Mike Vardy is a collaboration, productivity, and organisation expert. Known as the Productivityist, Mike is a TEDx keynote speaker, published writer, and podcast host. Post-it® Brand partnered with Mike to address the changing office spaces in open environments at Stitch Fix in San Francisco, where he worked with their administrative team to create more access to the right tools for better collaboration among employees.
Although the tips that Mike deployed at Stitch Fix were particular to their challenges, the principles can be adapted to almost any situation. Here, Mike talks about his top tips for collaboration and the best tools to help put them into practice in any organisation.
Mike believes that in order to encourage collaboration, the right tools must be at hand. “The biggest thing that the Post-it® Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface allowed was the ability for Stitch Fix to improve collaboration in spaces that weren’t previously conducive to teamwork,” he says. “Showing them how it would work in their larger, more open space helped people get comfortable using Post-it® Super Sticky Dry Erase Film on both tables and walls — it really created a central, collaborative space that didn’t exist before. In my mind, the hallmark of Post-it® Products are their versatility and flexibility, and Dry Erase Products embody that to a tee.”
“Having the Post-it® Easel Pad readily available allows for portable mind-mapping in collaborative environments,” Mike explains. “Teams can convert any space into a collaborative zone with it. Easel Pads are great for open spaces because they create a vertical viewing surface when a wall isn’t nearby — creativity and brainstorming flow much more freely when there's less friction, and when Post-it® Products are the tools at hand, that friction disappears.”
I’m a huge advocate of keeping thoughts and ideas organised, which I've applied to monthly goals and projects,” says Mike. “Having goals readily visible by writing them on Post-it® Easel Pads or Post-it® Super Sticky Big Notes allows teams to stay focused within the confines of the products — and constraints have proven to be good for creativity. Teams can use Post-it® Super Sticky Big Notes for goals and projects by mapping them out for 10 to 12 months of the year when they need to stand out — and then move them around should the need arise (think index cards when used for a storyboard). When wall real estate is at a premium, Post-it® Easel Pads are great for helping teams focus on their top priority until it’s completed.
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