Likely Normal

We all love to proudly declare we’re thinking outside the box – usually while sitting in the same office chair, drinking from the same coffee mug, and suggesting the same three ideas we always do. The truth is, we’re not box-breaking innovators – we’re box-dwelling creatures of habit who occasionally stick a Post-it note on the outside and call it progress.

Our brains are basically lazy roommates:
• “New idea? Ugh, fine. But let’s just tweak that thing we did in 2018.”
• “Disrupt the industry? Best I can do is add ‘blockchain’ to an old PowerPoint.”
• “Blue-sky thinking? The forecast calls for 100% chance of the same clouds.”

The corporate innovation process goes like this:

Assemble for a “brainstorming session” (read: free bagels)

Whiteboard the same five ideas from last quarter

Pick the safest option

High-five over your “bold, outside-the-box thinking”

We pretend we’re Steve Jobs when we’re really just Steve from Accounting – and Steve knows that real innovation might mess with his carefully color-coded spreadsheet system. Why risk a brilliant new idea when you can suggest “maybe we should form a committee to explore possibly considering innovation at some future date?”

The hilarious part? When someone actually does have an original thought, we react like they’ve started speaking Klingon. “Whoa there, let’s not get crazy! Have you considered just making the logo bigger instead?”

Here’s the cold, hard truth: The “box” is so comfortable we’ve installed recliners and a mini-fridge in there. True innovation would require getting up, and frankly, we’ve already memorized the Netflix password for this position.

So the next time someone says “think outside the box,” smile knowingly. We’re all just rearranging the same mental furniture – some of us are just better at pretending the couch is new because we turned it sideways.