Note: Previous post in the series – #1 – My friend did it, so can I 

Large organizations can put people in boxes. You may be in one of them right now. Sometimes you may get a feeling that you are overworked and under-utilized. Being ambitious, you may feel a bit suffocated in that box sometimes and literally want to get out of that box.

You are smart and you know that there are MANY ways to get out of that box. For one, you can think about ways of “adding more value” to your current organization and execute on it. This may simply mean using a lot more creativity than what you have been using or walking the extra mile a few more times than your peers. You may say that the extra effort to get out of the box within the current organization may be too much of a price to pay. You may also conclude that if you join another big organization, you may just end up in another box of different size.

The solution, you say, is to just go and start on your own. That way you are “out of the box”.

Problem solved? May be.

It’s may be because when you start on your own, you get an initial euphoria of not having to answer to anyone and hence you are “outside of any box”. It may seem like it’s the best thing to happen. Of course, this is short-lived as you will soon realize the truth – while you may be the Boss, you are more accountable than ever before. You are “answerable” to
* shareholders
* employees
* customers

and in some way, to your
* partners
* vendors
* media

and so on.

In summary, you are not “out of the box” – you are just in a “bigger box” than before.