Five steps to create an out-of-the-box vision for your project by Ross A. Jones, AIA, NCARB

Crabbing may be one of the most dangerous jobs of all. But crabbers have it easy in one respect: They don’t have to mind their catch. That’s because if one crab starts to climb out of the crab box, the other crabs will pull it back in.

For a variety of reasons, businesses can act as crabs in the box do. Safety in numbers is probably near the top of the list of fear-motivated reasons. (As a Japanese saying goes, “The nail that sticks out gets pounded down.”) Alas, self-preservation and avoiding discomfort are other reasons we can add to the list of reasons to keep a low profile. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “One step ahead, you are a leader; two steps ahead, you are a target.” It’s an art, or at least an imprecise science, to know the line that separates the two.