Identify Vital Few Documents with ConceptDraw MINDMAP

Step 1. From ConceptDraw MINDMAP open the Documents template. Modify or add Document Characteristics.



Step 2. From the toolbar, click the Brainstorming icon, and , and press Enter.

Step 3. Enter the name of each document for your business or project.


Step 4. When finished, click Finish Brainstorming. Allocate topics by dragging and dropping them as sub topics to appropriate Document Characteristics.


Step 5. Use symbols to visually represent different values of documents.


Step 6. Select a topic or sub topic, and right-click. Select Hyperlink to insert hyperlinks to specific documents.


Result. An interactive mind map of essential documents within your business or project.

Edward De Bono: Six Thinking Hats

In the book "Six Thinking Hats", Edward DeBono demonstrates how we can all become better thinkers by using deliberate role-playing.

The premise of the method is that the human brain thinks in a number of distinct ways which can be identified, deliberately accessed and hence planned for use in a structured way allowing one to develop strategies for thinking about particular issues.

With his use of case studies and real examples of his methodology, DeBono describes the 6 Thinking Hats as:

• White Hat
  Facts and Information
  
• Red Hat
  Feelings and Emotion
  
• Black Hat
  Critical Judgment
  
•  Yellow Hat
   Positive
  
• Green
  New Ideas
  
• Blue
  The Big Picture

Having identified the six states that can be accessed, distinct programs can be created using a developed sequences of hats which encompass and structure the thinking process toward a distinct goal. Typically a project will begin with an extended white hat action, as everyone gets "on the same page" creating a shared vision of the issue being addressed.

This methodology is believed to have a positive impact on the thinking process.

Download the ConceptDraw 6 Hats mind map template created on the basis of the principles laid out by Edward DeBono in his book, "Six Thinking Hats".

This map was constructed using ConceptDraw MINDMAP 6, using icons and objects from ConceptDraw PRO 8.

Download 6 Hats mind map here!

De, Bono Edward. Six Thinking Hats. 2nd ed. Boston: Back Bay, 1999. Print.

Strategic Accomplishment Mapping with ConceptDraw MINDMAP

Business is all about moving ahead; in one word it is all about ACCOMPLISHMENT.

To accomplish something, is to bring about a desired result with effort. Completion. Accomplishment comes in many forms. I like to break accomplishment down into tactical and strategic accomplishment.

To be tactical is mostly viewed as relating to small-scale actions serving a larger purpose, while being strategic is more focused on the integrated whole or planned effect. A good friend of mine who is a wiz in public relations once described the amount of interest she was able to generate for her company by using a tactical strategy. She understood the market dynamics well and was utilizing such knowledge to bring attention to her company.

Of course tactics are just as critical to any company as strategy. The difference is the potential leverage you can take advantage of with strategy. Tactics is most similar to using a sledge hammer to tear down a brick building where as strategy is most similar to using a wrecking ball to break down the wall barriers. Strategy also comes in different formats and with different levels of impact. The one given is that attaining strategy attainment is critical to businesses of any type or size.

I have built a sample Strategic Accomplishment Map (SAM) using ConceptDraw MINDMAP that can be downloaded from MindMapPedia. http://www.mindmappedia.com/?id=121847551

With this map being used as a template your strategy is visible at all times, this enables you to focus more accomplishing your goals. All company strategic plans must be broken down to department, group and individual levels; if this is not done the company’s strategy may never be realized.

“If the building blocks are clearly defined, the essence of even the most complex strategy can be expressed on one page.” ------------- An excerpt from the book, Execution. The Discipline of Getting Things Done.

My own version of this quote would be

“If the building blocks are clearly defined, the essence of even the most complex strategy can be expressed on ONE MIND MAP. “

What Is Mapping Strategy Implementation?

I find that tactics are easy to identify and measure, but many times strategy after the initial planning can be elusive in its implementation. Strategy implementation is the inventory of all of the activities and resources that need to be identified and organized so that a strategic plan can be put into practice. Implementation always follows strategy formulation, and I find mind maps to be an excellent way to keep the strategy in view and at the same time be focused on the right implementation plan to accomplish the strategic objectives.


Works Cited

Bossidy, Larry, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck. Execution The Discipline of Getting Things Done. New York: Crown Business, 2002.

Hunger, J. David, and Tom Wheelen. Essentials of Strategic Management (4th Edition). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2006.

A Strategy Mind Map

Strategy Maps are often used by management to determine the appropriate alignment in a company, and to also identify and measure the metrics that support that alignment. Strategy maps can be a useful tool to focus your company’s finite resources so that they are effectively utilized.

A strategy map is not a sales or marketing tool, but rather a management tool that that reaches across all departments.Most of the time you will see a strategy map represented as a 2D graphic in ConceptDraw PRO or Microsoft Visio, which will show all of the dependencies between the identified areas in the company that are being measured and what is being measured. I have built a mind map that does this in a mind map format rather than a static 2D business rendering.

The great thing about using a mind map is that once the map is complete it can then easily be exported to PowerPoint, as a slide presentation. This makes it is then easy to communicate to larger groups of stake holders. The strategy map template I developed, I have placed at MindMapPedia as a free download so any one can download and use it http://www.mindmappedia.com/?id=107455082, this strategy map was built with ConceptDraw MINDMAP.

Gaining Group Consesus

Map showing importance of fire safety to management team looking for new office location

Making a decision can be a hard task to accomplish, add more people and it becomes MUCH harder. As you add people the task becomes exponentially harder. Using a mind map is a great way to work with a group of people and to identify what is really important. We recently had this map shared with us on an exercise that a local company’s management team went through to determine where would be a suitable place for them to locate. Each member of the management team was given points that they could allocate to a set of criteria that was determined by a brainstorming session. Nineteen criteria were identified and then randomly placed on the map. No topic could receive more than 100 points. They then had each of their managers determine how many points they wanted to spend in each category. This company broke the decision into two small meetings a day apart, but the decision could have been made in one meeting. The marketing person who built the map added clip art to each item, which helped them visualize what the criteria was and kept everyone on track.

The brainstorming session was finished in 10 minutes. The allocation of points among the managers was 15 minutes, with the CFO putting most of her points on the cost factor. The points were added up and placed in the task portion of the topic as a percentage complete of that topic, then ConceptDraw MINDMAP’s auto numeration was turned on and the topics were sorted by percentage complete. Starting with the largest percentage of completion at the 1 o’clock position and moving clockwise to the smallest percentage of completion.

Next the managers had a discussion among the team. Was a variety of places to eat lunch really number two in their selection criteria? Is not the type of landlord more important than a last place ranking? By looking at each of the criteria and seeing where it fell in relation to the other criteria they were able to make better assessments. Once the criterion was ranked in an appropriate manner it became easier for the company to conduct their site search, and make a decision based on the reasons they identified. They were happy with their final results.

The decision map that was built can be downloaded from here http://www.mindmappedia.com/?id=100268315