For Long Term Wins -Don’t Act Like Captain Kirk
Why thinking out of the box may not be the best thing for sustained success.
In the Star Trek franchise, the Kobayashi Maru was a no-win scenario at Starfleet academy. Its purpose was to test cadets and see how they dealt with failure. James T. Kirk reprogrammed the scenario before his test because he didn’t believe in “no-win” situations.
James T. Kirk thought outside the box. “Thinking outside the box” framework came out of the management/marketing consulting of the 1970s. It means not confining oneself to a predetermined set of solutions.
Yet this isn’t always good. A box is how your psyche gains greater control, focus, and develops a unique outlook. For any creative endeavor, you must subject yourself to rules, laws, and/or other conceptual frameworks.
All of us need to navigate boxes by:
(i) Training to identify our boxes using our experiences inside them.
(ii) Not deluding ourselves that we can think beyond the boxes in which we operate.
