What do Paddleboats and Kayaks have to do with dispatching?

The Whiteboard Hall of Shame

Your Daily Operation Deserves Better Than This

By Dave Fairburn, Co-Founder of CrewHero & North Point Outdoors

I’ve seen some legendary whiteboards in my day.

Hell, I used to have one — two, actually. One in the shop and one in the office.

Every Monday morning I’d pull out the magnets, the dry erase markers, the paper printouts, and get to work.

It took a full 45 minutes to lay out the plan for the week.

And by Tuesday?

One magnet fell off.

But we kept doing it, because it was all we knew.

And because it felt productive.

Paddleboat vs. Kayak

There’s a difference between effort and effectiveness.

Using a whiteboard to manage a growing crew is like using a paddleboat to cross a river.

You’re working.

You’re splashing.

You’re creating a lot of motion.

But you’re not getting very far.

It’s noisy. It’s clunky. And eventually, it wears you out.

What you want is a kayak.

Smooth. Responsive.

No wasted movement.

You glide across the same river — with a fraction of the energy.

CrewHero is the kayak.

The whiteboard is the paddleboat.

Pick your tool wisely.

Whiteboard Moments I’ll Never Forget

• The day a new hire showed up and didn’t see their name on the board — “Am I fired?”

• The time we had 3 “Jasons” and one crew got the wrong one for three days straight

• The magnet that fell under the vending machine and left a $6,000 aeration route unassigned

• The day it rained and the backup whiteboard printout got stuck to someone’s wet lunch bag

If you’ve ever:

• Printed magnets

• Took a photo of the board and sent it to 14 people

• Written a guy’s nickname because you forgot his real name

• Gotten mad because someone used Sharpie on the whiteboard

Then welcome to the Hall of Shame.

It’s not your fault.

It’s just that the world moved on — and you deserve better.

CrewHero Ended It For Good

No more magnets.

No more guessing.

No more early morning chaos.

CrewHero holds your crew assignments, truck schedules, job notes, repair alerts, and even who’s not working — all live, from your phone or computer.

And the frontline? They see their day before they leave the house.

No guessing. No rug pulls. No standing around.

Final Thought

We’re not saying whiteboards didn’t have their place. They got us this far.

But if you’re still using one as the center of your operation?

You’re paddling upstream with a leaky boat — and calling it leadership.

Want your day to move smoother?

Put down the marker.

Leave the paddleboat on the dock.

Pick up CrewHero.

We’ve got room in the kayak — and the water’s moving fast.

— Dave