Outside the Box thinking means that there is still a box somewhere that has not changed. Many old business models are not working . They are driving customers crazy.

I have been talking to a few of my online and offline friends about business models lately. We have been discussing our frustrations with the “Old Business” models. In a world of changing customer demands and innovations, many companies stick with the status quo and refuse to change. They say they are cutting edge and innovative, but the way they deal with their customers says something different.

They say…”Here at company XYZ, we like to think that we are outside the box thinkers. We are innovators!” But when you look at what they are doing, you just want to scream. They are still operating in an old business model. Their business or service really is not delivering change for the customer. It’s not helping the customer with their current needs. This is a defining point.

Customers are changing and their needs are changing to. A service or product that worked previously may need a complete make over to meet current customer needs. How customers buy things has changed. More customers are buying online for example.

One industry that I see as being in trouble is the Phone/Cable people. I use my land-line phone very little if any. My needs may be best served with Internet service only. My TV could be delivered by Internet too. Yet we see product and service packages that do not reflect this change. Isn’t there any more choices that cable, cable + phone, cable + phone + Internet or Internet + cable. Where are the new options for customers? And let’s not talk about bandwidth caps. Can’t any company come up with an unlimited option that’s win win for everyone?

The problem with out of the box thinking is that the old box still remains. Sometimes, a business has to abandon the old model completely and innovate with completely new ideas period. Sometimes the old model hinders forward movement because it still is an anchor holding back progress.

So when I hear people saying “I’m an outside of the box thinker“, I think that they are changing just enough to appear to be changing for the customer. Where are the people who are real dreamers like Steve Jobs who transformed the direction Apple? That’s what today’s customers are looking for in businesses.

It’s time to set the box on fire and “Boldly go where no man has gone before”. Anything else could just be a waste of your time and mine.