Visual thinking is quickly growing in importance as a strategy for attacking difficult business problems. But what’s driving this need and why should you learn about it?

That’s the purpose of this new mind map, which outlines the major drivers behind the growth of visual thinking (the “why”) and codifies the benefits of adopting this type of mindset (please click on the map to view a larger image).

What do you think? What would you add to this mind map? Please share your thoughts!

This mind map was created using iMindMap 5 Ultimate for Windows.

Mind mapping is only one flavor of visual thinking. Because this blog is heavily focused upon mind mapping software, it’s easy to forget that there are many other ways to represent information and ideas in visual form. So from time to time, I like to remind you of the larger world of which mind mapping is a part.

“Think Visual” was inspired by Apple’s Think Different brand-building campaign, which celebrated creative people and gave them a brand to identify with. I’ve always liked the thinking behind “think different.” It doesn’t say we should think “differently” – which would imply a superficial, incremental change to our usual, well-worn mental pathways. No, when Steve Jobs insisted that Apple’s ad agency use the phrase think DIFFERENT, it was because that captured the kind of lateral thinking he was fond of.

Jobs wanted creative people to imagine big possibilities, to do work that would make a difference – that would “put a dent in the universe.”

Inspired by the whole concept behind “think different” (which I’m reading about in Walter Isaacon’s excellent biography of the late Steve Jobs – I decided to try my hand at designing a logo that would encourage visual thinkers to “Think Visual.” You can see the result above, embedded as the central topic in a mind map that I created using ThinkBuzan’s iMindMap program. I then surrounded it with many popular types of visual thinking. Some may look familiar, because I write about them occasionally.

In the spirit of Think Different, get out there and stretch your visual thinking muscles. Imagine what could be. Don’t be satisfied with the status quo. And don’t be afraid to explore some different varieties of visual thinking. It will broaden your ability envision ideas, solve problems and generate solutions. What you learn in the process will make your mind mapping even stronger. It’s time to do great things, dream big, make a dent in the universe.

If you’d like to share the Think Visual logo on your blog or website, please feel free to download the image files below. Several styles are provided. All I ask is that you cite the source and link back to this blog. OK?

Please help spread the word about Think Visual. If you do so, please let me know using the contact page on this blog or send me a message on Twitter. Thanks!

In this excerpt, you’ll learn why Griffiths believes we’re at a global inflection point. We all have access to an incredible amount of information today, thanks to the web. But access to knowledge isn’t a solution in itself. We need to be able to think about our challenges imaginatively to solve problems, deliver new value to our businesses and cultivate a more successful future.

“In this new creative era, the power is going to inevitably shift to people who can look at things differently, who can think imaginatively and objectively to deliver new values and ideals. The leaders of the next decade will be those who can deliberately and systematically make fresh connections and disoveries, generate original ideas, solve problems creatively not just logically, and break the rules to overcome sameness. They will be whole brain thinkers, harnessing both their left (analytical) and right (creative) cortical skills to make optimal decisions,” Griffiths explains.

GRASP the Solution discusses how mind mapping fits into the creative process, but this book is about a much broader and vital subject: How to equip yourself with strategies and tools to cultivate your thinking and add more value to your organization.

If you don’t see a download link, that’s because this book excerpt is only accessible to Mind Mapping Insider members. Why not make a commitment to be more creative and make a bigger impact in your life and work? The resources in this program will help you to become a better planner, problem solver and project manager. You’ll triumph over information overload, and discover a clarity that will help you to make better decisions, faster. Sign up today to join the growing group of MMI members who have made selected the option to be more influential and creative in their lives.

Divergent thinking: “By radiating branches from the center outwards, a mind map encourages your thoughts to behave in the same way so you can explore many possible solutions without limitation or restriction. Entering new ideas or building up existing ones is as easy as connecting another branch to either the central theme or main branch. The key elements of mind mapping, such as key words, colors and images, aid in drawing out novel ideas and perspectives that wouldn’t necessarily be revealed using more conventional note-taking techniques.”

Structured thinking: “Contrary to what some people believe, mind map is not ‘unstructured thinking.’ In fact, it’s one of the most structured forms of thinking possible, employing a number of organizing principles such as a central theme, basic ordering ideas, secondary and tertiary ideas, and so on. The central theme, in particular, keeps you focused on your main goal while still allowing you to think freely and expansively as you work around it. What this means is that you can be as generative as you like – letting your thoughts range far and wide – but can refer back to your central theme at any point so that you don’t go astray of your task… the mind map gives you the structure in which to organize and categorize your ideas in ways that are most relevant to what you’re trying to achieve.”

Holistic thinking: “A mind map allows you to get a ‘bigger picture’ view of all of your ideas and options so you can clearly see the relationships among them. Just as the branches in a mind map are all connected, so are all the ideas in relation to each other. This gives a mind map a depth and breadth of scope that a simple list of ideas can’t match. From this perspective it becomes easier to springboard off ideas to create new ones more rapidly and thoroughly.”

I knew that mind mapping supported creative thinking, but I haven’t seen such a clear, in-depth explanation until now. Based on my first look at GRASP the Solution, I can tell this is one of those must-have books for any serious mind mapper. Like the previous book that Griffiths co-wrote with Tony Buzan – Mind Maps for Business -  this one is full of practical advice and clear, and is focused with laser-like precision on the needs of business people today. I highly recommend this book!

GRASP the Solution will be released on October 19, 2011.

During the last several decades, one of the most widely used and successful brainstorming techniques has been SCAMPER. Its name is a mnemonic for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify/Magnify/Minify, Put to other uses, Eliminate and Reverse/Rearrange. The reason it is so popular is because it forces you to look at challenges or problems from a variety of creative perspectives. In so doing, it whacks you out of your usual, rutted mode of thinking and often yields valuable, creative ideas. In short, it’s popular because it delivers results!

The latest addition to the Mind Mapping Insider resources is the world’s largest SCAMPER mind map, with over 200 questions, phrases and words that have been selected to help you with your next creative challenge.

To create this mind map, I compiled SCAMPER questions and words from numerous sources. I captured them in a NovaMind mind map, and then converted them to other popular mind mapping software formats, including MindManager, MindView, iMindMap, MindGenius, XMind and ConceptDraw MINDMAP. Insider members can download this map for your preferred software, and use it as a powerful catalyst any time you need creative solutions. In addition, you can attach your ideas to the SCAMPER words and phrases that triggered them. In other words, this isn’t just an ideation tool, it’s also a template that you can use.

You can download this mind map here:

If you don’t see a set of links above this paragraph, that’s because this mind map is only accessible to Mind Mapping Insider members. Why not make a commitment to be more creative and make a bigger impact in your life and work? The resources in this program will help you to become a better planner, problem solver and project manager. You’ll triumph over information overload, and discover a clarity that will help you to make better decisions, faster. Sign up today to join the growing group of MMI members who have made selected the option to be more influential and creative in their lives.

Why not sign up today?

Most people are afraid to be creative in their work. Afraid of what others may think. Afraid of making a mistake, promoting the wrong idea, being branded as “weird.” Maybe in the past, creatives didn’t get the respect they ought to. But all that’s changed.

Due to the current economic conditions and a host of other forces buffeting your organization today, its leadership needs your ideas like never before. They’re desperate for people who are willing to step forward and present ideas to solve thorny problems, to see opportunities no one else can even perceive and to generate new products, services and business models that will help your organization to rise above the norm, capturing market share and delighting customers.

If this list, excerpted from Michael Michalko’s excellent creativity book, Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques, doesn’t kick you in the butt and get you into creative action, nothing will.

I want to be able to do all of these things. Don’t you?

During July 2011, 695 people took part in the latest survey from this blog, which was designed to determine:

• The benefits that this type of software provides to business users of it,
• The nature of work and how it is changing,
• How well it meets the needs of knowledge workers today, and
• To what extend people are adopting mind mapping tools on mobile and tablet-sized platforms.

Surprising results

As with past surveys from this blog, this year’s Trends survey yielded some surprising results:

• Nearly half of respondents said that mind mapping software has had a “significant effect” on the way in which they work
• Respondents cited an average productivity increase of 30% from using it.
•  Over 59% of respondents indicated they would not be able to create the same quality of work if they didn’t have this type of software.

That’s just a sampling of what’s contained in this important report, which gives an unprecedented glance into the ways in which mind mapping software is providing value to today’s worker.

Click here to download the survey results (PDF, 542KB)

Are you hungry for more?

If you’re new to the Mind Mapping Software Blog and are intrigued by these survey results, I urge you to sign up for my weekly Mind Mapping Software Update e-newsletter. It will keep you up-to-date with all of the latest developments in this genre of productivity software, as well as alert you to the best tips and strategies for using it in your work.

Related resource: An infographic that summarizes highlights of this report.

I recently came across an article that suggests that to be creative, we must get good at deconstructing challenges and situations into their elements. In so doing, we will reveal the bits and pieces that may be turned to creative advantage. Here’s how the author explains it:

“To get good at creativity, you’re going to have to cultivate the ability to pay attention to details. We talk about ‘close reading’ frequently in literature, art history, and architectural criticism—it’s the process of looking at a single work incredibly carefully. Imagine looking at a few hundred words of a novel and examining it for context, tone, literary references, structure, intent, etc. In a way, for the moment, we treat those few hundred words as more valuable and with more intensity than the entire novel itself. We treat details of problems with the same level of regard and intensity when we’re being creative.”

It’s sort of like peeling away the layers of an onion. And this kind of deconstruction is exactly the kind of thing that mind mapping – by hand or with software – is incredibly good at. One way to do this is by dividing your creative problem or challenge into its attributes and arranging them in a mind map, similar to the one shown above. Once you’ve done this you can think about each one separately, and think of ways to change or improve it. One advantage of utilizing a mind map for listing attributes is its strength in the area of word association. As you record the attributes of your challenge, you’ll discover that your brain is generating other related keywords. Record those, too.

Once you have finished recording and organizing the attributes of your problem or challenge, think about each one separately, and think of ways to change or improve it. Ask yourself questions like these:

• How else can this be accomplished?
• Why does this have to be this way?

The article describes this process of deconstruction as “zooming in” on your challenge, and usually helps you to generate the ideas and insights you need to solve the problem:

“Creativity is hinged on a cultivated ability to examine the components of any problem or information set. A close reading of all the details of a situation is what ultimately yields the creative connection that offers a solution or new insight. Are you dismissing seemingly ho-hum details, those seemingly single strands that are actually made up of thousands of layers, and missing the ultimate creative connection you’re seeking?”

The next time you’re faced with a creative challenge, instead of just jumping into generating potential solutions, why not invest some time deconstructing it – to ensure that you have an accurate understanding of the problem you need to solve, first of all, but also to reveal the elements that will ultimately lead to even better ideas and solutions?

How, exactly, DOES mind mapping impact human potential?

I’ve asked this question of some of the world’s leading mind mapping experts, and compiled their fascinating answers in this special report. Their conclusion:

Mind mapping has a definite impact on human potential. It helps us to see new possibilities, develop bigger ideas, to reach farther and accomplish more.

I hope you’re as inspired by their insights as I’ve been!

Download the Mind Mapping & Human Potential report now

Please help me to spread the word

You don’t have to trade your e-mail address to access this report. It’s free, with no restrictions. I only ask one thing: If you think it contains some valuable insights, please share it freely with your colleagues, co-workers, friends and acquaintances. Here are some ideas on how to do that:

• At 500 KB in size, it’s small enough that you can share it by e-mail.
• If you’re on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or are a member of an online community, please share it there.
• If you are the author of a blog or other publication, you may make it available to your readers, without any restrictions.

I’d like to see this get into as many hands as possible – especially those people who aren’t quite sure what mind mapping is all about. If you need a download link for this report, here it is, in standard and shortened versions:

http://mindmappingsoftwareblog.com/mmsb/wp-content/mmhp/Mind_Mapping_and_Human_Potential.pdf

http://Ez.com/MMhumanpotential

Thanks in advance for your help!

According to Greek mythology,  the huge, ball-like Turkish knot with no ends exposed was impossible to untie. An oracle had predicted that the first person to do so would become the ruler of all Asia. Thousands of people had tried, without success, to unlock its complex riddles. Alexander of Macedonia, son of King Philip II of Macedon, solved this puzzle simply and very creatively – by cutting it in half with his sword, exposing its ends and making it possible to untie. Alexander the Great went on to conquer all of Asia, just as the oracle predicted.

According to David Sibbett, author of Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes & Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity, many businesses today face challenges of Gordian proportions:

“Responding to the complexity and scale of changes in the economy and the environment is starting to outstrip our capabilities. Running our organizations lean, with slim or no travel budgets, and less and less time for real dialogue and engagement is challenging the quality of communications.”

I have believed for some time, based upon my extensive reading and business experience, that many businesses have solved most of the simple problems – in effect, the low-hanging fruit. What’s left are the complex, systemic challenges, which are even harder to solve because of the downsized, time- and resource-starved environments in which we work today.

Confusion in groups is caused by inadequate and conflicting mental models, Sibbett explains. In other words, people can’t even agree on what the problem is. This is a major problem, because these models govern how work gets done, how teams collaborate, how to make decisions, how to organize and how to learn.

In addition, we tend to fall into the habit of rutted thinking, which limits what we’re able to see and interpret. We tend to look at information the same way all the time. To make matters worse, we bring deeply embedded points of view to our work that we may not  even be aware of, which act like blinders on a horse – limiting our view to what’s right in front of us.

“The way you view something directly impacts how much insight and information you obtain and how smart you can be,” Sibbett explains.

Making the case for visual thinking in groups

Visual thinking in groups exposes these differing mental models, helps them to reach consensus, to see the underlying patterns in the information they’re working with and to generate new insights and solutions faster. Examples of visual thinking tools include process diagrams, roadmaps, journey charts, graphic recording, mind mapping 4-quadrant grids, visual collages, affinity charts, fishbone diagrams and much more.

“Without these tools, groups are very handicapped in thinking about anything that is very complex… I am convinced from my own experience that it is impossible to do what is called ‘systems thinking’ without visualization… If you want to think about how things connect and are related you will have to make some sort of display.”

Like Alexander the Great, we have the opportunity to use these tools to think about problems more creatively, build consensus and understanding, restore vision at a time when it is sorely lacking and leverage new opportunities for innovation and future growth. Visual Meetings is a practical field guide to this Brave New World of knot-busting tools. David Sibbett’s book is highly recommended!