Sticky Note

“3x3, 4x6, 20x23, square, rectangle, in crazy shapes, yellow or any other color, blank or lined: sticky notes are everywhere in organizations. Mundane to the point of disappearing in the background of office life, this object – a piece of paper that can stick to any surface without leaving a trace – is far from being as banal as it seems. While it can be analyzed as a category of documents, inquiring into sticky notes allows us to travel from ordinary practices to fundamental aspects that are nowadays valued in work, and hence that shape our experience of organizational life. The sticky note both embodies and contributes to actualizing in circumstances, activities and situations experienced by people, either in solo or in group use. Beyond its evident uses, the sticky note can be understood as materializing popular techniques in organizations (such as brainstorming and other techniques associated with ‘design thinking’) and dominant discourses in business (like the glorification of innovation or creativity), among others. Could the sticky note allow us to capture key elements of our present work culture?” – Viviane Sergi

Viviane Sergi is Associate Professor in Management at the School of Management, Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada). She investigates, among other things, the performativity and materiality of organizing.