CHAPTER 6 MIND MAPPING AND ITS VARIANT

What is Mind Mapping? Is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central keyword or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving and decision making.

Mind Mapping can help to: make better use of our time; be more productive; improve the performance of our business; improve our memory; and be more creative.

Mind is an important technique that improves the way we take notes & supports & enhances our creative problem solving. We can quickly identify & understand the structure of a subject & the way that pieces of information fit together as well as recording the raw facts contained in normal notes.

Mind maps provide a structure which encourages creative problem solving & they hold information in a format that your mind will find easy to remember & quick to review. Mind maps enable us to sketch out our main ideas very quickly. It is easy to see the connection points & how one thought relates to another.

It is very useful intermediate stage between the thinking process & achieving our optimum ‘outcome’. This outcome could be: – A business plan – A sales proposal – Our thoughts on a new member of staff – A marketing campaign – An investment decision & etc.

Application of Mind Mapping Mind mapping have many applications in: – Personal – Family – Educational – Business situations

1.One could listen to a lecture & take down notes using mind mapping for the most important points / keywords. 2.One can also use mind maps as a mnemonic technique / to sort out a complicated idea. 3.Mind maps are also promoted as a way to collaborate in colour pen creativity sessions.

4.Software and technique research have concluded that managers & students find the techniques of mind mapping to be useful, being better able to retain information & ideas than by using traditional ‘linear’ note taking methods. 5.Mind mapping can be drawn by hand, either as ‘rough notes’, e.g. during a lecture or meeting, or can be more sophisticated in quality.

Advantages of mind mapping: 1.Flexible. 2.Not limited to plain text on a mind map. 3.A good mind map will both record our ideas & provoke them. 4.Mind maps are not technically intimidating.

Types of Problems that can be solved through Mind Mapping: 1.Studying – Mind maps have been used by students of all ages & at all levels for many years. Students are able to: 1.Understand the chapter completely by using the mind mapping. 2.They will know the subject area & each topic that been including in the chapter.

3.They are able to define the objective of the chapter & reveal the content of the chapter itself. 4.They able to identify where the essential information tends to be concentrate on. 5.They will identify which subject or chapter that they are having a problem & weak. 6.Be able to review it & discuss among members.

2.Running Workshop – The ideal situation is where the workshop participants are all conversant with Mind Maps. However, since the basic technique of mind mapping is easy to learn, in a workshop there are many ways in which the technique can be used effectively. – Strategic Analysis (e.g. SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

– Marketing Developing a marketing plan Product analysis Developing creative promotional ideas Pooling market/competitor analysis – Performance Improvement Reducing costs Revenue enhancement

– Process Improvement Redesign – Visioning At a departmental, subsidiary or whole company level

3.Computerized mind mapping – They are ideal for: Remote group working Communicating ideas Work/time management (hyperlinks to other software packages are especially useful) Presentations On-going projects – Mind mapping software is easy to use & can be formatted to produce very clear, easy to read Mind Maps, making it a very powerful communication tool.

Steps in Drawing Basic Mind Mapping: Step 1 – Start with an open mind, free our mind and let our ideas flow. Step 2 – Record our thoughts quickly. Write down keywords, symbol/images as they occur in mind. Step 3 – Put down everything that comes to our mind including unrelated ideas.

Step 4 – Use colored paper. Use wild colored pens, fat magic markers or crayons. Step 5 – Start in the center of the paper. Step 6 – As ideas come, write them in one/two word description on lines branching out from the main topic. Let the ideas expand out word in branches similar to a tree / spider web. Record all ideas without judging them.

Step 7 – Keep writing. If our ideas slow down, draw empty lines & our brain will automatically search for ideas to put on these lines. Step 8 – To reenergize brain, change colours / position, stand up & mind map to generate more energy. Step 9 – Quite often we can see relationships of ideas & connect them immediately to existing branches / lines. Sometimes patterns / ideas do not appear to be linked so connect them to central topic. Ideas can be organized at a time later.

Definition of Decision Making Good decision making is an essential skill for career success generally & effective leadership particularly. If we can learn to make timely & well- considered decisions, then we can often lead our team to spectacular & well-deserved success.

However, if we make poor decisions, our team risks failure & our time as a leader will be wasted. Several techniques that help us to make decision. 1.Decision Tree 2.6 Thinking Hats 3.Cost/Benefit Analysis

1.Decision Tree – Decision trees are excellent tools for helping us to choose between several courses of action. – They provide a highly effective structure within which we can lay out options & investigate the possible outcomes of choosing those options. – They also help you to form a balanced picture of the risks & rewards associated with each possible course of action.

Example of Decision Tree: In other case the decision tree will start with "structure":

2.Six Thinking Hats i.White Hat – Facts & information Focus on the data available. ii.Red Hat – Feelings & emotions Participants state their feelings, exercising their gut instincts. iii.Black Hat – Critical judgments Participants identify barriers, hazards, risks and other negative connotations.

iv.Yellow Hat – Positive It helps you to think positively. Participants identify benefits associated with an idea or issue. v.Green Hat – New ideas Green hat stands for creativity. This is the hat of thinking new thoughts. vi.Blue Hat – The Big Picture The blue hat stands for process control. This is the hat under which all participants discuss the thinking process

Example of 6 thinking hats:

3.Cost/Benefit Analysis (CBA) – Relatively simple & widely used technique for deciding whether to make a change. – Cost-benefit analysis is carried out using only financial costs & financial benefits. – A cost benefit analysis is done to determine how well, or how poorly, a planned action will turn out.

Example of Cost-Benefit Analysis: A simple cost benefit ratio for a road scheme would measure the cost of building the road, and subtract this from the economic benefit of improving transport links. It would not measure either the cost of environmental damage or the benefit of quicker and easier travel to work.

The Concept of Problem Solving Problem solving may be characterized as a systematic search through a range of possible actions in order to reach some predefined goal or solution. These techniques help us conduct a rigorous analysis of the problems we face, helping us to look at as many factors as possible in a structured & methodical way.

Terminology of Problem Solving Purpose – Purpose is what we want to do or what we want to be. Situation – Situation is just what a circumstance is. Situation is neither good or bad.

Problem – Problem is some portions of a situation, which cannot realize purposes. Cause – Cause is what brings about a problem. Causes are more specific facts, which bring about problems. Solvable Cause – Solvable cause is some portions of cause. Finding solvable causes is another essential step in Problem Solving.

Issue – Issue is the opposite expression of a problem. If a problem is that we do not have money, the issue is that we get money. Solution – Solution is a specific action to solve a problem, which is equal to a specific action to realize an issue.