‘The New Space’ is a mindset shift that asks you to redefine how you perceive boundaries. In creative problem-solving, we are often limited by “mental silos” and “physical borders.” By imagining a space where there are no walls, where distance is irrelevant, or where multiple spaces can overlap, you can find connections and efficiencies that are hidden by traditional geometry.
Thinking Beyond Boundaries
Physical space is often a metaphor for our mental constraints. “Thinking inside the box” is a spatial metaphor. To find “The New Space,” you must consciously remove the walls between departments, between ideas, and between the “public” and “private” parts of your project.
Audit Your Current Space
Identify the physical and conceptual “walls” that currently constrain your problem.
Example: “Our engineering team is in one building, and marketing is in another. They rarely talk, and their ‘mental spaces’ are completely different.”
Envision 'The New Space'
Imagine a reality where those walls don’t exist. What does the “interconnected space” look like?
- The Infinite Room: Imagine a space where everyone in the company, regardless of location, can see and interact with each other’s work in real-time.
- The Overlapping Reality: Imagine a space where your customers are “inside” your design process, testing products before they are even built.
- The No-Distance Zone: Imagine a space where the “factory floor” is directly connected to the “CEO’s desk,” with no layers of middle-management in between.
Identify the 'Spatial Gaps'
What is the ONE boundary that, if removed, would have the biggest impact?
- Current Space: “Customer feedback is a separate department.”
- New Space: “Customer feedback is the core of the engineering cycle.”
Design a Boundary-Bending Solution
Create a practical action that creates this “New Space.”
“We will create a ‘Shared Innovation Lab’—a digital space where engineers, marketers, and top-tier customers collaborate on the same prototypes every Tuesday morning.”
Practice
Problem: “Our office feels crowded and stressful.” New Space Perspective: “The office is not a place; it’s a state of mind.” What is a solution that solves “crowding” without moving to a bigger building?