six years ago I was delivering a speech
on creativity for
negatives in France a French company
called SLO leader in the optical lenses
it went well
people were engaged and I was passionate
as always in my topic for more than 40
years for me it was a bit like business
as usual but then came the question time
and the CEO raised his hand said
interesting look you told us ten times
to think out of the box but you never
explained us what is this box we should
get out of I had no answer honestly I
wasn't proud as a corporate philosophy I
pay a lot of attention to words and
definitions and criteria but this time I
was really lost completely puzzled but
I'm thankful to him because he forced me
to revisit not only my speech but my own
thinking about creativity I realized
that in this expression creative
thinking
I focused much too much on the world
creative not enough on the word thinking
that's why I couldn't answer the serious
question and I can tell you today that
thinking out of the box is valid for all
type of thinking any type of thinking in
a way is out of a box what really makes
the difference what really matters is
this box is this an old one or is this a
new one I want you to finish very
rapidly two sentences you ready you have
to play with me so sentence number one I
want you to go very fast an example of a
car is tow your tag Heisler being
but fame no problem this is Christian
too and I want you to go as fast as you
win now the car is an example of the loo
look what happened look what happened
compare the two sentences in sentence
number one you came with BMW Audi
Ferrari
no problem but you feel in the number
one your creativity is limited and you
can make mistake if you see an example
of a car is Error vision now a base is a
plane so in question - I've heard
mobility transportation no problem no
problem
but then I heard pollution and think
more you can finish the sentence in many
many different ways the car is an
example of something I like to draw
something looks like social status or
something that brings a lot of taxes etc
etc in question number two
creativity is unlimited unlimited and no
mistakes are possible why is creativity
limited in question one because the
starting point is a set of assumptions
everybody has shells about the car why
is creativity unlimited in question -
it's because the way I frame the
question force you to a concept and you
can answer transportation mobility no
problem but by doing this you remain
within the comfort zone but in question
- you are completely free you can look
at the car the way you want you are free
to conceptualize the way you want when
you think you always like in question
one or like in question two always
either you start from a set of
assumption in a movement called
deduction that's question number one you
challenge at least one assumption here
you change the way you look at it and we
philosophers we call this movement
induction completely different now in
both cases a set of simplifications a
mental model is involved either at the
beginning like the one or at the end
like for the second let's call those
mental models boxes and we have the
answer to the serious questions boxes
are to thinking what the brick is to
building
you simply can't think without it and I
deeply believe that in creative thinking
in the end the choice of a new box is
much more important than the decision to
get out of a current one let's look at
Edison Thomas Edison and the invention
of the light bulb before Edison people
invented many many different ways to
produce light wax candle or oil lamp etc
but all those devices share at least one
assumption if you want to produce if you
want to produce light you have to burn
something and then came edison he said i
have an idea i would produce light by
preventing something from burning whoa
and then and only then suddenly the
light bulb become possible can be
deduced a light bulb is not an improved
candle no you cannot move
a candle to the light bulb unless you
decide you choose a new box we will
produce light by presenting something
from burning this is true for a people
this is true for companies for example
if I tell you Philips what comes in your
mind very fast light bulbs their razors
coffee machine etc you're right in the
Philips manufacturers and sells home
appliances but last year more than 30
percent of the sale and more than 60% of
the profit came from a completely
different area nothing to do with home
appliances medical medical for decades
for a long time
Philips out of this box home appliances
did used many many many different kind
of machines so like the coffee machine
washing machine many video but the
continuous deduction is the name is
innovation it's innovation to innovate
is this process where you produce more
cheaper faster better products out of
the same box out of the same box but and
this is next not a single box is good
forever which is not a surprise because
a box by definition is widget is frozen
and the world is not so one day you need
a new box a new set of assumptions in a
beautiful exercise he lives the CEO and
his team decided to see themselves as an
actor in a completely new world health
health
this is brilliant and this is a
difference between innovation and
creativity inducing the possibility of a
new box this is the art of creativity
and then and only then with the new
mental model the new box the hell's
Philips went on and today sells many
many products around health like things
to measure blood pressure and money to
the heartbeat I think they even have
magnetic resonance system but a
beautiful story so this new box health
looks like a revolution Wow yes and no
look at this a microwave oven and look
at that an incubator for pre mattress
babies Philips used to produce the one
produced now the second it was not too
difficult for them to move from one
machine to the other but it was very
hard for them to think about producing
incubators why because you cannot did
use an incubator from a box called home
appliances and health health for Philips
is not the product is not something they
can sell it's a new way to look at the
business which in a second step allows a
new wave of innovation and that's what
happening now let me finish with a more
personal story recently I was challenged
by the CEO of a small company producing
shop anja nearby rise in France and eeeh
he told me look the creative man we need
you we need you because we need a new
marketing idea they fine
I'm gonna come I went there the first
meeting was wow really a dessert
no idea came out and people were puzzled
and I was not proud so he then I decided
to force them in another framework in
another box I asked them could you
please describe your business without
using the five words you use most of the
time champagne bottle bah supermarket no
no hotel it was a problem for them after
a couple of minutes somebody said in the
end our business is about contributing
to the success of parties Wow
the problem was no more to sell more
more battle the problem was to make
parties more successful then I asked us
anybody has an ID when a party is more
successful and somebody said when the
speech is better probably had a bad
experience during the weekend so well it
came like this it took 10 seconds for
somebody else somebody of 10 seconds to
take hey I have a great idea for
marketing let's print a little book how
to deliver a speech that's what they did
it was a great success among consumer
and of course this book you cannot
deduce from the Box bottle of Campania
you only can be used from the box party
but you remember in the induction you
are free to conceptualize the way you
want what happened during the meeting
they just finish the sentence
differently a bottle of champagne yeah
it's something that can contribute to
the success of parties that how it
happened and maybe that's my tip for
today for you
creativity is the heart of the growth we
all know that but to really achieve
great disruption real creativity you
have no choice you have to induce new
boxes so why don't you go
and why don't you start right now look
at this sentence here take this sentence
take it for you and finish the sentence
in a way you never used before thank you