Inside The Box by Drew Boyd & Jacob Goldenberg - Book review

Inside the Box

A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results

By: Drew Boyd, Jacob Goldenberg


Published: June 11, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1451659253
ISBN-13: 978-1451659252
Publisher: Simon & Schuster











"We'll show you that more innovation - and better and quicker innovation - happens when you work inside your familiar world (yes, inside the box) using what we call templates", write assistant professor of marketing and innovation at the University of Cincinnati, Lindner College of Business, Drew Boyd; and Professor of Marketing at the School of Business Administration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jacob Goldenberg, in their fascinating and thought provoking book Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results. The authors describe and alternative methodology for creative thinking and finding breakthrough discoveries that challenges the concept that creativity is an ad hoc and unstructured process.

Drew Boyd (photo left) and Jacob Goldenberg recognize that the standard mode of creative thinking involves what the innovators perceive as "thinking outside the box" and "brainstorming" and "going wild with ideas". The authors provide evidence that the creative process is not haphazard, but is actually following a process that they term working "inside the box". The authors even share the templates for speeding up and establishing a more effective and faster innovation events.

The authors make the case that templates enhance creativity, rather than stifle the creative process. The authors also point out that innovators throughout history have utilized templates, even if they were not aware they were doing so. The standard brainstorming methods of creative idea generation, when they produce innovative results, are also following a template, even if it's not recognized as such.

Jacob Goldenberg (photo left) and Drew Boyd understand the importance of finding and utilizing effective innovation developing templates. The templates, according to the authors, regulate people's thinking and focus the creative systems into a more productive format. The authors point out that these templates are so powerful and enduring that they are encoded right in the products and services with which everyone is familiar.

The authors present their five basic innovation templates under the umbrella of their innovation system they call Systematic Innovative Thinking (SIT). The authors point out that the process is accessible by anyone and for any creative purpose. Instead of having to rely on intuitive creativity, the template establishes a universal method for innovation. The Systematic Innovative Thinking (SIT) is composed of five fundamental templates. The five basic templates are as follows:

* Subtraction: Something removed
* Division: A component separated out of the larger whole
* Multiplication: A copied component added but altered in some way
* Task unification: Bringing multiple tasks together in one unit
* Attribute dependency: Two correlated attributes combined and dependent on each other

For me, the power of the book is how Drew Boyd and Jacob Goldenberg combine a comprehensive framework for creativity, with the practical hands on techniques needed to utilize them effectively. The major breakthrough idea of the book is that the very process of creativity is not a random event, but can be codified into a series of five readily applicable templates. The authors demonstrate how the five techniques of Systematic Innovative Thinking (SIT) have worked to provide some of the leading innovations of the past half century. These revolutionary breakthrough discoveries were achieved by ordinary people who simply used the process techniques as templates.

The authors offer in depth guidance on using the techniques correctly. The templates can be misused or applied in the wrong manner, resulting in no real progress toward a solution. The authors make clear that using the templates as inside the box thinking is more effective and realistic than the more ad hoc outside the box premise. Indeed, they point out that many ideas that are widely viewed as resulting from outside the box thinking were really addressed from within the box.

I highly recommend the very hands on and innovative idea generating book Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results by Drew Boyd and Jacob Goldenberg, to any business leaders, executives, managers, designers, artists, creative thinkers, and anyone seeking a reliable and proven system for creating new and expressive solutions to any problems. Instead of waiting for that elusive flash of genius, that might never come, this book establishes and puts into action an effective process that transforms anyone into that creative genius.