For creative thinking, nothing beats a nice large white board and a good set of colourful markers. This is especially true when a group of people are sitting in a room trying to solve a difficult problem or come up with a great idea. Allowing everyone to visualize the thought process as it happens enhances the quality of the end result.
In a recent article by Bill Gates in Fortune entitled "How I Work", Gates describes the myriad of hardware and software tools he uses to most effectively navigate and negotiate his workload. But standing out amongst all the digital deices is the old-fashioned white board, proving there is really no on-line alternative.
Gates does mention the new whiteboards that allow the image to be captured and stored digitally, which is a nice way of applying new technology to an old idea that works.
In general, it is tempting only to pay attention to newly released on-line or technological tools, ignoring the ones that have existed for years. Whether it be the white board or paper productivity forms, it is important to consider the tried and true, and not just the up and coming.
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Thanks Dan -- this gave me an idea for a piece I'd like to write on mind mapping and how that works to trigger ideas in the brain. Great post and URL links here -- this is useful to keep creativity alive and don't you find some days try to squeeze that out. Maybe that's why we need tips like you offered here.
Posted by: Ellen Weber | April 24, 2006 9:09 PM | Permalink to Comment