In a Box Drill
Box It.
Use when you want a clear, compelling, and concise presentation of your emerging business idea(s).
Sometimes words just aren’t enough to sell an idea. This is when making stuff can make a big difference. In a Box is a “go-to” Make Stuff Drill for organizing and presenting key aspects of an emerging idea. The instructions for this drill take a team through a series of prompts to help them articulate who the solution is for, how it will work, what makes it special, etc.
Additionally—and here's where the making part comes in—the team is invited to use the craft materials you’ve provided to help bring their idea (and box) to life. This is where the magic happens. And we’ve seen it all: from elaborate drawings to three-dimensional pipe cleaner networks.
Teams often divide and conquer on the description, box design, and final presentation so that everyone feels like they can contribute their individual strengths.
In this drill, everyone has a role. Everyone can be a maker.
Outcomes
Clear and compelling language for:
— Whom the solution is intended
— The nature of the relationship
— What the solution is best used for
— How to use the solution
— Reasons to believe in the solution
— The solution’s promise
Identification of adjacent strengths to build on
Rough models of the product, services, processes, experiences, etc.
Materials
Boxes, Sharpies, Post-its, blue tape, glue gun/glue sticks, yarn, pipe cleaners, foam core, Exacto knives, Play Doh, wooden dowels, Popsicle sticks, building blocks, markers, pencils, colored paper, etc.
Tools
In a Box labels
Video camera
Flashdrives
Printers and ink
Instructions
Step 1
Introduce the In a Box Drill.
Step 2
Give each team a blank box, filled with art/craft supplies (see materials list above).
Step 3
Instruct teams to bring their solutions to life using their box:
Top: Write a grabber and a tagline that might make someone pay attention to the solution.
Side 1: Describe what the solution is best used for.
Side 2: Describe who the solution is built for and the nature of the relationship between the beneficiary and the provider of the solution (e.g., Athlete to Coach).
Side 3: Describe the secret ingredients of the solution.
Side 4: Describe what the solution is guaranteed to do and what the “OR” is (e.g., “Guaranteed to make your smile brighter OR your money back.”).
Bottom: Describe, or create a storyboard for how the solution should be used.
Tips
In a Box is a good drill to videotape for the documentation of the session.
To print your generated poster labels, use sheets of (30) 2 5/8 X 1" labels. We strongly recommend using repositionable labels, e.g., Avery or Uline.
When to use the Drill
How to introduce the drill
Tips for facilitating the Drill