Craig Scott, the developer of the excellent iThoughts app for the iPhone, recently sent me a message to let me know that he is hard at work developing what should become the first mind mapping application for this promising new computing platform. In his blog on the new iPadMindMap website, Scott says, “I really do believe that it will be game changing – and I hope that iThoughts can be at the forefront of what I believe will be a step change in the adoption of mind mapping.”

Scott has also published two screen shots of iThoughts “on the big screen” – I must say, it does look very impressive seeing a mind map rendered edge to edge on the iPad’s large, rectangular screen. He plans to take advantage of the iPad’s popover views – a new type of dialog box that pops up on a layer “above” your app, complete with a cool 3D effect. He can’t say much more about his plans for this iPad optimized version of iThoughts because he is under NDA (a non-disclosure agreement), but I expect big things from this innovative developer.

I’ve also heard from Raj Dash, a productivity blogger and social media strategist who is an avid mind mapper. He told me recently on Twitter he is “dreaming of mobile mind maps and productivity apps on the iPad.”

I think these guys are right. Mind mapping on the iPad could be incredibly cool!

Mind mapping on the iPhone has been great, but one of the biggest drawbacks is that its small screen size limits you to creating fairly simple maps. With much more screen real estate and wireless/3G connectivity, the iPad should be a perfect platform for capturing your ideas, and then sharing them with the world.

I can foresee the iPad becoming a business tool, used to capture notes and mind maps in meetings, or to go off by yourself to a quiet spot to do some brainstorming. This exciting new device comes with a built-in microphone, which means you could capture audio notes and attach them to your mind maps (a native capability in the paid version of XMind).

The iPad may even lead us in some new directions, eventually enabling you to integrate photos you’ve shot on the iPad into your mind maps (there is no camera in the first version of the iPad, but hey – I can dream, can’t I?!). I can envision a photo of a whiteboard and capturing your meeting notes as part of a map, for example.

What possibilities do YOU envision for the intriguing combination of the iPad and mind mapping apps?

A well-designed template gives you a “starting point” or framework with the major topics already created, which spurs your associative brain into action. It also saves you time, because you’re not creating the same map from scratch each time you do that activity.

If you’re not convinced that mind map templates will save you time, simply multiply the number of times you do a given task during an average week by the amount of time that it takes you to create such a mind map. Let’s look at an example: You have 10 meetings a week; on average, it takes you 30 minutes to create a meeting map that incorporates the meeting objectives, participants, agenda, support materials and meeting room arrangements. That’s a savings of 5 hours in a week – pretty impressive!

Types of maps that lend themselves to a templated approach include:

• To do lists
• Meeting planning and management
• Project management
• Group brainstorming (using methodologies like Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats)
• Decision making
• Job descriptions
• Performance reviews
• Packing list for business trips

Most mind mapping programs enable you to create a map and then designate it as a template, so you can re-use it later. But a few programs go farther than that. They enable you to create and store collections of commonly-used branches and sub-branches that you can add to an existing map at any time. MindManager calls them “custom map parts,” while Visual Mind calls them “structures” – I call them incredibly useful!

PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social and Technological. PEST analysis is an excellent forecasting tool that can help you to forecast key trends and developments in your industry or profession. Typically, the results of a PEST analysis are integrated into an organization’s strategic planning process, to help ensure that it is aligned with these forces. This planning is especially well-suited to mind mapping because it gives you a valuable “at a glance” look at the trends and forces affecting your business enviroment.

To create a PEST mind map, simply place each of the four major forces – political, economic, social and technological, each on its own first-level branch. Then, spend some time brainstorming around the mega-trends that are occurring in each area. For example, some of the predominant economic forces may include unemployment, consumer confidence, energy costs and taxation. Technological forces may include automation, shrinking product life cycles, production technology and the growth of social networking as a communication tool.

As you identify trends for each major topic, add them to your map, and explore them in depth. Next, identify which of them are likely to have the greatest impact on your business and highlight them for emphasis. Also, consider any connections between any of these forces, and use relationship lines to depict them.

Many businesses spend too little time trying to understand the forces that impact them. At best, a handful may look at the threats and get really nervous. But imagine the opportunities you could uncover using this method – the “distant early warning” signs of emerging trends that, if you capitalize upon them in their early stages, could really pay off for you in the years ahead. So why not use your mind mapping program to perform a PEST analysis on your organization today?

(This post was inspired by a description of PEST mapping in Tony Buzan’s and Chris Griffith’s new book, Mind Mapping for Business)

But that would be selling it short, according to Tony Buzan and Chris Griffiths, in their new book, Mind Maps for Business: Revolutionise Your Business Thinking and Practice.

The real reason that mind mapping is so powerful is because it is a whole-brained thinking technique that makes optimal use of both sides of your brain, according to the authors:

“When used together, each side of your brain simultaneously reinforces the other in a manner that provides limitless creative potential and strengthens your ability for greater associations. This in turn leads to greater intellectual firepower. The process of creating a mind map employs the entire range of cortical skills.”

So what does this mean to your business?

“Mind maps can revolutionize the way you run your business on a day-to-day basis, allowing you to really think about a situation from every angle in a way that is concise and, important, does not waste precious time… In general, mind maps facilitate the core business skills – such as making choices; organizing your own and other people’s ideas; individual and group creativity; analysis; defining and solving problems; setting time and amount targets; and especially memory and communication – all the elements that are essential for successful business management.”

The bottom line is that mind mapping is an essential skill for tackling the complex, multi-faceted business challenges we face today.

Am I “preaching to the choir” by sharing these thoughts with you? Perhaps. But I know that this blog is read by many people who are just starting to become familiar with this visual thinking technique and the software that empowers it. They’re asking, “How can I use mind mapping to make a difference in my business?” Dr. Buzan and Chris Griffiths have painted a concise, compelling picture of its business benefits.

Besides, even if you are a seasoned mind mapper, it’s good to be reminded from time to time of the fundamental principles that underlie the ways in which you think.

Since I first told you about Mind Maps for Business, I have have had an opportunity to read quite a bit of it. I can now strongly recommend it to anyone who is seeking a way to bring greater efficiency, organization and creativity to their work.

As you might expect, Buzan Online’s mind mapping program, iMindMap, is featured in the book’s many illustrations and examples, but thankfully the book is NOT a blatant sales pitch for its software. The principles and applications of hand-drawn mind maps and computer-based mind mapping are its focus, and iMindMap is simply a supporting character.

Earlier this week, Mindjet launched a Mac version of MindManager 8 that users of this visually-oriented operating system can be proud of. This significant upgrade is tightly integrated with the Mac OS, including:

• Two-way synchronization with iCal and Entourage,
• The ability to pull individuals or groups from the Mac OS X Address Book into MindManager as project resources,
• Importing files and exporting maps to Apple iWork Pages,
• Exporting maps to Keynote, Apple’s sophisticated presentation software, and
• Integration with Microsoft Word for the Mac.

MindManager 8 for Mac also plays well with web 2.0 services, enabling you to share your mind maps via Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter – not even the Windows version of MindManager can do that! In addition, with Mindjet Player for the Mac, you can share your maps as dynamic Adobe PDF or Flash files (has anyone tried publishing a map to Flash? How well does this work?). Again, the ability to export maps to the ubiquitous Flash format is unique to the Mac version of MindManager, and may be a welcome alternative to the kludgey Mindjet Player.

MindManager 8 for Mac also supports the standard Apple gestures on MacBook trackpads as well as AppleScript – very impressive! Plus, its integrated web browser means you can view web pages and documents in a window within the MindManager interface, instead of opening them in a new window. This is a feature that I have come to love in the Windows version of MindManager 8, because it provides a more integrated working experience.  I’m sure that Mac users will grow to like it as well.

I’m not a Mac user, so I don’t have firsthand experience with MindManager 8 for Mac. But Chance Brown, a fellow mind mapping blogger, has played with it. Click here to read his glowing review of this program.

Where The Back of the Napkin was an introduction to visual problem solving, Unfolding the Napkin is a hands-on guidebook that shows the reader how to apply these methods and gives you opportunities to try them out on your own business challenges. Think of it as a cookbook for the mind!

Unfolding the Napkin is filled with detailed case studies, guided do-it-yourself exercises, and plenty of blank space for drawing. Roam encourages the reader to view this practical workbook as a four-day visual thinking workshop, with one day devoted to each of the steps of his visual thinking framework: look, see, imagine and show. The book contains only four chapters, one devoted to each of these steps.

Unfolding the Napkin is eminently practical: At one point, in the chapter called “imagination,” Roam walks the reader through a business scenario, in which he asks you to imagine that you’re a project manager. The CEO has just asked you to implement a new idea. But first, you need to convince a number of key stakeholders – managers in finance, manufacturing and the board of directors – to back this new project. Roam shows how his flexible and powerful SQVID framework (simple/elaborate, quantitative/qualitative, vision/execution, individual/comparison and change/status quo) can be used to visually and persuasively communicate the importance of this project to each of these key people.

Why should you be concerned about being a better visual thinker? Roam explains:

“Our world is becoming more information saturated and globalized, and communication is becoming more channelized, every day. Words simply are not enough any more. To discover truly breakthrough ideas, intuitively develop those ideas, and share those ideas effectively with others, we need pictures.”

What does all this have to do with mind mapping? Simply this: You need to be aware of the larger context within which it fits – namely, it’s a method of thinking visually. Roam gives you a flexible set of tools for thinking about problems and challenges that I believe will indirectly help you to grow your skills as a mind mapper. I believe it will help you to think visually in your mind, and then do a better job of transferring your ideas and their relationships from the screen of your mind to paper (or your computer screen).

So if you haven’t picked up The Back of the Napkin or Unfolding the Napkin yet, I strongly encourage you to do so. You’ll be a better thinker and problem solver for it!

The Most Improved Mind Mapping Software of 2009 is (drumroll)… MindManager.

The top 5 most improved programs, based on 215 responses, were:

1. MindManager (26.0%)
2. NovaMind (20.9%)
3. iMindMap (11.2%)
4. PersonalBrain (11.2%)
5. XMind (10.7%)

To view the full results as a stacked bar chart, please click on the image above.

It’s no surprise to me that MindManager was ranked number one. It has tremendous name recognition in this niche, and after some incremental improvements and a mediocre attempt at creating a collaboration tool (Mindjet Connect) in 2008, the company finally got it right in 2009 with Catalyst, a polished, full-featured collaboration environment that is really quite good.

This survey also shows us which programs are coming on strong as innovators. Gideon King and his development team at NovaMind have been relentless in pushing the envelope in terms of what’s possible with mind mapping software. It’s really cool to see that you, the readers of this blog, recognize their efforts, by NovaMind the second most improved mind mapping program in 2009 – and, significantly, only 6% behind MindManager!

iMindMap and XMind are fairly new entrants to the field of mind mapping software, making it very impressive that they came in number 3 and number 5. It appears that users and fans of mind mapping software recognize their developers’ commitment to innovation, too!

Finally, the survey results demonstrate that some of the developers of mind mapping software need to do some work in building name recognition. DropMind Desktop (37.7%), MindView (31.2%), VisualMind (30.7%) and MindGenius (27.9%) led the pack in terms of software programs that respondents weren’t aware of. DropMind is fairly new, and MindView was formerly OpenMind (the name change took place in early 2009), so those relatively high numbers are easy to understand. The other two programs have been around for a while, and I’m not sure why respondents aren’t aware of them.

Thanks to all of you who participated in this interesting survey!

This post is addressed to those of you who have been reading this blog, but haven’t purchased or downloaded any mind mapping software. What are you waiting for?

Using traditional, linear approaches to work with ideas, knowledge and information is the functional equivalent of creating documents with a typewriter – a relic of the 20th century. There’s a new paradigm for managing information, and it’s visually oriented. 2010 is the year to tackle information overload and take your productivity and creativity to a whole new level with mind mapping software!

Here are some thoughts on why now is an excellent time to invest in this important technology:

Awesome commercial mapping tools: There is an impressive variety of very good commercial mind mapping tools available today that can take on just about any business challenge. Among them are MindManager, NovaMind, OpenMind, Visual Mind, ConceptDraw MINDMAP and iMindMap.

Awesome free/low cost mapping tools: If you’re not convinced to invest in a commerical software program, there are open-source alternatives available (I recommend XMind) as well as some truly excellent web-based tools that you can subscribe to use for a very low monthly fee. The leaders in web-based mind map apps are MindMeister, Mindomo and Comapping.

Awesome resources: A wealth of excellent books, blog posts and other resources are now available to help you to understand the basics of visual thinking and how to get the most out of mind mapping software. Click here to read my new post about the best books on these topics.

So I ask you once again: What are you waiting for?

If you want to engage in a deeper study of the principles, applications and possibilities of visual mapping and visual thinking, here are 8 books that I have personally read and recommend:

The Mind Map Book: Radiant Thinking – Major Evolution in Human Thought by Tony and Barry Buzan: This book does a better job of explaining the principles behind mind mapping – and why it’s such an incredibly powerful tool – than any other book I have ever read. It’s filled with engaging insights and tips, which I devoured when I first read this book. During the past few years, I have extracted several of these tips on this blog, including posts about:

• Creating more powerful first-level topics for your mind maps and
• Buzan’s concept of basic ordering ideas.

The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam: The premise behind this book is simple: anybody with a pen and a scrap of paper can use visual thinking to work through complex business ideas. Everything in the book is broken down into steps, providing the reader with tools and rules to facilitate picture making. This is a fascinating book that I highly recommend.

I just discovered that Roam recently published (just a few weeks ago) a companion workbook, entitled Unfolding  the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures. It helps readers put Roam’s principles into practice with step-by-step guidelines. It’s filled with detailed case studies, guided do-it-yourself exercises, and plenty of blank space for drawing. I plan to pick it up and will write a post about it in the near future.

Marks & Meaning by Dave Gray: This unique “book in progress” (sort of like an alpha or beta version of a piece of software) is available via print-on-demand service Lulu.com, and is an evolving exploration of visual language, visual thinking and visual work practices. Dave’s entire focus is on helping today’s information worker (that describes just about all of us!) to understand how to present information visually, in a meaningful and compelling way. The book is chock full of hand-drawn information s and examples, which I found to be quite interesting. It contains blank pages, where you can add notes and insights gained from it. Dave also provides some very compelling explanations of his visual thinking theories. It’s a work in progress because Gray really wants readers of it to give him their feedback and to add their ideas to it – making the final product a stronger, more comprehensive resource. Click here for my review of Marks & Meaning.

Idea Mapping: How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More and Achieve Success in Business by Jamie Nast: This excellent book teaches the basics of how to capture your ideas using “idea maps” – basically, mind maps that are focused on recording your ideas.  While it tends to focus on hand-drawn maps, the principles and outlines are valuable for anyone doing software-produced maps, as well. In addition to teaching readers how to create idea maps, the book also covers topics such as applications of idea maps and how to use them in a team setting, and it also includes a number of maps produced by real-world business people. Click here to read my review of it.

Thinking Visually: Business Applications of 14 Core Diagrams by Malcolm Craig: If you are interested in learning more about the larger context within which visual mapping fits, then you will really enjoy this book. It gave me a deeper appreciation of some of the theory behind visual diagramming and why it is so effective as a business problem-solving tool. Visual tools covered in Thinking Visually include system maps, mind maps, relationship diagrams, and tree, influence, input-output, control, fishbone and force field diagrams. Finally, Craig offers contains a wealth of practical advice on how to use the diagrams to manage information overload. Craig’s writing style is highly accessible and informative. Put this one on your must-read list! Click here for my review of it.

See What You Think! How to Work Better and Faster with VisiMap by Norah Bolton: This e-book is filled with practical examples of mind mapping in action (both hand drawn and software produced). Norah believes that visual mapping represents a new “language” for communicating ideas. Seen as a type of “language” for representing ideas, visual mapping literally makes it possible for us to consider our ideas in powerful new ways that aren’t possible when they are represented in the conventional linear fashion. Click here to read my review of it.

Power Tips & Strategies for Mind Mapping Software: This is a popular e-book that I wrote. It summarizes business applications and best practices for utilizing mind mapping software, and contains a wealth of ideas, tips and strategies that you can put to work today to increase your effectiveness and efficiency – no matter which software program you use. I didn’t include it in this list to give it a shameless plug, but because it has been a popular resource for visual mappers during the last few years.

What books do you recommend?

This new book, which I expect to receive shortly from the Buzan organization, is divided into four parts:

1. Mind maps: The ultimate business tool
2. Mind mapping for core business skills
3. Mind mapping for better business thinking
4. Mind mapping for better business outcomes

Just from the section titles alone, you can tell that this isn’t going to be one of those highly theoretical, “pie in the sky” types of business books, but one that is focused on helping you to be more productive and to contribute to your organization at a much higher level. I can’t wait to dig into this book!

Buzan Online has also launched a website as a companion to the book, which contains a vast selection of resources to help you develop superior capabilities in all core business areas. As well as Mind Map templates, guides and articles, you also get exclusive access to an array of free videos featuring the book’s authors, Tony and Chris.

I recently took a look at this collection of resources, and I must say, they are very comprehensive and professionally produced. They’re ideal for executives who have heard about mind mapping software, but aren’t quite sure what all the excitement is about. Or if you have started to utilize one of these productivity tools, but aren’t quite sure how to apply it to more aspects of your work.