Breaking Out of the Box: How a Humble Bottle can Spark Lateral Thinking and Innovative Ideas

One of my favourite techniques for generating fresh and innovative ideas is called Grab Bag. It’s a simple but powerful process that encourages you to think in directions not typically supported by linear thinking—the kind of thinking bound by organisational norms and rules. Grab Bag helps you sidestep this default, “organisation-first” mindset by fostering Lateral Thinking, which opens up new, unexpected pathways.

In most workplace settings, divergent thinking doesn’t get much breathing room. We default to a set of context-approved answers—ideas that feel safe because they’ve “kind of” worked before. So we recycle what we know, sticking with solutions that are familiar and seemingly reliable.

Why think about the problem when you already have a safe answer in your back pocket?

The Grab Bag technique, however, asks you to give yourself permission to step away from the norm. It requires you to momentarily quiet your inner critic and lean into playful, free association—something that, understandably, can feel a bit uncomfortable or fluffy. But it’s in that discomfort that the real creative breakthroughs happen.

The Power of Lateral Thinking

This technique taps into Lateral Thinking, a term coined by Edward de Bono. Lateral Thinking refers to solving problems through an indirect and creative approach—essentially thinking around the problem rather than confronting it head-on. It’s about challenging assumptions, escaping patterns, and uncovering solutions that linear, logical thinking alone might never reveal.

A Practical Example: Enter the Humble Bottle of Apple Juice

A simple bottle becomes a tool for fresh thinking.

Its shape, texture, and details prompt unexpected questions—showing how everyday objects can unlock new ideas when we step outside linear thinking

Recently, I demonstrated this approach in a session. The topic we were discussing was, “How can we better empower our teams?” At the start, we did a typical round of suggestions: encourage accountability, communicate empowerment, role model empowerment… all valid, all valuable, but all fairly high-level and well-trodden.

Then I asked for some random words as part of ABC Avalanche, another lateral thinking process, but when a person holding a bottle, said, BOTTLE—I used it to model the Grab Bag method.

What Is Grab Bag?

Grab Bag is a simple but powerful method where you use random objects or concepts as creative prompts to stretch your thinking. It encourages you to take mental detours, moving away from the default, predictable ideas, and exploring fresh angles. It’s designed to disrupt your usual train of thought and spark connections you might not have otherwise made. Fill a bag with random objects, have somebody in the group pull one out, it’s that simple. Each object presents us with different ideation opportunities.

We began by simply describing the bottle, which is harder than it sounds. People often hesitate, unsure how describing an object has anything to do with problem-solving. But the act of noticing, analysing, critiquing, and questioning activates deeper thinking.

Here’s how it unfolded:

• The bottle is glass; glass is transparent.
  → What might a transparent approach to empowerment look like?

• You can see how much liquid is inside.
  → How might we measure empowerment?

• It’s a small bottle.
  → What do small empowering acts look like?

• It has uniform divots for grip, but people aren’t uniform.
  → How do we create personalised paths to empowerment?

• It’s funnel-shaped—broad at the bottom, narrow at the neck.
  → Can empowerment be a broad process that narrows as it progresses?

• It’s clearly labelled.
  → Do we know what’s important to our teams? Can we label our empowerment efforts in a way that resonates?

• Its contents are finite.
  → Is empowerment finite? Would setting clear boundaries help? Are those boundaries different depending on individual needs or career stages?

• You can reseal the bottle.
  → Can we “pause” empowerment efforts when needed—without undermining trust—and then safely resume?

• It feels light but solid, smooth yet grippy.
  → What models of empowerment feel “light but firm”? What approaches don’t fit well in the hand, so to speak?

As I worked through this free association, it was clear the room was landing on concepts they hadn’t previously considered. Not because the group lacked insight, but because—like most of us—they were operating in System 1 Thinking: fast, habitual, rule-bound. Grab Bag invites System 2 Thinking: slow, reflective, deliberate. Sometimes, all we need is the right prompt—a bottle, a seemingly random object—to shake us out of the ordinary and unlock new ways of seeing the problem.

System 1 vs. System 2 Thinking

As we moved through the simple process of describing the bottle, it became clear that new, unexpected ideas were emerging—concepts that hadn’t occurred to the group initially. That’s not a reflection on their capability; it’s how human thinking typically works.

Most of the time, we operate in what psychologist Daniel Kahneman describes as System 1 Thinking—fast, automatic, and habitual. Grab Bag, by contrast, forces a shift into System 2 Thinking—slower, deliberate, and reflective.

Sometimes, all it takes to spark this shift is the right unexpected prompt—a bottle, a random object, a break from the usual pattern. It opens the door to deeper thinking and richer solutions.

________________________________________

Try It Yourself

Next time you’re facing a problem that feels stuck, reach for the Grab Bag. Pick any object. Describe it, question it, dissect its features—and ask how each characteristic could offer insight into your challenge. Suspend judgment, silence the inner critic, and let your brain play.

You’ll be surprised at the fresh ideas waiting just beyond the obvious.