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The expression “Thinking Outside The Box,” has become a catch phrase in our busy world. Innovation and creativity generally comes from taking a different perspective, perhaps even going against the norm. The other end of the spectrum would be finding yourself in a rut, always doing or thinking in the same way. You may have some habits which have served you well, but perhaps they are habits which have created “1 channel” thinking for you. This is where you stay on the same channel to deal with all situations.

In business to be successful you need to establish what works but also be willing to change as internal and external factors evolve. This means moving from only one channel to having many different channels as options.

Here are 3 suggestions for creating different perspectives:

1. Take a Vacation

This may sound rather self-indulgent but the fact is allowing yourself some distance from your normal routine creates a change in perspective. Think back to when you last took a break from your job. Were you able to let go of your work and enjoy your vacation time? Did you find yourself involved in the place that you were visiting, the people you were with, and the activities you engaged in? If so chances are you returned to work rested, re-energized, and probably having some fresh thoughts on challenges you are having.

Now it is true that you can’t necessarily take a vacation every time you want an alternative viewpoint. However, you can create breaks during which you are doing something completely different. It might be going for a walk, gardening, yoga, or taking a dance class. Even these small things allow you the opportunity to clear your mind and then move forward with a new view.

2. Brainstorm

Have you ever watched school children learning the skill of brainstorming? It is wonderful to behold as they are taught that all ideas are welcome and written down. As adults we sometimes tend to censor our ideas, perhaps worried about what others think or believing that there is no chance for the idea to be implemented. This can serve to inhibit creative juices.

Brainstorm with yourself, writing down all your ideas and thoughts. Don’t cross anything off and no editing as you go. Then put the paper away and revisit it in a couple of days or weeks. Notice the wisdom and brilliance in some of your ideas.

Invite your team and/or colleagues to brainstorm options. Encourage them to think big. Don’t censor any ideas and be inclusive. Consider involving support staff as they may have a totally different view point which could be invaluable. Act as if anything is possible. You never know what gems will emerge when you are open to hearing all ideas.

3. Conversations With a Mentor, Consultant or Friend

If you find yourself stuck thinking in the same way, it is time to broaden your context. Take the opportunity to present your challenges and roadblocks to someone who is not close to the situation.

Matt was a manager who was having difficulty dealing with a team member who was quite negative and frequently sabotaged team meetings by criticizing everything. He had tried several different ways to deal with this individual but found himself repeating the same things over and over and getting no results. Matt discussed the situation with a friend who worked in a different industry but also managed a team. He asked Matt questions that got him thinking in a different way. This led to his coming up with new ways to tackle the situation.

It is important to have people you can bounce ideas off of and who can guide you. Encourage them to ask you questions and make suggestions. Being open allows for growth and change to occur.

In order to create a different perspective try:

- Taking a vacation
- Brainstorming
- Discussing the situation with a mentor, consultant, or friend who is outside the system

Copyright 2008, Gail Solish.

Gail Solish provides executive and personal coaching to managers, directors and executives focused on workplace development and relationship management. FR-EE e-course “Unleash Your Potential and Increase Productivity and Fulfillment” http://www.ActualizeYourGoals.com or contact Gail 416-322-0029.

One of the objections I often hear from people is “I don’t have time to network online!” but do you have time to

* Professionally Network
* Find a new friend
* Share your ideas
* Build your business
* Market yourself
* De-stress?

What about:

* Elevate yourself as an industry expert
* Establish connections in other industries
* Increase the efficiency of your networking
* Offer introductions to your niche-experience on a daily basis?

While online networking is not the “end all, be all” of making personal connections, it has one valuable strengths that very few real world venues have- economy of scale.

If you have the time to introduce yourself to one new person a day, wouldn’t it make sense from a business perspective to take that same amount of time and be introduced to fifty?

When I write this article or post to a forum, my thoughts are communicated to dozens of potential contacts, perhaps even thousands. If I went into a coffee shop with the expectation that I would have to say the same phrase over and over again to a hundred different people as I look for a good connection, it would take me days of effort. I would spend the entire time trying to expand my network with little result. In my best real world opportunity, I would attend a networking event where I may have the chance to meet people in groups and who are willing to listen to my message.

Considering how much time I wasted in the real world trying to connect with a hundred people as I restated my statements and repeatedly asked for permission, the basis of networking online is that readers have given me permission to talk to them and they assemble in groups for me. If I am sharing thoughts of interest, they are actively engaged with what I am saying. I don’t have to approach them and get a cold shoulder, its more like I am talking to a group of people at a cocktail party and they come into the conversation by their own choice.

The beauty is, this cocktail party is happening 24/7, 365 days a year.

That has amazing relevancy. Readers choose to join the conversation. I don’t bend their arm to listen. If they find value, they start talking. If they don’t, they move on. For decades marketing has tried to force the idea of “opt-in mailing lists” for physical and electronic mail, as well as frustrating us with the need of “do not call” lists to maintain our sanity on our personal phones.

Case in point- Right now, I have no control over whether you are reading.

As an industry expert, imagine the power of sharing your ideas and thoughts. People who are interested find little bits and pieces of inspiration and insight, and they either join the conversation or move on. Blogging attracts people as it is one of the only true “opt in” medias. If you don’t like what I’m saying, go Google someone else!

If you are interested, join my conversation.

Take Biznik as an example of “economy of scale”. There are 10,000 members browsing through the site and pondering different ways to connect. If I had to assemble 10,000 people in real life, my first challenge would be to actually listen to all 10,000 people.

30 seconds per introduction X 10k members = 80+ hours of introductions.

When I think about that time, I realize that my elevator pitch needs to be refined to an exact art and that I need to remember to pack a few bottles of water.

Now compare that to writing on the community forum or blogging this article. It took me thirty minutes to write this. Over the next few weeks several hundred people will read it.

Every single person who actually strikes up a conversation with me after reading it is pre-screened and wants to have a more in-depth discussion. On top of that- they can look at my existing social media testimonials to discover even more about me, and when they do contact me they have taken the burden of responsibility to find out who I am, rather than me taking the responsibility to tell them.

By taking the time to put myself out there in the online world, every real life interaction coming from this conversation is pre-qualified and interested in what I do. As time goes on, every introduction I have online becomes a growing archive that adds to who I am. Unlike a conversation I had over dinner last night, this very article will attract interest from readers six months later. Even when I am sleeping peacefully, someone may be introducing themselves to who I am.

Whether or not you find me personally or professionally interesting, I have no control over. Yet I will never know until the introduction has occurred.

My question to you-

Will you take the time to give me the information I need to find an introduction to you?

Barry Hurd is President and voice of http://123SocialMedia.com – Business Social Media. He has a history of over fifteen years working on numerous innovative efforts with online business models: past projects included NIKE, REI, TMP Worldwide, Monster.com, Superpages, Intuit, and RIS Media.

Chicago is one of the largest and richest cities in the world. The job market is so diverse that the city has earned a reputation for a very balanced economy. In addition to being varied, those companies are also plentiful. In fact, Chicago is home to the second largest central business district in the United States.

With businesses playing such an important role in the city’s economy, it shouldn’t be surprising that many employers are willing to invest in Chicago team building activities for their employees. After all, teams make a company much stronger than it could be when individuals work independently because teams are capable of greater productivity and creativity. This is true for several reasons.

First of all, it is easier to complete large tasks when several people are working on the same project because it can be divided into smaller pieces. This prevents putting too much strain on any one person. Second, teams also have the capacity to capitalize on individual strengths and compensate for weaknesses within the group. And third, teams provide an atmosphere where relationships and trust can form. And all of these things increase employee satisfaction and productivity.

Even though teams can yield these kinds of results, the ground rules for team work need to be established before the work begins. Sometimes those ground rules and channels of communication are difficult to create in an office setting though. That’s why team builders in companies, athletic facilities and schools are starting to incorporate games in their team building efforts.

Professionals have learned that games naturally stimulate competition, conversation and a friendly environment. And, in this kind of setting, friendship and trust begin to form as well. Coincidentally, these are all key ingredients for team work as well. Games don’t need to be complicated or expensive to be effective team building tools, but they should involve everyone in the group and cater to people with different interests and abilities.

Team building activities that are available in or around Chicago include everything from sailing excursions on Lake Michigan to scavenger hunts around local neighborhoods, museums and attractions. Sailing will definitely get the group out of the office environment and teach your employees about the value of team work, but it might take longer than you would like. Scavenger hunts, on the other hand, can usually be completed in an hour or less and they draw on the strengths of the team as a whole. Since many of them take you through the city, the experience will be fresh in their minds every time they come to work.

If you are looking for some exceptional Chicago team building scavenger hunts, visit Watson Adventure’s website (http://www.watsonadventures.com/chicago.html). They showcase all of Chicago’s most popular attractions with creative and challenging clues. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.

Growing up, we’ve all had dreams of being a fighter pilot, astronaut, space explorer, ancient warrior, or any of a million different occupations throughout history. Unfortunately for most of us, we don’t ever get to live out our childhood dream, instead settling for a simulated experience in a video game.

Sometimes the simulations are so real they have a place in real life. Prospective pilots, for example, train on realistic simulators in order to help them improve their skills. The effectiveness of simulations for training hold true in our real-world roles as businessmen and managers as well. Just like a pilot training in a simulator doesn’t have to worry about dying in a fiery crash should he or she make a wrong move, business simulations are a perfect way to practice management skills; you know, for those of us that never made it to our fantasy occupation.

A business simulation is a great method used by manager trainers today to allow managers and business owners to practice different scenarios and discover potential outcomes for their actions. There are two main types of business simulations that are often used. The first is called scenario based and the other numeric based.

Numeric-Based Business Simulations

Numeric simulations have less of an interactive role as the trainee is presented with items such as income sheets, employee counts, cash flow statements, and so forth. The trainee must make decisions that result in the numbers being changed. For example, incoming cash flow is down so the trainee must decide on the best way to decrease expenditures, whether it be through decreasing the number of employees, closing locations, shutting down specific departments, or even increasing expenditures by pouring more money into marketing.

Each decision is run through an algorithm and results for each decision displayed. Numeric based scenarios are designed more to provide how decisions made at a high-level affect a company’s numbers, thereby giving the trainee experience on making high-level decisions.

Scenario-Based Business Simulations

Just as the military uses war games to help officers develop strategic thinking, battlefield analysis, situational awareness and other skills necessary to leading and managing a military operation, business trainers use scenario-based simulations to develop a business owner’s or manager’s financial analysis, market analysis, teamwork, leadership skills, and more.

A scenario-based business simulation is sometimes also called role playing due to the fact that trainees act out situation with the trainers. Throughout the scenario, the role playing may be interrupted to allow the trainers and trainee to discuss the situation, review the actions of the trainee, and talk about the outcome and why it happened that way.

Executive Perspectives (http://www.epsims.com) helps businesses learn and improve by training them through business simulations. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.