Mindjet would like to wish you a happy winter holiday. Please enjoy this very fitting map of winter holiday facts we’ve put together with a little help from the US Census. Best wishes to you and yours in the New Year!
Archive for December, 2008
The year is almost over with 2009 just around the corner. Here’s another strategic planning map from the December Mindjet newsletter. There is no better way to brainstorm and capture ideas, refine and organize them into a plan that you can manage and monitor. Build and manage your plan with MindManager or have your team join in via Mindjet Connect so everyone can contribute.
For more information on how to build your strategy in five easy steps, check out the complementary article in Mindjet Connections.
Another great Strategy mapping example is the popular ‘SWOT’. I created this example map to highlight how you can map out your company, department, product, blog or even your own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Whatever you’re planning, SWOT’s will assist you with the development of your objectives, strategy and tactics. Build on your strengths, transform weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities and mitigate risks!
Chuck Frey from the mindmapping software blog previously highlighted this map in his blog a couple of months ago. I’ve given it a little face-lift using one of the new MindManager 8 templates.
There are many reasons why I like MindManager for SWOT strategy maps including:
-
Capture all your ideas quickly with the brainstorming mode
-
Use a projector, web conference or co-edit the same map with Mindjet Connect to engage teams in the brainstorming process
-
Add additional information with notes, hyperlinks, files, spreadsheets & charts
-
Reorganize information by dragging and dropping with a mouse
-
Pack in a ton of information on a single screen showing you the ‘big picture’
-
Add and prioritize ‘tasks’ directly into your map that can be used to build out your action plan
Download SWOT Strategy Map (requires MindManager to open, click here for FREE trial)
What maps are you using to develop your strategy? What examples would you like to see? Share in the Comments!
For more Strategy maps, see these posts:
There’s a lot changing out there with the economy and business environment. I won’t go into all of that. You read the news. Or at least the blogs. With so much change, I thought it would be good to show a way to capture all this information into a single place to help you make better strategic decisions.
With this downloadable PEST analysis template, you gain visibility into a longer horizon of time and see the “big picture”. This will help you clarify strategic opportunities and impending threats. By looking outside your organization to see the potential forces of change, you can take your planning process from tactical into the strategic.
The PEST Analysis is a framework that you can use to scan the external macro-environment in which a firm operates. PEST is an acronym for the following factors:
- Political factors
- Economic factors
- Social factors, and
- Technological factors
Review the template, add your notes and take advantage of the map markers to tag and mark each item’s importance, impact, time frame, how it is changing and type of change.
How are you planning 2009? Add you comments below.
If you want to keep in touch, beyond this blog, here are some ways to connect with me.
Lotusphere 2009 will kick off in Orlando, Florida in mid January, and we wanted you to meet a few mind mapping enthusiasts who will be presenting there. If you plan to attend the conference, make sure to stop by these interactive sessions:
Lotus Notes and Me: Maximizing Personal Productivity with Lotus Notes
Presented by Eric Mack and David Allen
Session Description:
People often talk about Lotus Notes being an "organizational" productivity tool; that’s the way Lotus Notes is marketed and it’s often the way organizations deploy it – as a top down solution. Seldom do you hear about Lotus Notes being used for "personal" productivity or knowledge management. As a consequence many users see Notes as a “company” tool and not “their” tool. When tools become “personal,” productivity increases and when personal productivity increases so does the productivity of the workgroup and the organization. This session will show both expert and novice Notes users how they can use Notes coupled with proven best practices to make them immediately more productive.
Getting Things Done with Lotus Notes – Making Notes Personal
Presented by Eric Mack and David Allen
Session Description:
This community of interest will explore ways to make using Lotus Notes more productive by making it “personal.” When tools become “personal,” productivity increases and when personal productivity increases, so does the productivity of the workgroup and the organization. This interactive discussion will bring together expert and novice Lotus Notes users to share how they are using Notes for personal action and information management.
Getting To WOW…Interface First Design for IBM Lotus Notes Developers
Presented by Chris Blatnick and Thomas Duff
Learn More
Session Description:
Do your Lotus Notes apps look good? We mean really good? If not and you’re ready to make the jump "from plumber to painter", then this session is for you! Today, it’s critical to make your user interfaces as compelling, friendly and just plain awesome as possible. In this session, explore the basics of Interface First design. You’ll uncover exactly what it is, why it’s important and how to get started. We’ll also explore the business justifications for using a screen back approach, how to convince your boss to change your methodology and the benefits gained. You’ll also discover why you should re-design the interface of existing high profile applications. With this sound theory under your belt, you too will know the secret for getting users to WOW!
We’re calling on the wonderful Mindjet community to help us spread the word about a MindManager auction on eBay, to benefit a very worthy cause this holiday season.
The auction was started by MindManager customer and blogger, Robin Capper and is for one licensed copy of MindManager 8 for Windows (valued at MSRP $349). 100% of the profits from this sale will benefit the Kiva organization, the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website. Members of Kiva work to empower individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world, every day. For more on Kiva, and to see how they’re changing lives around the world, please click here.
We encourage you to bid and/or spread the word to your networks.
Thank you!
Today I attended a webinar about how to use visual thinking to change the world. I guess the logic goes, if linear thinking got us into this mess, maybe we need to use a different paradigm to find a way out. Why work visually? Well, I plan to dig into that question much deeper in future blogs. But most experts say that working visually will:
-
Appeal to different learning styles
-
Communicate internationally
-
Create compelling communications
-
Build alignment and helps achieve faster decisions
-
Shorten meeting times
-
Convey complex information quickly
The event was hosted by Ole Qvist-Sorensen of Bigger Picture and Tom Crawford of VizThink. If you’re tired of traditional presentations, Ole facilitated a really nice webinar using a picture. Not just a slideshow but a very, very, very, very long picture. Tom announced that VizThink will be posting the webinar up on their site soon.
Like most things, I mapped it. Download a copy of the map here. If you’re not yet using MindManager, sign up for a free trial (Windows, Web, Mac).
Take a look into Ole’s personal journey, it’s very cool.
What pictures are in your mind that can change the world?
