10 Ways to Make It Great is an inspirational book written by a good friend of mine, Phil Gerbyshak. It offers a set of simple, no-nonsense tips on how to live an exceptional life. This marvelous little book is like having 10 mini-workshops at your disposal, helping you to move toward a more positive and purposeful life.

Phil is an energetic, passionate person who deeply cares about others – and I mean this in the very best sense, not in an annoying, in your face kind of way. Phil is the real deal. This comes through in his writing style, which is thoughtful and encouraging. No new-age, self-improvement mumbo-jumbo. Just practical, real-world advice that you can use to become a better, more positive person who contributes in all of the roles of your life at a higher level. He’s the same way in real life, inspiring me to take all of my online efforts to the next level of contribution and effectiveness.

As a life-long learner and big believer in constant and incremental improvement of my own life, I thought Phil’s book would be the perfect topic for a mind map (click on the image above to view a larger version).

The Kindle version of this book only costs US$2.99 on Amazon. Why not load up your smartphone with 10 Ways to Make It Great so you can carry this inspiring tome with you, wherever you are?

Mind map created using NovaMind 5 for Windows

Jay Abraham, in his excellent book, The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth in Tough Economic Times, believes that most companies and individuals aren’t aggressive enough at building their brands and positioning themselves as the only logical choice to their customers. Now is the time to reinforce their position in your minds, so that when the economy is in an upswing, you’re the leader in their minds.

The key, explains Abraham, is to implement a set of innovative strategies that will help you to improve the speed and efficacy of your business, and to use that advantage to jump ahead of your competitors. “If you’re losing out to your competition, it’s time to do something different,” he insists. This mind map (click on image above right to display the full version) outlines 15 ways you can begin doing this now.

Many managers, like it or not, have been interchangeable in the industrial era. Companies liked it that way. It’s what enabled them to scale. When they needed to move someone to run a department or business unit, all they needed was a “meat puppet,” a warm body trained up in “the way things work around here” who could be counted upon to follow orders and do a good job. Oh, and not to make trouble.

There’s only one problem: Those aren’t the skills that are in demand today’s rapidly moving knowledge age. Companies need independent thinkers, creative problem solvers, visionaries who will help them navigate through a decade of continuing uncertainty – rough sailing that doesn’t look like it’s going to ease up any time soon. People like this are in short supply – which means a big potential opportunity for you.

In other words, it’s an unparalleled time to differentiate yourself from your peers. You can do so, in part, by become an “information ninja,” who can quickly and gracefully “cut” through the morass of information headed toward you. With your ninja sword – mind mapping software – you can:

• Quickly organize your thinking and reach clarity quickly,
• Get to the root causes of problems and develop creative solutions
• Manage projects more efficiently than ever before
• Identify new opportunities that weren’t visible before
• Use it with your team reach consensus faster on key decisions.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to kick some butt!

• Is capable of creating their own roadmap,
• Can connect effectively with others, and
• Can deliver creative, inspired solutions that delight their employers and customers.

I recently took another look at Seth Godin’s latest book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, to see what insights I could gain from it. A linchpin, as defined by this popular marketing guru, is someone who is committed to doing remarkable work, which makes them indispensable, and to produce interactions that organizations and people care deeply about.

As I read through the first few chapters of this excellent book, making notes in the margins to document my thoughts and reactions, I was struck by a strong feeling that mind mapping software is the perfect tool for linchpins. Here are a number of quotes from the book that back up my assertion:

“The system we grew up with is based on a simple formula: Do your job. Show up. Work hard. Listen to the boss. Stick it out. Be part of the system. You’ll be rewarded. That’s the scam… There are no longer any great jobs where someone is telling you precisely what to do.”

When there is no road map that shows you “precisely what to do,” mind mapping software can be essential in helping you to get clarity on your situation, and then to craft a successful path forward. It helps you with problem definition, project scoping, opportunity analysis and decision making. Where there is no map, mind mapping software helps you to create one.

“Imagine an organization with an employee who can accurately see the truth, understand the situation and understand the potential outcomes of various decisions. And now imagine that this person is also able to make something happen.”

Mind mapping software helps savvy executives to envision creative solutions to complex challenges. But not only that, it also helps you to create well-organized action plans to solve them, and to track your progress as you do so. In short, it helps you to make things happen!

“It’s the art and the insight and the bravery of value creation that are rewarded.”

Mind mapping software helps in the process of value creation. It is the engine that helps you to organize ideas, see “white space” opportunities that others aren’t even aware of, and provides you with a powerful set of tools to drive them forward to successful execution.

“Finding security in mediocrity is an exhausting process. You can work only so many hours, fret only so much. Being a slightly better typist or a slightly faster coder is insufficient. You’re always looking over your shoulder, always trying to be just a little bit less mediocre than the guy next to you. It wears you out. It’s impossible to do the work at the same time you’re in pain. The moment-to-moment insecurity of so many jobs robs you of the confidence you need to actually do great work.”

Mind mapping software helps you to become more confident by enabling you to deconstruct your current situation or challenge, to break it down into pieces and understand how they fit together. It helps you to reach clarity faster – the number one benefit of mind mapping software, according to the readers of this blog. Greater clarity means less stress, and that, in turn, frees you up to do great work. Following this line of reasoning, it can be said that mind mapping software enables great work.

“Working without a map involves both vision and the willingness to do something about what you see… Linchpins are able to embrace the lack of structure and find a new path, one that works.”

Mind mapping software can help you to envision new paths and solutions, organize your thoughts about them, identify the best one and build an action plan to bring it to reality. It’s that simple.

“Troubleshooting is never part of a job description… Troubleshooting is an art… The troubleshooter steps in when everyone else has given up, puts himself on the line and donates the energy and the risk to the cause.”

What tools can troubleshooters use to help them analyze challenges, help a small work team understand what the real underlying problems are, envision a new solution and mobilize people into action with practical action plans? Mind mapping software, of course.

“The linchpin brings the ability to lean. He can find a new solution to a problem that has caused others to quit. His art, his genius, is to re-imagine the opportunity and find a new way to lean into it.”

Mind mapping software, in the hands of a linchpin, can be a really powerful thing. It can help you to re-imagine problems and opportunities in new, creative ways. It’s a perspective-altering tool that enables you to see the forest and the trees – at the same time. You can use it to fashion plans with a bias for “leaning” into action. It also arms you with tools you can use to track progress against your goals and make mid-course corrections.

See what I mean?

I believe that there is such strong alignment between the principles and strategies Godin is talking about and the natural strengths of mind mapping software that it’s hard to ignore. Mind mapping software is the perfect tool for linchpins. That’s my conclusion.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Want to know more about this remarkable book, and why I’m so keen on this apparent mind mapping connection? You can pick up a copy of Linchpin from Amazon.com here.

Next, I got to thinking about the forest and the trees – how mind mapping software is uniquely able to give you a high-level view of your project, knowledge or information, with all of its major topics collapsed. But yet you can also drill down to an amazing level of detail in just a few mouse clicks. In other words, you can take a broad overview of the forest and the surrounding area, or you can zero in on a single tree, a single aspect of your project. It’s up to you.

That, in turn, got me reflecting on the tools we use to get work done, and how they shape (and sometimes limit) the ways in which we think. I realized that most of the productivity tools that we take for granted – for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations and tracking a variety of projects and data – inevitably push us into a “details” mindset. We get very focused on crafting the next paragraph, the next screen, the next e-mail. But most of us rarely step back to look at our work from a more strategic level – to look at the entire forest versus an individual tree.

Think about it for a minute: What software tools do you use in your job? Do they help you to focus on the bigger picture – or on what a former client once called “the glorious minutiae?” Here’s a summary of the tools I use at work and their primary focal point:

• Microsoft Word – trees.
• Microsoft Excel – trees.
• Microsoft PowerPoint – trees.
• Microsoft Outlook – trees.
• SugarCRM – trees.
• Mind mapping software – trees and forest.

See what I mean?

(BTW, I’m not picking on Microsoft – I just happen to work for an organization that uses most of their products. These focal points apply to almost every program in these software genres)

Don’t be a tree hugger

That’s not to say that we’re trapped into the role of being “tree huggers.” We control our mindset. But it’s all to easy too be lulled into complacency and to focus on the project/detail level. Inertia takes over; we feel busy, and so we conclude that we must be effective. Um, maybe not.

Unless we consciously force ourselves to do so, we rarely step back to look at how our projects and priorities fit into the bigger scheme of things, to think strategically and creatively about our business.

How can you maximize your value?

Ironically, our greatest potential value to our employers and our customers can be found by thinking strategically about our organization, the industries it competes within, the customers and constituents it serves, and the trends that are even now starting to reshape its future.

Let’s be honest: If you’re a manager or leader and you’re not thinking strategically, you’ll probably be toast in 5 years or less. Focusing on projects and their details is fine when the status quo is the norm. But change is happening far too quickly today for us to stay in head-down, churning-out-the-projects mode.

If we want to be successful, we need to pay attention to the bigger picture – to the forest instead of the trees – because that’s where most of the opportunities are. In fact, it’s actually up to us to make these opportunities via our creative thinking and problem solving abilities!

Fortunately, mind mapping software makes it easy to view both the forest and the trees. It supports our need to think creatively and strategically about what we do for a living in ways that other types of productivity software can’t.

For those of us who want to make a difference in the world, in our lives, in our jobs and for the people we serve, that makes it a very important and valuable tool indeed!

No kidding – this is the most concise, compelling overview of the challenges of doing business in these uncertain times that I have read  to date.

Here are some of the key thoughts from the article, along with my observations:

“Leaders of many of today’s more mature organizations don’t have the right mindset or practices to help their organizations survive. They grew up with management practices suited to a different age—one with higher barriers to entry, greater transaction costs, fewer capable competitors, growing and increasingly affluent markets and far less information. The environments they are facing now, however, are less predictable, more complicated and more volatile.”

The high degree of complexity and uncertainty that managers and leaders must deal with today requires better planning tools – tools that can help them to visualize complex sets of information, organize it quickly and effectively, extract important insights and ideas from it and utilize it to make better decisions. Mind mapping software is perfectly suited to these needs, which is why it enjoys increasing popularity in business today. I like to call it” the savvy executive’s secret weapon.”

“As uncertainty increases, companies are finding themselves facing what we call a high ratio of ‘uncertainty to knowledge.’ This is a problem because making decisions based on old assumptions often leads to unfortunate outcomes.”

I love this idea of the uncertainty/knowledge ratio, because it accurately describes a problem that most strategic level executives face today: There isn’t enough information to make accurate, informed decisions – or at least it isn’t easy to gather and analyze it. Mind mapping software can help executives to manage uncertainty by enabling them to visually map out the current challenge, identify missing information and help you to manage your “discovery” process, brainstorm and organize potential solutions, evaluate alternatives based on various criteria, select the best ones for implementation, and develop visually-oriented project plans for each of them. In short, mind mapping software helps to lower the uncertainty/knowledge ratio.

“Human beings have a tendency to embrace information reinforcing their pre-existing beliefs, while challenging or rejecting information that calls these beliefs into question.”

By enabling you to capture, organize and analyze information and knowledge, mind mapping software can help you to challenge your existing assumptions, determine the new realities of the current situation and make better decisions, based on a rigorous analysis of a more complete, balanced body of information and knowledge.

“We favor a “discovery-driven” approach that emphasizes searching for the right answers and reducing the assumption-to-knowledge ratio.”

As I’ve already explained, mind mapping software is invaluable for bringing order and efficiency to the discovery and analysis processes.

“Launching reinvention requires candid assessment of the core’s prospects and goals to orient the organization toward a compelling future.”

How do you envision future scenarios? They are mental “pictures” that envision your organization’s potential future states. As such, they are sometimes difficult to put into words in a meaningful and compelling way. Mind mapping can help, by enabling you to lay out a set of scenarios side by side and compare them.

“Once management acknowledges that the core business is in trouble, the next challenge is to determine which projects, initiatives and other activities can drive the company’s growth ambitions. This often leads to decisions to invest less in enhancing the core business and more in new, rapid-growth segments. The more specific a company can be about which kinds of initiatives will support its future strategy, the more momentum it can create.”

Mind mapping software enables you to visualize trade-offs between a number of growth opportunities, identifying and codifying strengths and weaknesses, and helping you to craft a more accurate future vision for the organization’s long-term sustainability.

“Document and test your fundamental assumptions. As the overall business environment changes and the stability of core businesses becomes less certain, managers need to be willing to take a few steps back and reassess. It could be that things they thought they ‘knew’ about their business are actually assumptions that may or may not still correspond with reality. “

Documenting assumptions can be done easily with mind mapping software. In fact, some strategists believe it’s an ideal tool to bring unseen assumptions to light, so they can be accurately assessed.

I have selected 6 people to receive licensed copies of MindManager 8, as part of the contest I was running. They are: Rafael Varon, Eric Benson, Christene Martell, Hanna Phan, Mark Allen and Mark Halbe. I will be contacting each of you via e-mail with your license key and download instructions. Congratulations!

Here is a summary of the major themes:

Survivors are handling a bigger workload: As firms around the world hunker down to survive the global recession, many are reducing head count – which means the survivors are often doing the work of 2 to 3 people. Several of you mentioned how it would be impossible to manage the flow of information and projects without mind mapping – as well as to capture the knowledge of your departing colleagues.

“Prior to people leaving, I used mind maps to efficiently and effectively capture their knowledge and also plan my schedule for acquiring the knowledge and skills from my co-workers. Since they have left, I have used a single mind map in MindManager to stay on top of my increased workload, through prioritizing, linking to email messages, adding key information in notes. Perhaps most importantly, the colors, styles and images available have enabled me to raise my mood,” explains Ian Bolton.

Glen Dolan shares how he is using mind mapping to maximize the efficiency and flexibility of his company’s workers:

“I have been using mind mapping to figure out ways of cross training people and making them more versatile. Using mind maps as a primary teaching aid has helped employees’ comprehension and retention. I have also been using mind mapping to prepare tests for people to take after cross training is complete.”

Inevitably, as people get laid off, some of the remaining employees need some retraining in order to take on the responsibilities of those who have departed. Also, as companies become more lean, they must be able to cover for one another (through cross-training) if someone gets sick or if other special needs arise.

Another trend that has been developing for some time, but which has become accelerated by the recession, is the demise of the administrative assistant. As a result, mid- to high-level executives are experiencing information overload and over-work like never before, as Mark H. so eloquently explains:

“I’m a baby boomer that actually depends on his computers to accomplish the overwhelming flood of new responsibilities being forced on productive people. I’ve watch executives the same age as myself avoid the change and push away technology. I’m the old guy in the office that really uses his computer. My associates just complain. Ten years ago, I had a secretary and an assistant. Now I have a laptop and a Blackberry. If you’re like me this transition slowly took all my spare time and eliminated the people we were training to assume our responsibilities as we move up the ladder. There are two kinds of people in the work place now. Those like me who grasp new technologies and those who refuse to do so. I see mind mapping as the next logical step for me.”

In other words, we all had more support staff in the past to help us with gathering, distilling and distributing information and knowledge. Not any more. It’s a new world at work, and we need better tools (i.e., mind mapping software) that can help us to keep up!

Anticipating change, and preparing for the future: Bert Olbrich wisely points out that during a recession, change tends to happen in fits and starts, as companies thrash about, trying to develop new business models and ways to survive the new realities of their markets.

“The pace of change has accelerated. Assessments and planning needs to be updated in shorter intervals to anticipate the future and adjust present decisions. The final outcome of the recession journey is not clear yet. Important skills are fast-forward thinking, anticipation and innovation, and Mindmapping is the method of the hour,” he advises.

Pierre Rheaume views change as an inherently visual challenge:

“Very soon in my career, I realized that words and text weren’t the best tools to design, share and manage a vision of change. I began to map a project of transformation on one page using images, colors, structures and very significant words… I’ve developed what I call an “image-concept” to communicate and explain management concepts like quality management, innovation management, strategic communication, risk management, team work, technology developments and so on.,” he said.

Innovating is easy when you have a lot of resources. But when resources are pared to the bone, what can you do? Eric Benson was faced with the need to complete current projects and revamp his firm’s core service – with no additional resources. Mind mapping proved to be a powerful ally:

“Out came the markers, the graph/butcher paper and the voice recorder to map relationships between projects, schedule changes so they wouldn’t clobber one another, and make sure I didn’t overlook areas I could improve or remove. Then, as I finish out areas, I transfer online and poll our team for feedback. It’s a lifesaver,” he explains.

Creativity is key, and mind mapping helps you to see opportunities: Numerous respondents said they were using mind mapping software to handle the micro-level tasks as well as macro-level planning, minimizing wasted time and maximizing efficiency. Several people also said their mind maps are helping them to see new opportunities and generate profitable new ideas:

“In these ugly economic times, the more creative you get, the more likely you are to satisfy your customer and still turn a profit,” says Duane Dalian.

Leila Oliva shared how she is using the “SCAMPER” creativity method and metaphors in her mind maps to generate and capture ideas. And Christene Martell tells us how she is using mind mapping to reinvent her business:

“I’m having to reinvent my business, (and) any sloppiness in (my business) model can no longer be absorbed as the market tightens. The shifting is taking a lot of deep self reflection, with ideas and insights emerging in fits and spurts. I was drowning in post-it notes, yellow pads and assorted slips of paper. Mind mapping gives me a way to see the organic growth of concepts and understand the larger patterns that are emerging.”

Seeing patterns and deeply exploring concepts are two keys to developing breakthrough ideas.

Mind mapping is a flexible research tool: Howard Veit uses his mind mapping software in a unique way: As part of the research he does, he conducts numerous interviews. He uses a mind map to develop a wide range of interview questions, which he prints out and displays on a single page in front of himself during the interview.

“That allows me to jump around the questions depending upon the course that the interview takes,” he reveals. That’s a great idea!

Conclusion

The full set of comments contains much more great tips and insights. I strongly encourage you to read them.