Think Inside Out

Spend enough time around me and you'll notice something odd: I usually wear my socks inside out.

I know, in terms of societal norms, that's considered wierd. But here me out and you may just try it yourself. Take a sock and look at the outside. As long as it's not been worn and dirtied, the outside is soft and most of all, smooth. No exposed seams, no balls of lint.

Now, turn it inside out. What do you see? Lint balls, rough seams, un-even surface and worse: those little strings that get caught between your toes!
So explain to me why we are supposed to put the sensitive skin of our feet into that stuff, when the outside is super smooth and soft!

So I defy conventional fashion and turn my socks inside out from the day they come out of the bag.

So what in the world does this have to to with business? The whole "think different" and "out of the box" slogan-drivel is tired, so I'm not going to make a connection there.

But what I want to do is convince you to think in more than one dimension. People shake their head when they see my socks and hear my explanation, but they can't give me a good reason not to continue doing it. They're simply stuck in the one dimension they've been trained to operate in.

Likewise, many, many MANY businesses are stuck in single-dimension thought. They continue to operate in a certain way because that's how it's always been done, and in reality they are afraid to rock that boat.

But today's business climate is so multi-faceted that if you don't test new dimensions and constantly challenge convention you will become obsolete. So don't be afraid to try do things in a way you've never done them and try on a new dimensions or two.

And don't be afraid to try it inside out.