Beyond Mind Mapping

Response to Peter Abrahams' "four generations" article

Peter Abrahams of IT-Director.com recently posted an article, also commented upon by Chuck Frey, arguing that collaborative mind mapping software represents a fourth generation of evolution of mind mapping technology. I don't agree with this interpretation, and here's why.

The first generation, pen and paper (or whiteboard), is still the preferred medium for many occasions, so is not outdated or superseded by electronic versions.

The second generation is electronic implementation of mind maps with computer software. This is worthy of being regarded as a different generation, because it builds on the concepts of the first, but adds fundamental capabilities that did not exist in the first. Specifically, the ability to expand and collapse information allowed us to deal with ten, twenty or a hundred times more information than could be sensibly managed in a physical form. This meant that mind map visualisations could be used in previously inaccessible or impractical areas, and allowed mind maps to become serious knowledge management tools. All the other features of electronic mind mapping, such as attaching files and links, or real-time collaboration, do not change this basic premise. We could (and still do) collaborate in real time with first generation technology; you don't need the Internet for that. Agreed, you can now collaborate at a distance, but this is a convenience, not a fourth generation. I think that Peter's third and fourth generations of mind mapping software are enhancements to the second, and not new generations.

So what will the third generation look like? I hope it will be an "unbundling" of mind mapping technology, and an escape from the silos of information that dedicated "mind mapping" tools are creating. The feature sets of many mind mapping tools are overloaded with import and export capabilities, which itself tells a story. They expend just as much effort trying to integrate with "normal" technology as they do on exploiting the fundamental power of visualisation. You could say they have a stereotypical English persona: "Sorry, I'm a mind map. Sorry." I look forward to the day when electronic mind mapping stops apologising, ceases to be a parallel universe, and is just one of the choices we have to access and manage information in a variety of activities. Mind Mapping software clients are to mind mapping what e-mail clients are to everyday work; I don't want all my e-mails grouped together inside an e-mail application, I want them embedded in whatever project or piece of work they relate to, in whatever visual format that may take. I want to be able to have an e-mail conversation from within a mind map, without going through technological hoops trying to get two separate applications to liase with each other. I want to be able to click the "mind map view" tab in Google, Word or PowerPoint. While we have standalone mind mapping applications, this will not happen.

Mind mapping technology is the third generation, not more sophisticated mind mapping applications. I hope!

Events and new goodies

Intelligent Visual Mapping As a Systematic Framework for Business Success
October 2-3, 2008
College of St. Elizabeth
Morristown, New Jersey, USA 

This one-and-a-half day event focuses on the business and academic applications of mind mapping, concept mapping and flow charting. The speakers include Chuck Frey, author of the Mind Mapping Software Blog, Stephanie Diamond,  Arjen Ter Hoeve, Wallace Tait, Kyle McFarlin, and Adam Clayman. Click here to register.

Mind Mapping for Teams
July 17th 2008
Tower Hotel, 12th Floor
St Katherine’s Way,
London E1W 1LD, England

This free workshop focuses on the application of MindManager software in teams and is aimed at team leaders and managers who want to deploy visualisation within their teams. Speakers include Dr. Ian Corner, Peter Urey, Alan G, Brown and Yours Truly. There are two 2-hour sessions so you can choose morning or afternoon attendance. Click here to register. I look forward to meeting you there!

New comparison chart of Web-based Mind Mapping tools
Published by Chuck Frey, this detailed and extensive chart compares 60 features of the top Web-based mind mapping tools. If you are interested in Web-based mind mapping software, this will save you a lot of research. I'm sure that when Mindjet's Web client is out of beta, Chuck will add it to this useful resource.

And last but by no means least...
Eric Mack launches preview of eProductivity for Lotus Notes
After one of the best-managed beta trials I have ever witnessed, Eric Mack has launched the preview of eProductivity for Lotus Notes, a GTD implementation for Notes from someone with a unique and world-class knowledge of both. Gyronix are supplying GyroQ for eProductivity as a component of this system, allowing you to capture and send ideas, actions and more straight into Notes from a pop-up window. If you are a Lotus Notes user and intrigued by the possibility of getting your e-mail inbox to empty every day, then grab one of these preview places fast, before they disappear.

ResultsManager articles and webinar

ResultsManager articles available for download

Further to some postings discussing less well understood topics in the GTD_MindManager Yahoo! Group, which is focused on the use of ResultsManager and GyroQ for Mindjet MindManager, I have had requests to make these articles available in a more permanent form. The link below is a PDF document containing the following:

• From doing to reviewing - what it really means to do a review, and how to interpret your Action dashboards at a different level
• How In-trays work - an overview of how the In-tray concept works in maps and dashboards
• How Inheritance works - the ways that ResultsManager takes advantage of tree-shaped project plans to minimise the amount of re-entry of task information.

Download 3_ResultsManager_Articles.pdf

ResultsManager Webinar on Wednesday August 8th at 9:30am PDT

Sign up for a free Webinar with my colleague Nik Tipler of Gyronix, to learn the 5 basics of using ResultsManager to deliver projects; Activities, Funnel Timelines, the Daily Action Dashboard, Inheritance and setting out your first project. Even if you don't see yourself ever using ResultsManager, you will learn some useful techniques for working visually with projects that don't rely on extra software.

Sign up at

https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/140864469

Spiral Presentation Maps and Virtual Donuts

Software mind maps are frequently used and abused as a presentation tool, as a refreshing alternative to endless bullet points. Done well, they can make complex concepts much clearer. Done badly, they can alienate even the friendliest of audiences.

A key advantage of software mind maps over other presentation tools is what happens below the waterline of your presentation iceberg. 90% of the value of a presentation is created in the preparation. The 10% that the audience sees is merely the final flourish. If there is little or nothing below the waterline, your iceberg will capsize at the slightest push. PowerPoint® hardly helps at all when it comes to building foundations, as most of the features are aimed at the part the audience sees. Software mind maps offer fewer visual tricks, but are much more helpful in structuring and developing your presentation, because you can visualise and verify the relationships between the concepts that you want to communicate. A presentation prepared from a mind map is likely to be far better thought out than one prepared straight to bullet points.

There are a "few rules of thumb" that help with most business presentations:

• Use an inductive rather than a deductive approach; tell your audience what your conclusion is, then justify it, instead of presenting a trail of clues followed by a big surprise
• Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you have told them
• Most presentations overrun, so use a strategy that ensures you get your key points across even if you get cut short
• Aim your presentation at the right audience, so that the call to action is compatible with their remit
• Leave them wanting to know slightly more, rather than worn down by exhaustive detail.

Most of the map-based presentations I have seen have started on a step-by-step walk through the topics of a map, drilling straight down to the first great-great-grandchild of the first main topic and crawling onwards from there. This usually cancels out the benefits of tree structures as a way to encapsulate big ideas first, then break them down into more detail only later when the audience is warmed up and receptive.

There is no single template for a map-based presentation that would work in all cases, but there are some principles that will help many:

• Always use statements and not headings in a presentation map. The topics are your bullet points, and will be the written record of your presentation. Headings alone will be meaningless without the words. Provided you don't make the mistake of simply reading out the map to your snoozing audience, statements give them the chance to scan ahead, which they love to do - so that they get an idea of how the whole thing fits together. Some presenters don't like scanning ahead because they think it distracts attention. If the audience is prone to distraction, they will distract themselves with anything that moves. It's better that they distract themselves with reading your presentation than with what is happening in the corridor.
• Use the structure of the map to address different levels of audience, so that you don't have to reveal more than they really need. Software mind mapping tools will let you show or hide different levels of topics. Provided you use statements instead of headings, this lets you "layer" your presentation very effectively. Think about the map as a set of donut-shaped rings. The ring nearest the centre of the map is for your executive audience, who have short attention spans and grasp big ideas quickly. The next ring is for management, who are going to need a better understanding of the implications in order to deliver it. The outer ring is for the people who actually do the work, who will need real details. The true benefits of the tree structure become evident here, because you can position detail in the context of bigger ideas.
• When presenting, start at the one o'clock main topic and walk through your map in a spiral, addressing the executive level first, then the management level, then the detail if it is appropriate. This takes you on a complete tour of your map in at least three passes, which helps your audience feel comfortable from the outset about the scope of your presentation, and critically, the way it is represented by your map. This might disappoint the few who enjoy suspense and surprises, so it is up to you as a presenter to make it entertaining and engaging in other ways, instead of by playing with the content. That's like playing with food, and you can remember being yelled at for that. If your audience is still with you when you complete your tour through the management level, then they are ready for the detail. If you have already lost their good will, or are running out of time, then more detail would not have helped and could even have set you back.

This template gives you some ideas on structuring the content, and the kinds of information that you might include at the different levels. The numbers on the topics represent the presentation order.

So when using software mind maps to prepare and deliver presentations, use statements, translate different audience levels to layers, and develop a spiral route through your map to keep your audience on track. And don't forget the donuts.

Last call for Eric Mack's Webinar

If you haven't yet signed up for Eric Mack's Mindjet Webinar on Wednesday 28th March at 10am PDT / 6pm BST, it's not too late. Eric will demonstrate some innovative knowledge and action management techniques involving Lotus Notes, MindManager and Getting Things Done. Sign up for the free Webinar at http://tinyurl.com/2v3zom.

Chuck Frey of Innovation Tools has published a comparison of Web-based mind mapping software. This situation is changing all the time, with all the current offerings still in beta (or at least still developing very fast). While it is useful to have a comparison of features and functions, their value depends very much on what kind of user you are. Most Web-based services will appeal to smaller companies or individuals, who have never really considered themselves likely targets for industrial espionage. But larger organisations with significant intellectual property to protect, and with strong in-house IT policies and capabilities, will always hesitate to use a solution hosted elsewhere. It is doubly unfortunate that mind maps are excellent at capturing intellectual capital. If I wanted to know what my competitor was up to, I would be happy with one good mind map in place of ten spreadsheets. Mindomo will offer a business solution, where you can install the software on your own servers and make it available within your Intranet or VPN. Although this will not be a concern or a practical option for individual users, it is an important distinction for business users in this marketplace.

Mindomo raises the bar for mind mapping software

The last couple of months have seen the launch of several new Web-based mind mapping software tools. Chuck Frey predicted that we would see more this year. The recent launch of the beta version of Mindomo from EXswap is a new and welcome addition to the world of mind mapping software, raising the bar significantly for both Web- based and desktop software providers.

Mindomo is a Web-based mind mapping software tool that runs in your browser, with the maps being stored on their server. But what distinguishes Mindomo in this growing field is genuine desktop-quality functionality. Pretty much everything you need from basic desktop software is there - rich formatting, curved lines, images and symbols, relationships, notes fields, task data, drag and drop editing, Web hyperlinks, and import from Mindjet MindManager. Clearly a lot of thought and work has gone into it. But rather magically, you don't need to download or install anything. You only need a Web browser with a Flash player. If you are a corporate user with a locked-down desktop and an active IT police force, this is a highly attractive proposition - especially with the elimination of issues such as upgrades, service packs, multiple location licensing, platform locking, and synchronising files between your desktop and laptop. All these things become history. Most business users these days have a desktop and a laptop, and an increasing number have both Microsoft and Macintosh platforms. I even heard a rumour that Eric Mack was going to get a Mac...

What is scary for desktop software publishers is that straight out of the box, Mindomo is multi-platform and enables collaborative working at no cost. The challenge of persuading your colleagues to purchase and install desktop software so that they can work with you has been eliminated, with few compromises on functionality. No more "read-only" viewers for one-sided collaboration. You can simply create a joint account on Mindomo Free edition and access each other's maps from anywhere. The basic version is free, but there are other (purchasable) editions that provide secure connections or even installation on your own server for security-conscious corporate users. This approach is a critical distinction between "free" and "Open Source"; Mindomo is free to use at one level, but you can migrate to a commercial and contractual relationship where you need to. Open Source will always remain in a grey area for many commercial organisations.

Almost as a by-product, Mindomo creates a visual "Wiki" where users can collaborate on shared maps, and can publish templates and examples for anyone to use. I don't think I am alone in regarding Wikis as full of potential in theory, but rather awkward and to understand and use in practice. On Mindomo, a shared account acts as a Wiki where you can control the membership.

In the article about using mind mapping software to map out events, a few readers asked if there was a template map available. Here is the template on the Mindomo site. If you create a free Mindomo account, you can edit this map and save your own private copy of it, or publish an amended version for others to access, which is all rather cool.

Edit this map on-line now!

As a beta, there are of course some features still "under development" - but based on the quality of this beta, I don't doubt that EXswap will deliver them.

Mindomo Web site: www.mindomo.com

From Beyond Crayons to Beyond Mind Mapping

Just today, I read yet another conversation in a bulletin board about the merits (or otherwise) of "mind mapping software" versus Buzan's "Mind Mapping®". As always, there were supporters on both "sides", the Mind Mapping® fans preferring the immediacy and creativity of hand-drawn maps to the sterile, slow and technology-dependent world of software. Who could disagree?

To me this seems like unconditionally declaring whether you prefer to walk or drive. If you are going to the local shop for a loaf of bread, walking is the healthy option. If you are visiting somewhere sixty miles away, walking is unlikely to be a serious contender, regardless of your preferences. So some preferences should be conditional to avoid being dogmas.

I prefer to draw Mind Maps® by hand, but I prefer "mind mapping" software if I want to draw something that needs to be shared and frequently updated and revised. Only those who (understandably) mistake mind mapping software as a tool for drawing Mind Maps® might declare an unconditional preference. There are a few software packages that aim to recreate Mind Maps®, but they are outnumbered by tools that simply aim to provide fast and easy graphical organisation of information.

Unfortunately the industry seems to be stuck with the term "mind mapping software" because that is where most of these tools originated from, and there is no other category that is as clearly recognised by the reviewers or potential users. But this does a disservice to both techniques, by

• implying that a Mind Map® is merely a tree,
• implying that a tree-shaped diagram must be a Mind Map®, and
• inviting misleading comparisons between Mind Mapping® and mind mapping software.

For this reason, I am changing the name of my Blog from "Beyond Crayons" to "Beyond Mind Mapping", to make it clearer that the use of mind mapping software is quite distinct from Mind Mapping®. Not better, not worse, but designed to do different things.

A Simple Template for Visualising Events

The idea that a map represents your relationship with a subject (rather than the subject itself) is worth a whole posting by itself, but before sending everyone to sleep with the theory, it might be more useful to first present a practical application. It leads to a clearer variation of the project map template that captures a simpler view of the relationship between an event and its stakeholders.

Many business people are primarily concerned with events that change the status quo. This could be launching a product or service, commissioning a process, solving a problem, delivering a physical event (such as a seminar), or establishing a new behaviour. Learning, information and knowledge all play a role within that context, either before (in skills and training required) or afterwards (in lessons learned and experience gained). The relationship between an individual or team and a finite event includes responsibilities, actions, expectations, outcomes and consequences for the individual or team.

One of the differences between software maps and pencil & paper maps is that the majority of software tools only support horizontal text. Today, many of the software maps that you look at are not truly "radiant" but are horizontally banded and lead the eye left and right -  like scanning the horizon for interesting features rather than looking in the sky or sea. This is a restriction that we can also exploit as a feature. If we also adopt a left-to-right convention, we have a convenient way of visualising concepts that naturally converge to a single critical point before diverging again.

I suspect you're already way ahead of me here. If we make the centre of a map represent an event, then on the left we can write down the converging factors that lead to the event, and on the right we can show the divergent consequences of that event occurring. This gives us a flexible graphic depicting the whole of our relationship with an event:

(Click for larger image)

For example, let's suppose that you are the director of a mail order company, and you are getting feedback from customers receiving parcels that appear to have been delivered by Ace Ventura. Readers in the UK will know which delivery service I mean. So changing your courier is a promising long term solution. The Event template structure helps us to think about and organise our ideas in several areas:

• The "defining moment" at which the changeover can be described as complete - how this point is characterised
• The conditions that describe that point, which are drawn on the left
• The resources and actions that lead to those conditions, also drawn on the left
• The implications that arise from completion, which are drawn on the right. Not all of them need to be positive, provided they are not unanticipated
• How the outcomes contribute to other strategies, also drawn on the right

(Click for a larger image)

This also gives us simple way to correlate the consequences listed on the right with the actions and decisions on the left, to ensure that we will deliver on expectations. This is hardly a new idea, but formal statement and verification of requirements is not often used in general business. All we want is a simple visual device that can easily be explained to almost anyone and conveys a real sense of the consequences of decisions and actions.

The beauty of using an expansible tree diagram is that there is a place for all the detail you could ever need, without losing the birds-eye view of the most important factors for discussion and presentation purposes. It creates space for some of the more intangible results of completing a project, especially where they lie outside the direct remit of the project team (i.e. are not actions on the left).

An "event" could be a project outcome, problem situation, hypothetical opportunity, educational achievement or anything that has a sense of completion or a point at which a change occurs. The same basic visualisation can be used to communicate, negotiate and deliver anything from buying a new printer to reorganising a department.

100 Things To Do Before You Get Started Properly

A very healthy, wealthy and Happy New Year to you all. Do you have so much to do that you don't know where to begin? Clearly, you can't start properly until you're ready to start. And being ready to get stuck in and make the most of 2007 is non-trivial - you obviously have to get a lot of small things out of the way first. So to save you valuable time wondering where to begin, here's a list of 100 Things To Do Before You Get Started Properly.

1. Sharpen all your pencils
2. Fill your fountain pen
3. Clean up after filling your fountain pen
4. File some old CDs
5. Put music CDs back in the right cases
6. Reorganise your MP3 player
7. Dust your computer screen
8. Clean under your desk
9. Shred some old letters
10. Empty out the shredder
11. Clean your phone handset - yuck!
12. Check today's Dilbert cartoon
13. Delete old texts from your mobile phone
14. Check what's ending in 60 seconds on eBay
15. Google your own name
16. Clean the gunk off the underneath of your mouse
17. Delete some old e-mails
18. Chat to a co-worker
19. Download the pictures from your digital camera
20. Sort your CDs into alphabetical order
21. Clean between the keys on your computer keyboard
22. Update your wish list on Amazon
23. Find something to eat
24. Rearrange your office
25. Uninstall some programmes you don't use
26. Back up your PC
27. Have a meeting
28. Check e-mail
29. Tidy up your desk
30. Get a drink
31. Throw away biros that don't write
32. Find your house on Google Earth
33. Change the ring tone on your phone
34. Update your contacts list
35. Untangle the handset cord on your phone
36. Write down something you must do today
37. Find the best price for ink cartridges
38. Check your RSS feeds
39. Read a newsletter that's been in your inbox for five months
40. Refill your stapler
41. Clean your glasses
42. Dismantle your glasses and clean inside the frames - yuck!
43. Update your diary with things you have already done
44. Charge up your mobile phone
45. Check who's online on Skype
46. Calculate how much your commute costs you
47. Solve the problem of reprocessing nuclear waste
48. Clean your whiteboard
49. Make a pile of things that you don't know what to do with
50. Adjust the height of your chair
51. Join Second Life
52. Check your Webcam
53. Make a list of things you already did and cross them out
54. Order some stationery
55. Look out of the window
56. Find out how much your car is worth on eBay
57. Have another cup of coffee
58. Clean out your desk drawer
59. Read a newspaper from last month
60. Charge up some batteries
61. Update your CV
62. Check the weather forecast
63. Go on a circular walk of the corridors carrying a stack of papers
64. Comment on someone's Blog
65. Defragment your hard drive
66. Hang up a picture
67. Make sure your Antivirus software is updated
68. Check the visitor stats on your web site
69. Look up "Thesaurus" in the Thesaurus
70. Empty your briefcase
71. Discuss last night's TV
72. Find out the right time and set your clocks
73. Change the background picture on your Windows desktop
74. Clean up your Web browser history
75. Play Solitaire
76. Go to the bathroom
77. Browse YouTube.com
78. Check the football results
79. Find a safe place for your passport that you won't ever forget again, ever
80. Google your friend's name
81. Collect together all those odd business cards and sort them
82. Install some software off a free magazine CD
83. E-mail an old friend
84. Find out what day of the week your birthday is this year
85. Sort those old foreign coins into different currencies
86. Read the news headlines on-line
87. Water the plants
88. Throw away those dried-up whiteboard pens
89. Start planning a life-changing event
90. Empty out your wallet or purse
91. Check yesterday's weather forecast and compare it to reality
92. Allow Windows to do those pesky updates
93. Clip your nails
94. Decide how the country should be run
95. Check for new people on Friends Reunited
96. Reprogramme the speed dial numbers on your phone
97. Open that junk mail in case it's something important
98. Vote for a reality TV contestant
99. Read a list of 100 things to do before you get started
100. Wish you had more time

GyroQ is here!

We're very pleased to have finally launched GyroQ. If you are looking for a Purchase Invitation, you can get one further down on this page.

For new visitors, welcome to my Blog! Most of the postings here are related to techniques for using "mind mapping" software, especially MindManager, although the techniques can be used in other tools as well. I am particularly interested in how to use visualisation tools collaboratively. To read the essays, click on the links on the left.

GyroQ promises to raise some interesting challenges, as anyone who finally gets the whole of their "to do" list out of their head and into a manageable form soon discovers. I will be posting more on this subject here in Beyond Crayons.

To get your GyroQ purchase invitation from Beyond Crayons, use the form below. If it's not working then it should give you a link to search elsewhere.

Thanks for visiting!