Whiteboard Wall

In my office in my new condo I have an entire wall coated with whiteboard paint. The designers and builders were skeptical at first when I asked for this, but I knew that I think best with a whiteboard marker in my hand.

Why? Because when I’m faced with a problem or a jumble of ideas, I need to get them out of my head. Once they’re on the wall, I can step back, and look at them as a whole. Almost every time I’ll see a connection – a link between ideas – an opportunity I hadn’t seen before. I’m able to see how everything fits together.

This same concept applies in project management. To be more effective you need to understand how your project or part of the project fits into the bigger picture.

Ask yourself: why are we doing this in the first place? How is what I’m doing moving us toward that goal? This elevates your thinking to gain a broader perspective. Rather than being locked into your own viewpoint, you now see how your work relates to others, and how it relates to larger business objectives.

It’s like the difference between writing on a sticky note … or on an entire wall of whiteboard.