"Out of the box" thinking makes most anxious. "Why leave the box?" they wonder. "It's safe."

   True, unless the answer is not in the box. 

   Einstein warned us that insanity is "trying the same solution repeatedly even though it is not working." Innovation, by definition, is crucial to excellence. The old 9-dot puzzle (below) is a delightful way to train such thinking.

    It's an ordinary square with three dots on each side and one in the center. The challenge? Connect all dots with 4 straight lines.*

    Kids under 6 solve this fast because they are not yet imprisoned by conventional thinking. Most adults are so stuck in routinized rules they quickly get stuck in repeating the same approach even though it will not and cannot work.   

   Are they like healthcare leaders whose leadership philosophy is strings of threats?

   Hospitals are thrive on routines. During my decades of working with first line caregivers, I developed enormous respect for those who cleaned the same floors, laundered patient sheets, did the same surgery procedures, counted out pills, or typed doctor's notes. Breakthroughs often call for breaking "the rules." 

   You can solve the 9 dot puzzle in under 9 seconds if you through away one key assumption. Ask any 6 year old. If you apply your learning to any problems you've repeatedly been unable to solve how would your life change? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYGQ04wyshw

-Erie Chapman

*Note: the puzzle can even be solved with only three straight lines!