Recently Sales Concepts had an employee appreciation day. Everyone met at a local facility that provides team building, auto racing, and video games. In the morning, we completed several exercises that required teamwork, communication, cooperation, and some physical ability.

We were given instructions on what we were to accomplish with each exercise and were timed on how long it took us to reach the goal. Included in the instructions were a few rules. It seems that during the first couple of exercises the entire group was fixated on what the rules said—we couldn't do this, we couldn't do that, and there were penalties for breaking the rules. We did not collectively think about what the rules did not say.

I imagine most groups go through the exercises and do the same thing. And I must say that we probably looked silly doing them. If you have ever lifted another human being and passed them through a hole six feet off the ground, you know what I mean. After we failed at that, we began to challenge the rules. As it turned out, we never had to pass anyone through the hole, and we could complete the exercise in a small fraction of the time. That proved to be a turning point for the rest of the day. From then on, after hearing new rules, we began to challenge them. In our planning sessions, that is specifically what we discussed. Given a set of rules, we knew what we were not supposed to do. Then we began to think about what we could do without breaking the rules to achieve maximum results.

After we completed the team building exercises, we were asked about what we learned. I immediately had a vision of the circus elephant that is chained to a small post in the ground. Naturally the elephant has enough strength to pull the post from the ground and be free. The elephant, however, has been mentally trained that it is physically unable to pull the post from the ground. At the beginning of the day, going through the team building exercises I felt like our team was just like the elephant. We were bound by the rules. We were tethered to our post; a set of rules.

How often do you tie yourself down to a set of rules? Again, I bring up the image of the elephant tied to the post. I am certainly not advocating breaking the rules or jeopardizing your job. But true creativity happens outside the box. Within that box are the rules. Be aware of what the rules state. Don't fixate on them. Don't allow them to keep you tethered. Challenge the rules by being creative. Break free.