Permanent markers are not supposed to be used on white boards. Among other things they contain nasty sounding compounds like xylene and toluene that make them particularly adhesive and tough to remove. When used on surfaces like cardboard boxes or cd’s they’re great for labeling. If used on whiteboards they’re a particularly big problem. In preparation for a meeting yesterday I went to erase the whiteboard in our office’s conference room but found that the marker had stuck. The culprit was a light green sharpie yielded unknowingly by a well-meaning diagrammer whose mind-maps and flow-charts were now indelibly marked upon the board’s white surface.

Cue scrubbing.

Cue chemicals.

Cue Windex, vinegar, and bleach.

Cue frustration.

Within minutes there were four people on the case – drawn into the room by the commotion. Everyone had a different suggestion, everyone wanted to help. We looked to Wikipedia for direction and a chemical understanding of the problem. Permanent markers, we read, contain compounds that are resistant to chemical solvents and stubborn against wear. Somewhat ironically dry-erase markers, which contain acetone, can remove persistent indelible ink. We tried this to no avail. Either the permanent marker was too strong, or the dry erase too weak. The whiteboard stayed marked. What about hot water, someone suggested? How ‘bout a lemon? Steel-wool? A priest? Soon there were five people in the room surrounded by the remnants of more seven failed marker-removal strategies and there was no less marker on the board than before. Sometimes two-heads are not better than one. Neither are four, or even five.

It made me thing about how sometimes if you don’t have the right tools, all the intelligence and co-operation in the world won’t get you any closer to solving your problem. Tools, information, and intelligence are all important. Information helps people to generate ideas and make good decisions. The right tools allow people to channel their intelligence, and genuine desire to help, in the right direction. They can also act as a lever – by multiplying the applied force of people’s brainpower.

The thing that worked in the end was a Magic Eraser. Its an ingenious product that uses a substance called melamine foam to clean otherwise uncleanable surfaces. Long used in insulation and soundproofing, melamine foam was also discovered to have handy cleaning properties and acts like a very fine sandpaper on all kinds of surfaces. Once we all started scrubbing with Magic Erasers the whiteboard was quickly made clean and soon we all stood back to admire our work – fresh, clean, and white again. The problem, as it so often is in other aspects of work-life, is not a lack of interest, intelligence, skills, or enthusiasm – but an inability to effectively channel and capitalize on the potential abilities of employees. Whether scrubbing or brainstorming, the right tools can allow people to apply their abilities in a way which maximizes output and guarantees success. Like Magic Erasers, management tools like the Smart Agenda Manager help people to structure and synchronize their efforts in way which is more efficient and effective. It not just how much you scrub, but how you scrub. Technique matters. Its not magic, its just SMART.

By Daniel St. Germaine