The phrase “thinking outside the box” originated from The Nine Dots Puzzle. The puzzle includes three rows of three dots each. The idea is to connect all nine dots without lifting your pen or pencil from the paper in as few straight lines as possible. 

The puzzle can be solved in four straight lines. To solve the puzzle in four straight lines you have to draw lines that go beyond the perimeter of the square the dots form. The challenge with this puzzle is we often create artificial borders in our mind because a square is a pattern we are used to. Because we are comfortable with the square we confine our problem solving to the interior of the square. You have to think outside the box. 

The act of thinking outside the box to solve The Nine Dot Puzzle is a form of lateral or horizontal thinking requiring those playing to make unexpected connections between ideas by challenging assumptions and exploring space. You may also recognize lateral thinking puzzles or brain teasers that go a little like this: There are a dozen eggs in a carton. Twelve people each take a single egg, but there is one egg left in the carton. How? ….Answer is at the bottom of this blog. 

The answer may not seem immediately obvious. Some time to evaluate the language, rethink your perspective and sit back and think will get you close to the answer. This is much the same when trying to solve problems as a team. These brain teasers can also be a helpful ice breaker for family or team meetings. 

Here are some techniques for thinking outside the box on our farms and ranches: 

Perception change: In agriculture, our past experiences, our current needs, whether or not we are in time of drought or good rains, the social norms of how we operate, the culture of agriculture (which can be different within different generations, production systems and commodities) and our expectations, all have an impact on our perception. This is what can make working intergenerationally or shifting modes or methods a challenge. 

One way to shift perceptions is to recognize your current perception and work to gather new perspectives. New perspectives can come from asking more curious questions exploring new ideas, being curious about and reflecting on your own thoughts and beliefs , embracing new and different information, and starting to implement change in small ways.

Between generations this is a helpful practice to have more appreciation for one another; both for the value of experience and new ideas. 

Provocation: Challenge assumptions! As a form of provocation, Our coaching team often asks folks “Where is it written….” i.e “ Where is it written that the farm wife is the bookkeeper”. “ Where is it written the next gen will farm without debt”. “ Where is it written that you have to work until you die.” “Where it is written that tax strategy is the most important part of the farm/ranch transition.” 

The intent is to deliberately challenge assumptions. Once an established or repeated belief is challenged, space opens up for new ideas and more powerful conversation and questions. In family business and in farming and ranching, it can be hard, and sometimes unpopular to question the rules of the game; however, exploring and seeking out dissenting opinions can be a very fruitful thought experiment when trying to navigate the complex world of family business and farm and ranch transition. Being provocative can be challenging and vulnerable and this is where insights from other industries, peer support groups, safe space for challenging meetings and conversation, and third party facilitation can be helpful. 

Potential Opening: Ask What if? and Why not? 
Play the “What If…” or “ Why not…” game. Write down all of your “What if…” or “Why not..” questions on recipe cards and sit with your farm/ranch family or team to explore hypothetical situations that keep you up at night or get you jazzed in the morning. “ What if something happened to key person X?” and “ Why not have a quarterly celebration to show appreciation for one another and all of the things that have gone well on the farm and ranch this season (and even for the things that haven’t)?” 

Thinking hats: Which hat are you wearing?
In family business you might think to yourself “ What hat am I wearing”. Are you mom, office manager or owner today? Are you father in law, dad, manager or boss? Are you farming child, herdsman or spouse?

Another reframe around “What hat am I wearing” is to think about your different thinking hats. Edward de Bono came up with the Six Thinking Hats method which encourages us to adopt different perspectives by assigning six distinct hats, each representing a specific mode of

thought. The idea is that by mentally wearing and switching “hats,” you can easily focus on your role, or in the case of thinking hats, on redirecting thoughts, the conversation, or the meeting. This method also recognizes that you can’t and should not take feelings, hunches and intuition of your conversation, but that space can be created for those areas of thought to be nurtured. 

You could go out and buy a hat in each of these colors if you really like hats or visuals: White hat – The White Hat calls for information known or needed. “The facts, just the facts.” 

Yellow hat – The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit. 

Black hat – Risks, difficulties, Problems – The risk management Hat, probably the most powerful Hat; a problem however if overused; spot difficulties where things might go wrong, why something may not work, inherently an action hat with the intent to point out issues of risk with intent to overcome them. 

Red hat – The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates. 

Green hat – The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It’s an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions. 

Blue hat – The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It’s the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats are observed. 

Answer: The 12th person takes the egg and the carton, leaving the egg inside.

by Lydia Carpenter

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Elaine Froese, Certified coach has a team of coaches ready to help you talk about tough issues. Finding Fairness in Farm Transition workshops help your family find harmony through understanding. Harvest is her favorite time of year, and it can last a long time ! Contact her and her team here.

Did you enjoy Thinking Inside the Box of Lateral Thinking? You might want to check these articles out too:

How to Discuss the Undiscussabull
Defining Moments
Appreciative Inquiry – Focus on Your Family Strengths to Move Forward.