The Idea Mapping Blog Has Moved

For the July 2, 2008 Mindjet Newsletter article, all of the migrated content in this blog, and all future postings, go to the NEW Idea Mapping Blog.

Visiting San Francisco

Susi Watson developed this unique map for people who wanted want to visit the various tourist attractions in San Francisco. Unfortunately, non-Mindjet users can’t open the branches to see the details. Above are two versions of her map. One is the collapsed overview and the second map is expanded in a few places to show some of the map’s many details.

I suspect many of you would like to know how she created this map, so let me give you some background. I was introduced to Susi in the fall of 2007 through Gaelen O’Connell at Mindjet. We ended up co-facilitating two sessions at the VizThink Conference held in San Francisco in January 2008. I was immediately attracted to her mapping style and thought you would be intrigued as well.

To get the map of San Francisco dropped into the MindManager file, she inserted a picture of it into the background. To do this, open up a new file and right click anywhere on the background. Then select Background, Backgroud Properties, and then Select Image. Under Tile Options, Susi recommends Center or Stretch to Fit. You may need to play around with it a bit by:

1. Increasing the font size of the central image/words while shrinking the size of the map. I found this helpful when choosing Stretch to Fit under Tile Options.
2. Right click on the central topic and select Format Topic. Click on the Size and Margins tab. You may need to adjust the Left Margin.

The central image in this map was the circle labeled “Sample San Francisco Family Day.” The rest of the circles (or main topics) are floating text placed strategically on the map on top of the location being described. Each floating topic has sub branches that go into more detail about the attraction. Adding photos, hyperlinks, attachments for maps and travel documents, linking to sections of your travel budget, and how to link new contacts to Outlook are all demonstrated in this map. For instructions on all of these items, look for the text box within each topic called “How To.”

Flags were used to customize attractions into 7 categories: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Indoor Activity, Outdoor Activity, Evening Events, and Touristy. The idea was that you could filter this map based on your own travel plans and build a customized version of your own. This map isn’t 100% complete. As you could imagine, it could grow into infinity. But it does give you a nice picture of possibilities.

Susi Watson is and artist, consultant and facilitator. She helps conceptualize and create valuable customer experiences for both public and private sector clients. This map is featured in today’s Mindjet Monthly Newsletter. If you want to have the entire map in MindManager format, email me at info@ideamappingsuccess.com and I’ll send you the original file. To see this in a larger pdf format go to “Additional Maps” on my website. They are in alphabetical order by the title of the map.

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Idea Map #101 - Productivity Central Featured in Today's Mindjet Monthly Newsletter

I was introduced to Bill Miller in the fall of 2007 by Denny Sikkila – Mindjet’s Central Regional Manager. Bill is the Associate Vice President & Controller for Nationwide Services Company at Nationwide Insurance. He is a visionary and champion for personal productivity and process automation. Bill is leading the way in introducing MindManager throughout his organization.

I invited him to be a guest for one of my 2-day workshops and had the opportunity to learn firsthand that he is one of the most brilliant and humble learners I have ever met. During those two days Bill made a significant contribution to the workshop. I thought that MindManager users everywhere should have the same opportunity to peek into this great mind.

The map included in this posting is his version of Mindjet’s “My Personal Organizer" template, which he has dubbed "Productivity Central." Mind Manager created this template as an example of how to integrate numerous functions of the software into a single map. He adopted the general template and began to put it to use. I’ll let him describe the rest in his own words.

“I had two primary objectives when I starting using the template. The first objective was to begin to integrate the discipline of using the map on a daily basis. I remain convinced that the only way to squeeze every ounce of productivity from mapping is to integrate it into my daily routine. If you are very busy, as most of us are, the only way to make that kind of change in your behavior is to make it easier to do the new behavior then the old one. To accomplish this, I put a short cut on my desktop so all I have to do to launch this map is to click the short cut once I boot up. Instantly I am in my map, working from it, and building the discipline.

The second objective was to learn how to leverage the map to be more productive. I promised myself at the beginning I would not expect it to be perfect before I started using it. I can't remember exactly when I started using Productivity Central, but it has been at least six months now. If you look at the map you can still see branches from the original template that I have not modified or deleted. Since I was customizing this map to fit my work style, I didn't know exactly what components I should keep and which I should delete. Further, as I have found over the months, I am still getting value out of the few branches I have modified. It doesn't bother me that there are sections and functions of the map I have yet to explore. It gives me something to look forward to when I feel fully in control of the branches I have modified so far.

The overall appeal of this template comes from the notion of air traffic control of my life. I am drawn to the idea that I can have a central point from which I start my work. It saves me time by significantly reducing the amount of time and effort I have to invest to find important documents, notes, or internet links. It organizes and makes me more productive by keeping a significant amount of data arranged in the context that makes it relevant versus file folders that mean nothing. It allows me to link data to multiple threads and keep only one version of the documents.
So let me give you a brief tour of my map and explain how I use the sections to save time and improve my productivity. All the major sections I am certain are straight out-of-the-box, so that gives you a clue as to how simple it is to actually start this.

Section 1 is My Goals. Three levels of goals are listed, professional, individual, and learning. I have expanded each level to include key areas of focus I have right now. For those of you that know me, I am really, really, into having goals. This section makes me more productive because it gives me a chance, at anytime, to remind myself and reflect on what I believe to be important. This helps focus my attention and time on tasks at hand that help accomplish these goals.

Section 2 is My Projects. Again, three levels are listed, Work, Personal, Home. I added accomplishments. The Work branch has been built out the most. I think this is mainly out of proximity since I am primarily on this computer at work. But you can see two items outside the work category. In the work category expansion there are lots of linked maps. I learned a cool shortcut helps me leverage Productivity Central as a time saver. I add a branch with a description of project or effort I am going to expand on. By right-clicking on that topic and selecting “send to new linked map”, I instantly open a new map. The new map’s central topic is the same as the one I wrote on the branch in Productivity Central and both maps are instantly linked together. If you didn't catch the multiple benefits here, let me point them out:

1. I don't have to manually link two maps later in the process - multiple clicks saved

2. It doesn't matter where I save the new map on my hard drive because I won't have to try to find the file if I need it later. All I do is open Productivity Central and click the needed link. The single biggest time waster any of us faces is trying to find lost file folders.
   

Section 3 is My Tasks. I am still figuring out exactly how this section might help me. So far, I use the In-box branch as a place to stick notes that I don't know exactly what I am going to do with until I figure out what I am going to do with them. These notes were from a couple of phone calls. I have just left them there as a reminder of how I thought about using this section even though I haven't had a recent need. The Recurring branch is where I am storing meeting minutes for regularly scheduled meetings I attend. Again, the meetings have been something less than regular of late, so I don't know exactly how much I am gaining from this process yet. Again, most of the productivity value is having these kinds of meeting minutes easily accessible. Linking from Productivity Central keeps all the loose ends tied to a center post.

Section 4 is My Plan. The only thing I have here is a link that launches Lotus Notes email for me. If and when there is better integration between notes and MindManager I can see many possibilities for a section like this one. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Section 5 is My Desktop. I can imagine great possibilities here. I have yet to unlock the secrets of how to make this section work the way I want it to. It has cool map parts features that scan and update the files from your hard drive into a map branch. I think there is magic here, I just haven't figured it out yet. At this point, it is an unwieldy as the windows dialogue box. So, more to come on that if I can figure out how to make it work.

Section 6 is My Explorer. Wow, wow, wow. Here is an ace in terms of time savings and productivity. The section labeled Business News has map parts that update on command the lead articles from these publication web sites. I don't know how you browse for news and information that is relevant to you, but this is awesome, both in convenience and time savings. First, you get the article title. Second, you can mouse over the notes icon and get the first few sentences of the article, then you can click the link to the article if you think there is value in reading it. But that's not all! If you find an article that is cool, important, really interesting, related to something you are working on, you simply drag the topic off to another branch of Productivity Central and the link is yours to keep forever. In case you missed this one - no more messing around with favorites on IE. You can literally have the content in the context you need it, and it’s instantaneous and simple!

The Reference Sites branch becomes another way to manage your favorite or frequented web sites. I haven't explored the other branches on this section in any great detail so I don't yet know if there is value there.

Section 7 & 8 I have spent virtually no time in. I am not certain what additional value I would get from them at this point, but, again, I am taking my time in developing and modifying this template to suite my personal work style and needs.

I see the advantage of a map like Productivity Central in two key ways. First, the functionality of the Mind Manager software ensures that I have seamless and significant integration with the files, work products, and web sites that I use to get work done. Second, it acts as a guide post, keeping numerous elements of my life tied together so I can better see the big picture of what I am trying to accomplish. And it does it with minimal overhead and effort on my part.

One of the cool things about productivity central is that it is a living map. It evolves and grows and matures each day I use it. That living quality allows this map to be uniquely powerful to the user. I am really excited about the potential of this kind of mapping. It fascinates me to tap unexplored potential.”

Thank you Bill. This map is featured in today’s Mindjet Monthly Newsletter. Above is a collapsed version of Productivity Central. To see this in a larger pdf format go to “Additional Maps” on my website. They are listed alphabetically by map title. Click on "Productivity Central – 2 Levels" and for a more expanded version of this map click on "Productivity Central – 3 Levels". If you want to see the entire map in MindManager format, email me at info@ideamappingsuccess.com and I’ll send you the original file.

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de Bono's 6 Thinking Hats - Idea Map #96

One of my clients from a large automotive company in southeastern Michigan gave me these idea maps she created around de Bono's Six Thinking Hats.

The top map is a description of the Six Thinking Hats and what each hat represents in terms of its focus as well as the benefits to using this method. The second map (featured in today's Mindjet Newsletter) was used to run a meeting. This map was used to analyze a plan and focus the team on one hat at a time -- for example, Black Hat - "let's all think of the negatives with this plan", Yellow Hat - "let's all think of the positives associated with this plan".

For a larger view of this map see the pdf versions by clicking here then scrolling alphabetically to the map titles “DeBono's Six Thinking Hats” and “Using DeBono's Six Thinking Hats for a Meeting Agenda.”

Announcement: Two new Idea Mapping Workshops have been added to Jamie’s 2008 schedule. See the Course Schedule for upcoming Vancouver, B.C. and UK classses. More info to come in later postings.

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Dynamic Dashboard Drastically Improves Productivity - Idea Map #71 Featured in today's January Mindjet Newsletter

Overview
In the Spring of 2007, I introduced Denny Sikkila (Mindjet Central Region Manager) to one of my clients at a large automotive company here in Michigan. Denny helped her build a MindManager prototype to develop a Program Dashboard that has transformed their weekly status meetings. Not only has it saved them time in preparing for meetings, it has also resulted in more effective meetings.

Before
Every week a group of 35 IT project leaders would gather to review the status of the most major IT projects happening within the organization. In order to prepare for the meeting, a team of 4 people had to build a document approximately 85 pages in length. Each week they:

• Required that all data was updated with actuals: project work plans, financials, issues, risks, scope control, and metrics reports
• Cut the data out of each source and pasted the data (as a picture) into the document
• Printed the 85-page status document
  

Because of the time-consuming task of cutting and pasting, the document was out-of-date by the time it was printed. (The weekly cut and paste took 2 days to execute.) The 85-page document was difficult to review and required the 35+ people to set aside two hours each week to report statuses. The team spent more time shuffling back and forth through the 85 pages and debating why the data was out-of-date, than they spent understanding the status and reviewing and resolving issues.

A mandated reduction in their staff forced them to become more efficient. This led to the idea of creating a dashboard and eliminating the cut and paste process. MindManager was the perfect tool. It allowed them to quickly and easily create a dashboard that linked directly to all the data.

The New Process
Today there is only one requirement in this process. The meeting participants need to make sure their data is up-to-date before it's their turn to discuss any status. This Mindjet-driven dashboard links to over 50 files and 10 weblinks.

All the cutting, pasting, and printing have been eliminated -- which saves approximately 20 hours per week. They've also reduced status meetings from 2 hours to 1. But more importantly, the meetings have reach a higher level of maturity. All information is reviewed electronically (via a projector). The team members can sit in a meeting and update the data real time. For example, if an issue needs to be reworded, it's done right there and then. Today the focus of the meeting is on analyzing the data instead of making excuses and debating out-of-date information. With the click of the mouse, tons of data can be accessed quickly and easily. Instead of reviewing a hard copy picture, files are accessed in real time. This allows for the ability to drill down to the specific tasks, hours, predecessors, etc. They can now make informed decisions right on the spot, because they have access to all the correct data. MindManager has transformed the way this project manager runs this program.

Are you wondering how this group of 35 reacted the first time this process went from the static paper version to the electronic dashboard? I happened to be witness to this first debut. The transition was seamless, it was simple to follow, and there wasn't a person in the room that wasn't impressed. I'll bet there is a process in your organization that could use a MindManager dashboard! To see the clearer pdf version of this map, go to my website and click on the column titled map name. It will show titles alphabetically, and you can scroll down to "Program Dashboard".

To see other maps created by this project manager see: Dare to Dream, Then Do It, and DeBono's Six Thinking Hats. Today this map is featured in my monthly contribution to the Mindjet Newsletter. If you would like to subscribe to the Mindjet Monthly Newsletter click here.

Lean Manufacturing - Idea Map #66 Featured in Mindjet's December Newsletter

This idea map was created by Ji Hong, who is a Certfied Master Black Belt and expert in the Six Sigma /Lean area, a Senior Consultant, and Senior Engineer in China. He was previously the Six Sigma Director for ASIMCO (a US automotive parts manufacturer with 18 factories in the US and China) and is now running his own company.

I met Ji Hong at little over a year ago through a neighbor who was a VP at ASIMCO. For years this neighbor kept asking me about my profession. On one of his many trips to China, he read my Idea Mapping book. A few days later he was in a meeting. It was Ji Hong's turn to present information regarding their Six Sigma initiative -- and he started out by presenting a map created in Mindjet software. My neighbor nearly fell off his chair. Without belaboring the story further, Ji Hong and I have been touch ever since. This unlikely meeting is documented in the November 23, 2006 posting. His wife even contributed a map for the November 7, 2007 posting.

In August 2007, Ji Hong was hired by KK - a semiconductor company in China -- to conduct a lean manufacturing project. Since this company had no background on Lean, he had to design an entire plan for them. To do this he created a map which shows the order of lean activities, Lean Orginazation--Lean Introduction--Implement Plan--Training and Consulting--Improvement Result. In the main branch of “Training” he linked training materials and application worksheets to make it easy to open or close the files while conducting the training or the consulting. Ji Hong says that this lean project is running very well and will be finished in January or February of 2008 – and of course Idea Mapping gave him a big advantage. If you want to contact Ji Hong, he can be reached at +86-13013788481 or jihong2008mail@gmail.com. I want to thank Ji Hong for his excellent contribution.

For the pdf version of this map go to my website. If you click on any column it will sort alphabetically and you can then search by author or map title, etc.

See Ji Hong's map of the Six Sigma Implementation he did at ASIMCO and many others. Hit "Show All Records" and scroll down to "Six Sigma Implementation".

Today this map is featured in my contribution to the Mindjet Newsletter. If you would like to subscribe to the Mindjet Monthly Newsletter click here.