I first became aware of Michael Tipper via his Michael on Mind Mapping blog about two years ago. He impressed me with his high-quality blog posts, and his keen sense of knowledge about the principles of business – and how mind mapping software can bring greater productivity to common business tasks. My next experience with Michael was last year, when I did an e-mail interview with him. He impressed me with the deep thought he put into answering my questions. Here, I thought, is someone who thinks strategically, like I do.

So when Michael asked me if I would participate in an audio interview – which will be used as one of the bonuses for his new Business Profit Productivity Blueprint e-course – I jumped at the opportunity. We had an excellent conversation (which you can listen to here). I came away from this 40-minute discussion convinced that he is truly a kindred soul when it comes to mind mapping!

A sneak peek at Michael’s new mind mapping software e-course

Michael subsequently gave me a login so I could get a “sneak peek” at this online multimedia course (you’re hearing about it here first, folks!). I looked at several of the PDF “manuals” and videos, and was thoroughly impressed. I have been blessed (or some people would say cursed! ) with a finely tuned B.S. detector – in other words, I can immediately tell if an information product contains some real insights, or if it’s just a superficial treatment of the topic – or, worse yet, a bunch of crap hastily assembled as a quick “money grab.”

I’m pleased to be able to tell you that Michael’s e-course definitely falls into the former category – this is a professionally written and produced course that contains excellent, cohesive information. Although its primary audience is people who wish to build an online business, I believe nearly anyone who wants to learn more about utilizing mind mapping software for business can profit from the Business Profit Productivity Blueprint. Also, if you’ve been creating hand-drawn mind maps but aren’t quite convinced of the benefit of mind mapping software, then this program is definitely for you. Michael admits that he falls into this camp; it wasn’t until an internet marketing guru shared with him the benefits of software-produced mind maps that he “got it.”

It’s also important to frame who this e-course is NOT for: If you’re already an experienced user of mind mapping software, you will probably find it to be too basic.

Here’s what the Business Profit Productivity Blueprint contains

6 modules of video training, supplemented by PDF e-books:

1. Personal productivity in business – how mind mapping releases more of the latent power of your brain, helping you to be more productive, resourceful and creative.
2. Applying mind mapping software – How to systematize routine tasks and simplify project management.
3. Getting started – Choosing mind mapping software to accomplish these goals, and how to get started managing “information overwhelm” with it.
4. Managing your systems and processes – How to set up mind maps to support and streamline your business processes; how to manage the content of multiple blogs from a single idea map.
5. Project management with MindManager – Brainstorming your project needs and developing a project proposal quickly and easily using Mindjet’s MindManager; how to keep track of vital project data; advanced project tracking and monitoring.
6. Taking charge of your knowledge – How to set up a virtual library of business-building nuggets, as well as an all-encompassing system to capture every note you’ll ever take.

Bonuses

1. A 71-minute interview with with best-selling author Simon Hazeldine on eliminating your internal barriers to personal productivity so you can start getting more done much faster.
2. A 39-minute video version of a half-day workshop that Michael has given on freeing up an hour a day, so you can work on those important but not urgent back burner projects you’ve been wanting to tackle.
3. A 5-minute “mind movie” that Michael uses to program his brain for higher levels of productivity and success.
4. A 47-minute video that shows how some of the world’s leading internet marketing gurus successfully use mind mapping software in their businesses (this is something I’ve been wanting to do, but Michael beat me to it!).
5. A 57-minute video that teaches you how to develop new products using mind mapping software – knowledge that you can use to create new and unique products as well as improve and strengthen existing ones.

How can you obtain this e-course?

Michael plans to launch the Business Profit Productivity Blueprint in the next week or two. I will be selling it as an affiliate, and will be adding my own special bonus to encourage you to purchase it through me.

If you want to be alerted via e-mail as soon as this e-course is available, then please send an e-mail to me at michael [[at]] innovationtools <<dot>> com.

The SWOT analysis above was created by Michael Deutch at Mindjet, and it is located on BiggerPlate.com, an online community for sharing MindManager maps. There is much we can learn by taking a look at how Michael has structured his map (Please click on the image to view a larger version of  it):

1. Each of the four areas of inquiry – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – are placed on a main branch.

2. Next, items that describe your organization’s current situation for that element are listed in sub-topics. If you have more details that you want to record, those can be captured in notes, as Michael has done under “threats-increased competition/new innovations.”

3. Michael uses “guide post” questions as part of his SWOT template map to help him to flesh out each part of the map as completely as possible. Note how he has formatted each of these “guide post” sub-topics in a hexagonal shape and a different background color, to make them stand out.

4. Michael also makes use of call-out topics to draw attention and emphasis to specific topics, and relationship lines to connect related topics.

5. Supporting data – in this case, two spreadsheet ranges – are incorporated into the map to provide valuable supporting data. Note also how several other topics have been converted into tasks, and contain icons depicting percentage of completion.

In short, this map communicates a wealth of information with a high degree of clarity – in a much more usable form than a 15-20 page, single-spaced document!

If you are a MindManager user and download this file from BiggerPlate.com as a MindManager .mmap file, you can easily trim Michael’s map down to the four main topics and guide post questions, and use them as a template for your own SWOT analysis.