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This is a small cardboard box, about 6 inches on a side that managers can give employees to put on their desks. Because the box is too small for most employees to fit into, it will induce them to think outside the box, thereby helping the business bake up better ideas and solve difficult problems in
creative ways.
Addendum [Oct 10, 2005]:
Removed [Oct 11, 2005]. I have to agree with [ldischler]
just going back to the bard for a moment.
http://www.manchest...ust_a_frontman.html
[po, Oct 05 2005]
CONTRAILS! A government CONSPIRACY!
http://www.carnicom.com/contrails.htm
My neighborhood is plastered with stickers asking you to go to this site. [jutta, Oct 09 2005]
Thinking Outside the Box
http://www.wordorigins.org/wordoro.htm
Origin of the phrase (bottom of the page). This is one of those phrases that annoy me. Not only is it irritating in its own right but it's a misnomer. A box is a three dimensional object and the phrase should really be "thinking outside the square" as it relates to a two-dimensional puzzle. Management Consultants you see. Never trust 'em to get it right. [DrBob, Oct 09 2005]
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Annotation:
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Ha ha ha. Hilarious. Inventive. One of the year's best. Two thumbs up, way up, for this useful invention. |
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You could put some poop in the box, too, and employees would wonder where the smell was coming from. Or a dead fish! Ha! +! |
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You could also use a pizza box for this, once you had eaten the pizza. |
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My daughter informs me that someone in her Lit class asked how come Shakespeare used so many cliches. |
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Well, now you're jumping to conclusions. |
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what makes this "the" box? |
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Someone wrote "This is THE BOX" on the side. |
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//it will induce them to think outside the box//
But wouldn't they be also wondering what was inside the box? |
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OK this is how I'd normally vote on an idea
[+] for encouraging creative thought.
[+] for the use of a literal metaphor
[+] for something that is easily doable and might even work. |
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I appear to owe you some pastry [CecilL]. Can anyone help me out? |
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Oh, well, I suppose so, [hidden]. I was going to abstain, on the grounds that it's painfully cliched, but I feel like undermining democracy this evening, so on this occasion you may borrow a croissant.
There, voted. |
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<Ping!> Damn, there goes another one. Anybody got a spare metaphor?
Edit: erm, where's [half]'s anno gone? |
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One of my design tutors used to say, "If you want to be inspired, go look at a tree." |
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I'd give you my pastry [CecilL], but unfortunately I've lent it to [hidden]. |
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Inside the box is a pink slip: |
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You were instructed to think outside the box, but you've gone and looked *inside* the box. What did you expect to find here? Inspiration? We got your inspiration right here: bring this opened box (and the personal contents of your desk) to your personnel representative for immediate termination. |
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p.s. you can keep the dead fish. |
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Sorry, the box is sealed. I can not divulge the secret without betraying the sacred trust of the Pharaohs. |
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I heard a great comment from the chair of a conference I was working on a few months ago. It was something like: "In this company we are brilliant at thinking out of the box, however nothing seems to get followed through properly. I think it's time we learnt to think back inside the box again." |
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It spouted some bull-shit, if that helps. |
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I opened THE BOX, and I found a smaller box inside. It was also labelled THE BOX, so of course I opened it. Inside I found another box, naturally with "This is THE BOX"written on it as well. I did this over and over until, at last I found a tiny piece of paper which read "Sorry, we couldn't find a box this small. Please pretend this is a box and go think outside!" |
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So that's what it means! It's been staring us all in the face for so long! Just add the comma and it all makes sense: "Think outside, the box". Excuse me, I'm going outside to think. |
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Oh no [angel], no one ever spouts bullshit at conferences. They're all far too excited about the opportunity of leveraging their presentations going forward. |
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//What if boxes hadn't been invented?// |
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We’d have to think inside the realm outside the sphere. |
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I'd end up throwing my box away--- a 6 inch box? Isnt that waaaay too big for an office desk -- it would make my desk seem pointlessly cluttered. I could have like another pen holder in that same spot!! but bun for the thought |
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If this box was in a government office, everyone (except of course contractor employees who actually do all the work) could take turns awarding one another The Box. Of course there would be a cash award affiliated with the box, and everyone would choose the next recipient of the box based not on who is the most innovative thinker, but on who hasn't had the box for awhile and thus feels bad, or on who bought lattes last time, or on some other crapteria. |
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No, write on outside:
"THIS IS NOT A BOX!" |
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I had imagined this to be something completely different, but this is way better. Bun for you, enjoy all this sweet pastry while it lasts [+] |
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[ ] for the cliché.
[ ] for the idea
[xxxxx] for the chair/stool/poop extravaganza |
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//What if boxes hadn't been invented? What would people think? //
probably be thinking of some way to store all their crap. |
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and another thing, there are a lot of boxes at work already that i'm not thinking inside of, why have another one? besides, this one isn't even full of copy paper! |
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I would. But, I'm not much of an opportunist. |
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Then again, I'm also not too bright. I don't think this is praiseworthy and don't really think it would do me any good. Many (27 or so) seem to disagree with me. |
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well, its had me perplexed but I thought I was missing something! |
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It's a long time since the atmosphere in the bakery was so blindingly upbeat... [+] |
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It's a long time since so much sarcasm was missed by so many... |
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an endorsemnt by bristolz is worth a thousand buns |
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I really don't get this idea. It won't do anything, really. Strange things happening in the bakery while I'm not looking. |
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They're made by space rays that bounce off the moon. But don't tell the masses [UB], they don't need to know. |
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This will fit nicely on my desk between Two Cups Of Coffee and Stick With A Nail In The End. |
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It was a perfect idea! And then you ruined it with that Addendum! |
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[jutta] whether many misconstrued the sarcasm or not, I still like the irony of this. The idea of 'thinking outside the box" has become too ubiquitous and it is high time that we had an actual box to ensure that we are thinking creatively. |
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[Idischler] I must say that I am vaguely entertained by the idea of you complaining about the addendum that you apparently caused. |
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I caused it? How did I do that? |
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The Great and Powerful Mr. Dischler |
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Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! |
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My mistake. I read it incorrectly as it was agreeing with you that created the addendum, rather than led to its deletion. |
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I like a "broken box" better. There are bits and pieces of knowledge in the old box can be very useful in creating new ideas. "Creativity" is the results of rearranging bits and pieces of old ideas. Jag C |
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///bring this opened box (and the personal contents of your desk) to your personnel representative for immediate termination/// |
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at this point explain simply, that with so many people in the office thinking outside the box, it appeared the box may have been turned inside out, so therefore, the only way to truly get to the outside of the box would be to look on the inside where the outside now was and perhaps if they weren't so busy trying to avoid the inside they might've noticed this very elementary fact. |
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//elementary fact//
So THAT'S why Pandora's box is so dangerous. It gives licence to corporate mediocrity. |
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I've had one of these for ages. It's where I store that little envelope when I get tired of pushing it. |
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the box has to have an alarm or cornstarch bomb or something inside, triggered by opening. |
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