Learn to think visually – or else

[Extract from a Q&A Interview by Chuck Frey with Jamie Nast]

Jamie Nast, author of the popular book Idea Mapping and the Idea Mapping Success Blog, is one of the most world’s most prolific trainers and speakers on the topic of visual mapping. In this interview, she explains why it’s critical that executives learn to express their ideas visually, using hand-drawn idea maps and mind mapping software, and the risks of not doing so.

When I prepare for these Q&A interviews, I take great care to craft questions that will be informative to you, the reader, and which highlight the interviewee’s unique strengths and will draw out some interesting insights. When it all comes together, it’s a beautiful thing. This is one of those interviews, where Jamie took the questions I gave her and used them to hit a “home run!”

Chuck Frey: You conduct workshops on idea mapping on a regular basis. What are the most common misconceptions that attendees have about idea mapping?

Jamie Nast: I think there are several:

• Idea Mapping is a right-brain skill.  No, idea mapping is a whole-brain skill that leverages the natural way the brain associates information.

Full Q & A Interview on Chuck Frey’s blog

Jamie is visiting the UK in October to conduct a 2 day Idea Mapping Workshop.  See you there?

Visual Mapping: a Systematic Framework …

… for Business Success

 

(Extract from an article on Mindjet’s website by By Arjen Ter Hoeve, Brian S. Friedlander, and Wallace Tait)

“Today’s businesses are driven by ideas, processes, and information more so than ever before. Take a good look at your company or organization: how are you capturing this important and crucial information? From our perspective, far too many organizations have simply failed to sufficiently develop systems that can clearly identify, track and monitor the “information economy” that resides within one’s own organization. There may be hundreds of documents scattered on network hard drives, but isn’t there a better way to manage these important processes? Ideas and information are the working capital of your company, shouldn’t we systematically access, control and update them?

The key to understanding the working capital of your organization requires that you understand the importance of the information economy, data banking and knowledge governance. Within our international consulting work, we realize the power of graphic frameworks for creating, managing, expressing and exchanging the essential information processes that make up corporate knowledge. And the genesis of effective visual mapping begins at a personal level with MindManager, a visual mapping software application, to help solve and communicate ideas more effectively and naturally.”

Full article available on Mindjet’s Website

Brian S. Friedlander (Assistive Technology) has organised a 2 day conference Intelligent Visual Mapping on 2 & 3 October 2008 in New Jersey, USA. 

Full details available

Thinking Visually to tackle business challenges

“A creative and innovative approach to problem solving”

London, September 30th 2008

“Statistical surveys have shown that design and visualisation have a verifiable impact on business performance. Visual articulation is important when solving a problem that involves strategic goals and initiatives. At its core, it helps bridge the problem or opportunity with the solution. That is why helping decision makers to think and express themselves visually gives organisations a competitive edge in the marketplace.”

More info via VizThink London website

Think Like a Genius … The Mind’s Eye …

I have recently read “Overcoming Information Overload” by Tina Konstant & Morris Taylor, which is part of the Instant Manager series from the Chartered Management Institute.

I particularly enjoyed the section on “Think Like a Genius“…

“Geniuses like Newton or Archimedes didn’t simply sit under trees or in a bush until they became enlightened.  They used some very powerful and practical tools to create order out of their thoughts and to find answers to problems that few people ever thought existed, let alone considered solving.

Some factors common to the world’s greatest thinkers:

- Idea generation is in pictures and images rather than words. 

- Einstein and da Vinci drew diagrams instead of writing words and sentences.

- Their thinking is unrestrained; nothing is rejected until it has been fully investigated.

- Ideas are explored using association.

- They fuel their imaginations with knowledge.

- They never give up”

Tools for generating genius thinking

Mapping  … it is worth talking about information mapping.  ‘Mind Mapping’ was formalised and labelled by Tony Buzan in the 1970s.  Great thinkers have used similar techniques for centuries.  Leonard da Vinci, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, like other geniuses, represented their ideas through diagrams and ‘maps’.

You might know them as spider-graphs or thinking maps, but whatever you call them, they all have the same features:

- pictures instead of words

- links between relationships

- main concept in the middle, gradually becoming more detailed towards the end of branches

- single words or ideas per line

- colour”

The reference to da Vinci reminded me of some of the fantastic drawings and sketches that I saw many, many years ago in the National Gallery – until then, I hadn’t realised that he was an inventor (I was completely shocked that he had invented a flying machine that we’d recognise as a helicopter!), a sculptor, a mathematician, a botanist, an architect …

… I had thought he was an artist, famous for the Mona Lisa. 

The extent to which he had drawn images to represent thoughts and details really surprised me.  The picture below is a study of perpetual motion.

The V&A Museum has some excellent articles about his work on their website, including:-

The Mind’s Eye – The Measure of All Things

“For Leonardo, sight was the noblest and most certain sense. It provided access to “experience”, which shows us how nature works according to mathematical rules. Any knowledge that could not be certified by the eye was unreliable.

He investigated the relationship of the eye to the brain. He proposed a system in which visual information was transmitted to the intellect via the receptor of impressions and the “common sense”, an area where all sensory inputs were coordinated.”

 

I now realise that visual imagery is the best place for thinking things through … but it took me quite a while to make the connection.  For that, I will always be grateful to Jamie Nast, author of Idea Mapping who will be visiting the UK on 6th & 7th October. 

It was Jamie who helped me realise that colour and images help the brain to think better, quicker, clearer and to remember better. 

Visual Thinking & Project Management is a topic close to my heart (the combination of VISION and DETAIL) but I really hadn’t realised that Leonardo da Vinci had investigated the relationship between visual information and intellect. 

If it was good enough for da Vinci … I’ll continue to explore the tools at my disposal …

Mindjet’s MindManager 7 + Mindjet’s JCVGantt + Microsoft Office + Jamie Nast’s Idea Mapping

Download a free Trial copy of MindManager and start thinking creatively.

The Future of Social Media Conference

The Future of Social Media Conference will take place on 28th October 2008 at Hilton Tower Bridge, London.

The Future of Social Media is the only event in 2008 that offers you:

… Industry leading visions from both the USA and the UK

… Real-world examples from digital marketers

… Case studies from global brands who have measurable social media benefit

… Facillitated networking opportunities amongst the world’s social media elite

http://www.futureofsocialmedia.co.uk/home

Touch smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard

Having just ordered the HTC S710, I discovered that the HTC Touch Pro has been launched for c. £500.  I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who has used one. 

HTC Touch Pro Description

The HTC Touch Pro™ brings together elegant touch screen response with the direct precision of keyboard entry… leaving out nothing to deliver a powerhouse communication tool in a beautiful, compact design.

The 2.8-inch VGA touch screen provides four times the resolution of most smart devices, making email, documents and web pages sharper and easier to work with than ever before.

HTC’s rich, touch-responsive interface, TouchFLO™ 3D, provides a stunningly intuitive way to zip through common tasks like messaging, calendar checks or making calls. Delve a little deeper to find that playing media files, searching for contacts and surfing the web are also responsive to your touch.

The web browser puts the full Internet in the palm of your hand. Websites look just like they do on a PC, and TouchFLO™ 3D makes it easy to pan around and zoom in on exactly the information you’re looking for. If you need a wide screen, simply tilt the Touch Pro sideways and the page switches to landscape view.

Slide out the 5-row QWERTY keyboard to make light work of typing-intensive tasks like composing email or working on Microsoft Office® documents… perfect for when your day takes a serious turn.

High speed connectivity will keep you in touch with colleagues and contacts wherever you are. Integrated GPS can be used with maps software for a full turn-by-turn satellite navigation experience.

Built-in Wi-Fi and TV-out functionality* mean you can hook up to the local wireless hot spot to surf, then deliver the perfect PowerPoint® presentation without a laptop in sight.

A beautiful angle on business, the HTC Touch Pro introduces effortless presence to enterprise-standard communications.

HTC S710 – a smartphone with a Qwerty keyboard

I recently read a review of the HTC S710 smartphone and was so impressed with the features that I have just ordered it via BT.  If you, like me, already have BT Total Broadband (with an old white Hub) you can upgrade to the newer (black) version and have BT Total Broadband Anywhere for just an extra £5 per month.

I decided to pay a one-off payment of £29.99 to upgrade the handset to the HTC S710.

As anyone reading this blog will know, I have been looking for a smartphone with a Qwerty keyboard for ages and ages and ages … for an extra £5 per month, I decided to bite the bullet and buy this one … I’m sure it won’t be perfect … but I think it will do the job I want.

 

Key features:-

- spring-loaded QWERTY keyboard

- Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard

- WiFi

- Internet Explorer Mobile

- Windows Live Messenger

- Outlook Contacts easily transferrable to the handset

- View / Edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files

 

I’ll post my own review once I’ve had chance to make full use of the HTC S710 and would love to hear from anyone who already owns one.

 

Read the full review here

Brilliant Networking Master Class

Public Master Class with Steven D’Souza, author of “Brilliant Networking”.

Saturday 16th August 2008 10:00 – 17:00, London

“Networking is the essential skill for personal and career success”Discover the secrets of some of the UK’s best networkersWhether you are going for your dream job, branching out and starting your own business or you simply want to meet new people, Brilliant Networking skills are your stepping stone to raising your profile in all aspects of life. In his first public Master Class best-selling author of ‘Brilliant Networking’, Steven D’Souza, will share with you all the tips and techniques of the most successful networkers around.You will learn:- The inner game of networking- getting the vision and motivation of a brilliant networker - Dispelling the myths that prevent us from networking - Developing unshakeable confidence - Perfect rapport - The art of  networking conversation- how to speak to anyone at any time - Taking the pain out of rejection to become unstoppable - Ideas to successfully build and maintain your network The workshop will be interactive where you will get to put the ideas in the book into practice in an engaging, fun and supportive environment. After this workshop you’ll have the skills and knowledge you need to network confidently and effectively. Date: Saturday 16th August 2008 Time: 10.00 to 17.00 (Registration at 9.30am) Cost- £90, book before 31st July and go for only £70. Venue: Radisson Edwardian Grafton Hotel, 130 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1P 9HP (Warren Street Tube Station).  Click here for a map. Reservations To reserve your place simply email steven@brilliantnetworking.net This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it today!   About the trainer Steven D’Souza has written two bestselling books. Brilliant Networking was featured in the Independent ‘Success at Work’ series and recommended in The Times and the Telegraph. Steven has spoken on networking to many executives at top UK and international corporates. He is also a Master Practitioner of NLP and an experienced trainer and coach.

In February 2008 I wrote a review of Steven’s book which you might find useful:

http://kayenightingale.wordpress.com/category/steven-dsouza/

Visual Thinking & Project Management

 

 

The combination of Visual Thinking and Project Management really interests me and I’d probably go as far as to say that it excites me.

Mindjet’s website says:-

You’ve already discovered how fast and easy it is to plan and manage day-to-day projects visually by using MindManager. Wouldn’t it be even better to move from visual planning to disciplined project management?

That’s why we’ve combined MindManager Pro 7 with Mindjet JCVGantt to create a single, affordable, easy-to-use visual solution that drives dramatic improvements in project productivity.

JCVGantt Pro 3 software provides an easy to use, yet powerful solution to track projects and tasks. It enables executives, project managers and event organizers to improve the accuracy of their time and cost estimating while decreasing the time it takes to plan a new project.

Even beginner Project Managers can now track and report upon key project issues.

- Instantly identify the project’s critical path

- Automatically calculate the total project cost when changes are made to tasks and assigned resources

- Analyze budgetary risks before they become problems by using baseline snapshots of the project

http://www.jcvgantt.mindjet.com/promotions/jcvgantt/demo.aspx

I will be using JCVGanttPro 3 over the next few days to see just how easy (yet just how powerful) it is and would love to hear from anyone who has already used it in conjunction with MindManager Pro 7 and/or Microsoft Office.

I’ll update you with my thoughts soon.

Jamie Nast is coming to the UK!

 

 Jamie Nast (author of Idea Mapping) will be delivering a 2-day workshop on Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th October 2008 in Poole. 

 

Idea Mapping – A Learning Workshop

“Being adaptable in a flat world, knowing how to “learn how to learn,” will be one of the most important assets any worker can have…”

Thomas Friedman — Author of The World is Flat, page 239

Creating idea maps is one of the central components of this workshop. This tool is based on Jamie Nast’s book titled Idea Mapping: How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More, and Achieve Success in Business (John Wiley & Sons 2006). Other topics covered include creativity, memory, and a model for learning. This learning model is then applied to learning all of the other skills offered in this course. You will also be introduced to Mindjet’s MindManager software.

OBJECTIVES – At the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

1. Create idea maps
2. Think more clearly, creatively and efficiently
3. Apply learning process theory to overcome mental blocks that  inhibit learning, and apply this model to learning several new skills
4. Identify and implement personal and business applications of idea mapping and other skills learned during this workshop

 

WORKSHOP FEE-  USD $ 695 (exc. accommodation) which at today’s exchange rates is a real bargain of approximately GBP £350.

Register via Jamie’s own website:-

 http://www.ideamappingsuccess.com/courses.cfm?info=REG

I have already registered and am really looking forward to the experience and to meeting Jamie face-to-face.

See you there?  Please let me know if you register as it would be great to see some familiar faces benefitting from Jamie’s knowledge.

If you want to know more about Jamie Nast, see my other postings about her – click on the Category “Jamie Nast”. 

In Sept 2007 I wrote:

Prior to reading the book I had realised just how powerful it will be to be able to LINK a MindMap (created in MindManager) to a TASK (created in Microsoft Outlook) or how powerful it would be to create a MindMap and then SEND it to Microsoft Word for it to create a document.  The possibilities are endless.  However, most of my MindMaps were, frankly, boring!  They were maps created by a linear, logical brain – I was creating LISTS but in a map kind of shape.  Then I saw a webinar by Jamie and have subsequently read the book and now my maps are full of imagery and icons and they have, quite simply, come alive.

For my review of her book “Idea Mapping” click here