Code.Implant

Nintendo's latest New Thing^TM, the Wii Fit, came out today, and for once in my life I managed to actually get something the day it came out. I played with it and got a small workout after I got home, and my impression is that it's a fun, innovative technology that provides a motivator for working out your core muscle groups (the ones that help with balance and posture). It's pretty much exactly what I was hoping it would be.

But I'm not here to talk about how fun it is to workout using the Wii Fit. Instead, let me tell you the brief story about how I acquired one.

Two of my coworkers and I left work shortly before 10:00 this morning, the time at which most retailers open in my area, to go on a hunting trip for the Wii Fit. Short of driving to one of the gaming places, we really only had two retailer options in the vicinity of our workplace: Best Buy and Circuit City.

Now, a little background on these two. The Best Buy is smack in the middle of everything. It’s always busy there. Circuit City, on the other hand, is only ever crowded on the weekends. Of course, at 10:00 in the morning on a Wednesday we didn’t expect either store to be busy.

So, we headed to Best Buy, mainly because it was on the way to Circuit City. As we pulled into the parking lot we saw a line stretching about 150 feet from the door (mostly young people – we knew what they were there for), so we came up with a plan: we would drop off one of my coworkers at Best Buy while myself and the other coworker would go to Circuit City. A lot of people were in line, and if they were there for the Wii Fit we doubted Best Buy would have enough in stock.

We arrived at Circuit City about 5 minutes later (it’s about 10:05 at this point), walked in, went to the Wii area, and found… nothing. With confused looks on our faces, we asked a sales rep and he told us they were at the service counter. So, a few minutes and $90 USD later we walking out of Circuit City with Wii Fit’s in our hands. It’s 10:12 when I turn on my car.

We drive back to Best Buy to get our coworker, who of course did not get one because they were gone in seconds, and we take him back to Circuit City so he can get one (and he does).

But here’s the reason why I’m telling this story: my coworker said that a lot of the people in line were very mad when they found out Best Buy was out of Wii Fit’s and stomped out of the store with plans to come back when the next shipment arrived (apparently in 3-4 days).

That is pretty much the definition of ”thinking inside the box”. It’s a mindset that never looks to see beyond from what they already know into the realm of what is possible. Notice how it doesn’t get those people anywhere closer to their goal of acquiring a Wii Fit.

If these people thought outside the box, even just a little, they would have remembered that Circuit City is a few minutes down the road and they just might have been able to get a Wii Fit there.

I know it’s a silly analogy, and maybe a silly story, but I bring it up because today reminded me of the importance of always trying to get outside your comfort zone, to think outside your box. One reason it’s important is that it’s practically required in order to improve anything in life, whether it be your product, your business, your relationships, or yourself.

It sounds simple, but if it’s simple then why do so many people have trouble thinking outside the box?

So next time the hot New Thing^TM comes out, remember that Best Buy probably isn’t the only place in town that sells the New Thing^TM. It’s possible that Circuit City has it too.

Filed under: Games