Look around and you see businesses and entire verticals stuck in a proverbial rut.

At the onset of any design project we try to determine what website elements and attributes our clients may like and/or find useful. This gives us a bit of an idea of things to try to incorporate or avoid, or what topics we may need to provide further education or encouragement.

Despite urging and always explicitly stating, “Look outside your industry” we are repeatedly provided with examples from within the clients own vertical, and more often than not, those closest in proximity (Remember, we are working with a great deal of tourism and travel businesses).

While it is frustrating, it should come as no surprise. Why? People like to stick to what they “know” and forcing people outside of their comfort zone is a sure-fire recipe for anxiety and trepidation.

However, stepping outside of that comfort zone can provide inspiration and serve as an impetus to become a leader in your field versus a follower.

As Roy H. Williams says, “it is difficult to read the label from inside the bottle”.

In recent weeks we have been trying to take a bit of our own advice. Attending mini-cons (ConvergeSouth and Create West Virginia) which are different in nature than those conferences of our normal travel schedule.

While I cannot point to any single result, although our readers (or should that be reader? hi mom!) would attest, our blogging frequency has went up (or perhaps more accurately…went) since returning from Converge South. Additionally, the Create West Virginia conference has inspired us to become more involved in ways to encourage and become part of the creative economy in our own area (more on this to follow soon).

One final example from my baseball experiences:

This past season in working with a talented, yet struggling, player on his swing, I introduced some modifications which clearly were uncomfortable for him.

The grip this player was using on the bat robbed him of any power and prevented his swing from being smooth. Always getting by on superior talent and athleticism, playing with bigger and stronger players (Ages 13-15), made the flaw in his grip more noticeable resulting in weakly hit baseballs.

Before making any changes I asked the player if he could tell me why he as holding the bat in the manner in which he was.

“That’s how I have always done it”, he said.

After working on the swing change for a bit I asked the player, “How’s it feel?”

“Weird” he said, “I don’t like it”.

I explained the basic premise of the old adage: “If you keep doing things the way you always have, you will continue to get the results you always have as well”.

He decided to give the change a chance and in the very next game, went 3-3 and absolutely scalded the baseball and went on to have a very successful season at the plate.

Peer over the fence for inspiration, break out of your comfort zone and see what happens.