I meet a lot of folks who love to sketch plans on whiteboards, brainstorm mindmaps on chart paper, and generally be creative with their Togetherness Tools. The challenge with many of these approaches is they remain “stuck” in the room where the thinking happened. And most mission-driven leaders and teachers are simply not in one location all day.
So imagine my delight when I met Jacob E., a principal in Memphis, and saw his laminated sheet.
Jacob describes himself like this: “I’m full of ideas! I love to collaborate. I’m not afraid to pitch things, collect feedback, and make changes if needed. I like creating prototypes. I process through writing, rewriting, and talking out loud with my teams. “
Traveling Thought Catchers that mimic a whiteboard! Togetherness LOVE.
Jacob tried to use a traditional Thought Catcher for his ideas, but felt he was wasting a lot of paper; he would find himself capturing one idea in one place and rewriting another version of it in another place, and so on. To solve for this, he laminated!
Let’s zoom in for a close up:
Jacob uses Vis-à-Vis markers and carries his sheet in his Arc notebook for easy brainstorming on the go.
Just like Hannah and Mike and John, I love how Jacob leaned into his natural preferences, rather than fighting them. So the lesson for you, dear reader, is to examine own your habits and see how you can build your Together Tools around them.
P.S. More awesome Together moves with Vis-à-Vis markers right here.
