Decision Velocity - Out of the Chaos with Speed and Direction

Sniffing the dry-erase markers Part II - Drive your Boss Crazy

Forget the whiteboards (see previous post).

Paint your entire office area with dry-erase paint!  And let the creativity explode!  Mmm. Can’t you just smell the fumes.

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Do you like the smell of dry-erase markers?

I love the smell of dry-erase markers (in the morning). It smells like…victory. Ok enough of the movie quotes.

Here’s my hypothesis: Businesses which don’t have a lot of whiteboards don’t have a lot of innovative ideas.

Read on and tell me what you think.

I joined an organization that, in its entire building (4 floors) did not have any whiteboards except 2 little tiny ones tucked away behind cherry stained doors on the walls of conference rooms. None in any offices. None of the portable/rollable kind. None. And no, they didn’t have flip charts all over the place either. Nor electronic projectors.

The place reeked of conservative, legacy-based thinking.

When I joined, we put BIG honkin’ whiteboards in our offices and our conference room. Reflecting the general screwed down view of the business, the local building police-chief (some planning guy) was concerned that they might not match the regulation furniture!

Whiteboards beg for use. Data and arrows and decision-trees, fishbone diagrams and other cool communications can get splattered all over the board. Collaboration ensues. Good choices happen.

Here’s a tip:
When you enter an office area or building of a client or supplier, look around for the whiteboards. Whiteboards indicate the possible existence of an innovative and profitable business. Obviously there’s more to innovation and creativity than having whiteboards to share and develop ideas in groups. Whiteboards are necessary but not sufficient for exciting stuff.

More ominous perhaps, the lack of whiteboards may indicate more of an autocratic, hierarchical command and control business. No need to come up with ideas. You’ll be told what to do when the time comes.

Do YOU think my hypothesis holds water? What about where you work?

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Add comment May 5th, 2007