then they really are a bad thing. Boxes can contain roles, job types, activities, and lots of other things, but not people - there is a name for that kind of box: cage.

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