I wrote about Mind Mapping, so here now is how to do it. A completed map may look like a tree diagram or genealogy map, a multi- armed octopus-like alien, a road map, or a work of art. They are all equally effective. Mind mapping does not have any hard and fast rules, but the following basic characteristics describe what works best:

1. Begin by putting the main topic or point of focus in the center of the page. Starting in the center of the page allows for the greatest flexibility and helps to keep the main idea quite literally “front and center.” You should also draw a box or circle around this main idea.
2. As you identify main subpoints, major elements, or “dimensions” of the topic, draw a line branching off the central topic and leading to the label for the subpoint. You can start your first branching idea anywhere on the box that encircles the main idea. The line should lead to a word or phrase that labels the subpoint. Draw a circle or box around this subpoint. Try to limit the number of subpoints to four or five. If you are coming up with more than that, perhaps it would be best to combine some or divide your overall topic into two separate maps. Limiting the number of subpoints will keep the mind map from getting too “busy” or complex.
3. Look for details that support or illustrate the subpoints and attach these to the main branching lines. Record these details in key words or short phrases.
4. Once you feel that you have “captured” the topic on the page, if the map is lopsided, too complex, or in some other way just difficult to mentally take in, you might want to do a second map to simplify or refine the topic. The structure should be balanced and so obvious that it “jumps off the page.”
5. Personalize your mind map with colors, symbols, and simple sketches. You might use several different colored highlighters to make the main subpoints stand out visually. Sketches and symbols help bring other sensory images into the mind map. It isn’t necessary that you be an artist to make these symbols useful. As long as these simple images mean something to you, they will serve their purpose.

Here’s an example.

Last week I participated in the completion of a client project. My role was PM coach, that is the client had an in-house employee as project manager who needed some mentoring and training with procedures and processes. Overall the project was a success, but there were some rocky moments. It was a planned 30 week project that was completed in 33 weeks. The problems were mainly weather related procurement delays. Costs were over by about 10 percent, mostly payroll and a few expedited shipping fees.

Whether you call it a close-out, a lessons-learned review, or a post-mortem, what you do after completing a project is the first step in the success of all future projects. It should bring together people from all parts of the organization — those who worked directly on the project to those responsible for budgets to transient personnel, vendors and contractors.

Many of the participants said the meeting would be a waste of time because the project was so successful, nothing to talk about. But it is a misconception thinking that lessons-learned reviews are only needed when something goes wrong. Actually the close-out process really starts at the beginning of the project when goals are established. If the goals are met, the post-mortem sets out to prove it; if the goals aren’t met, then it tries to discover what went wrong.

All said and done, I think my client learned about some issues with their procurement process and addressed corrective actions; finance people learned to look at some budget issues — and the budget of future projects; and the PM learned to continuously review the project — successful or not.

Our primary mode of learning is experience — making mistakes and learning from them. The close-out meeting must not only be based on acknowledging mistakes and correcting them, but acknowledging successes and rewarding them. Pizza and beer were consumed by all. On Monday each team member starts on a new project.

One of the most powerful words in the English language is why. When asked as an interrogatory, why has the power to change assumptions, preconceptions and mindsets. It has the power to initiate change as well as the power to affirm the right course. It is a word that should be used frequently but with great care. When used the proper way, it can be one of the most effective tools a leader can employ. And it’s totally free.

Used with discretion, why is a powerful tool. Read all about the why in leadership communications in Darwin magazine’s The Power of Why

It’s great to visualize your ideas and one way is by drawing a map of all your thoughts. Mind mapping uses pictures, keywords and phrases to organize and develop thoughts in a non-linear fashion. It helps me “see” a problem and its solution. I use mind mapping when brainstorming, planning a project, organizing information or ideas, and preparing presentations and seminars.
Mind mapping can also be used to develop a product or process, solve a problem, and develop strategy. The key to its effective use in generating ideas and solving problems is to not necessarily think logically. That’s why mind mapping and brainstorming go hand in hand. If one idea triggers another, don’t try and analyze it, just mark it down on the mind map - the crazier the association, the better! That’s how the truly innovative solutions come.

While mind mapping can be done with a large piece of paper, a roll of paper actually, and many colored writing utensils, the computer has really made mapping much much easier. Ideas can be easily moved, colors changed, and images added quickly. I’ve worked with several versions of mind mapping software including Inspiration and MindMapper, and there are many more. But the one I find the easiest and most powerful is MindManager.

While I’m working with a project management client, I use mind mapping to plan projects and create a work breakdown structure. The biggest ROI I get from MindManager is time-savings. I can plan projects very quickly in a map view, export all the information into Project Kickstart or Microsoft Project, and I’m ready to go. I can also interface with PowerPoint, Word and Outlook.

Making connections that aren’t obvious or linear is the secret to how the minds of the world’s most creative people work. But it can be the hardest thing for most people to do - we tend to impose a “logical association” upon the ideas we connect. But this hinders innovation. It is a visual way of thinking that keeps the entire scope of what you’re thinking about in front of you. It also gives you a concise, effective way to communicate your ideas to others.

Have you seen the cartoon with dogs tapping away on the keyboard of a computer with the caption, “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog.” Well not only do we not know they are dogs, we don’t know where they are located.

Politicians want to blame each other or corporate executives for shipping jobs overseas. It is the communications industry that really made the whole offshoring trend possible. With satellites, microwave, fiber and broadband all over the world, location does not play into the equation for rendering services — bandwidth rules.

I’ve had a client in Cleveland for 5 years. I’ve been in their office twice; they’ve never visited mine. The same with a client located in California. Phones, faxes and the Internet have been reducing the virtual circumference of the world for a long time.

Technology has and will continue to transform the economy — like it or not. Many of the jobs you and I and everyone else is working at were not even thought of years ago. I’ve worked in many careers in many industries, continuing to learn and experience particular skills in a micro way, with business and management in a macro way. We, including the politicians, will be better off learning and embracing new and different skills to keep up with our changing economy rather than complaining about offshoring and outsourcing. That’s the way it has always been, that’s the way it will always be.

Some of my consulting engagements include searching, finding and placing personnel for newly created positions, usually project executives and department managers. Good news is more and more positions are being created. Bad news each position continues to have more and more applicants. Half are quickly eliminated or passed down to entry-level positions, since they are just getting out of school. Experience rules in this climate. No on the job training. We need results right away.

In the dot com heyday I would interview a candidate, collect the ones I liked and then had an assistant check the references. I would hire some people because they were smart and had plenty of potential. I’d figure out later what they could really do for the client. Now I personally check school records, experience records and claims BEFORE interviewing. If questionable they get tossed aside without an interview. Cut throat? Yes, but necessary in this recovery environment.

The point here: the economy is recovering, the job market is recovering, bottom-lines are recovering. Are you recovering? Let me know.

A cowboy was herding his herd in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, “If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?”

The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, “Sure. Why not?”

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his AT&T cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on this location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing faculty in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.

He then accesses a MS_SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formulas. He uploads all of this data via an email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color 150 page report on this hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, “You have exactly 1586 cows and calves.”

“That’s right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,” says the cowboy. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of this car.

Then the cowboy says to the young man, “Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?” The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, “Okay, why not?”

“You’re a consultant.” says the cowboy.

“Wow! That’s correct,” says the yuppie, “but how did you guess that?”

“No guessing required.” answered the cowboy. “You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew; to a question I never asked; and you don’t know anything about my business.”

“Now, give me back my dog.”

Here I thought my data backups and music recordings were going to last forever! CDs and DVDs Not So Immortal After All

We’ve all tried to justify a project by calculating ROI, Return On Investment. But how many of you re-calculate ROI after the project has been completed? Afraid it might not be worth it? Embarrassed? ROI: Why Don’t More CIOs Measure ROI After a Project Is Up and Running? is an article providing insight to this subject.

It seems like a no-brainer: After putting in all the time and effort required to see if an IT investment will produce a worthwhile ROI, surely it’s logical to find out whether you’ve actually received it after the project is over. Yet only 46% of companies calculate the ROI of an IT investment after projects are completed.

One reason: It’s hard to act on logic when fear gets in the way. If managers are afraid they’ll be embarrassed, or put at risk if they miss their ROI numbers, they won’t be eager to follow up.

from: CIO Insight.

Here’s a plug for virtual meetings on the Internet:

On a three-day business trip, the average traveler loses eight hours of sleep, consumes 14 percent more caffeine, and drinks 30 percent more alcohol than usual.
~BusinessWeek