In my consulting practice, I work with many general and commercial directors, heads of sales departments and managers. A number of successful managers use mental maps, or mindmaps, in their work to solve everyday business problems: writing sales scripts, instructions for staff, sales and production planning, competitor analysis, creating checklists, regulations for planning meetings and meetings, SWOT analysis, descriptions of business processes, organizational structures, functional models, etc. All these production mechanisms are described in the pages of this book.

Here you will find practical examples of solving business problems using mind maps. By implementing and developing these solutions for your business, you will be able to rise to a higher level of organizing your commercial activities, increase sales, set up work with personnel, optimize and regulate business processes.

The book will be useful both to people who have been actively using mind maps in their practice for a long time, and to beginners for taking their business to a qualitatively new level.

Book:

We have already determined in previous chapters that business success is impossible without planning, regardless of the scale of the activity.

Another planning document is a business plan. It is a structured document containing the company's strategy, its goals and ways to achieve them, the estimated amount of resources required for this, the company's place in the market and a description of the fundamental elements influencing its success. For example, competitive advantages, sales markets, marketing plan, etc. A business plan is designed to show the real chances of realizing a business idea and provide answers to the questions:

1. Is the business profitable?

2. If so, how much?

3. How soon will the investment in it pay off? Most often, drawing up a business plan is associated

with starting a business, i.e. a startup. However, it is also formed by already functioning companies: to choose a development strategy or before starting a large project. It is intended for two user groups:

1. Internal users are people who are directly related to the company. For example, a business plan is very important at the stage of inception of a business idea. It is when it is compiled that a startup will be able to assess the viability of the idea, understand its product, foresee the prospects for introduction to the market, and calculate the amount of investment required to start.

A business plan is also important for the founders of an already created and operating company. For example, on the eve of large-scale reforms or geopolitical changes. He is able to inform the owners about the state of affairs in the company so that they can assess their potential and correctly choose the trajectory of the company’s further development in a changing economy.

2. External users are persons who are not currently associated with the company, but plan to take part in its activities in one way or another.

First of all, external users interested in the business plan include investors and creditors. People who are ready to invest money in your business need to know the state of affairs in the company, see their benefits from participating in the project, evaluate the payback period and be prepared for potential risks. After all, they want to participate exclusively in promising projects.

The main task of a business plan drawn up for external users is to prove the attractiveness and promise of your idea, to awaken interest in it and a desire to participate in its implementation.

A business plan is a macro planning document for a company. It includes the marketing plan, risk management, SWOT analysis, and strategic planning discussed in this book. That is, it evaluates the business comprehensively and in the interrelation of all elements. By drawing up a business plan, you:

1. Avoid throwing money away.

One of the structural sections of a business plan is a financial plan. It is he who will assess the profitability of a business or project and show whether it is worth investing money and effort into this business.

2. Choose the best vector for the company's development. Perhaps, when drawing up a business plan, you will see that the idea is not viable.

It is much better to understand this at the planning stage than during the implementation process. This will allow you to switch to another idea without loss. In addition, the business plan, among other things, identifies possible risks. And he who is forewarned is forearmed. You can prepare for them in advance or find ways around them.

3. You will better understand your business and product, competitive advantages and weaknesses, development opportunities and potential risks, business profitability, etc.

Before you start drawing up a business plan in the format of a mental map, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the most essential rules for its formation:

1. Be concise.

In the future, you will see that the business plan includes 11 sections. Some of them, for example a marketing plan, a financial plan and others, are quite massive in information. However, a business plan should not be a volume of information. The most optimal volume is 30 sheets of printed text without attachments.

To develop a high-quality and reliable business plan, you need to turn to various statistical data, expert opinion and other evaluative and forecasting sources. These sources must be reliable, and information taken from them used in the plan must be referenced.

3. Reflect only the most important and relevant information in your business plan.

As already mentioned, a business plan should be quite concise, but at the same time complete, informative, interesting and justified.

4. Create a business plan with your team.

One person cannot have a perfect understanding of all areas of activity. Therefore, if you have such an opportunity, involve specialists in your work (marketers, consultants, financiers) who will help you draw up the most promising and accurate plan.

So, let's draw up a business plan in mental maps.

1. Core mental map when drawing up a business plan - this is a business plan with the time frame for which it is drawn up. As a rule, a business plan is written for 3–5 years, adjusting it annually based on the current economic situation and the state of affairs in the company.

2. Level 1– these are the sections that make up the business plan. There is no strict, fixed, uniform standard revealing the content of a business plan. There are a number of points that it must necessarily reflect. However, I advise you to tailor your business plan to the specific person for whom it is intended. As a result, the structure of the plan may vary slightly. I will give an example of a standard business plan, including 11 sections:

Title page;

Introduction;

Products & Services;

Marketing plan;

Production (commercial) plan;

Organization and management;

Capital and legal form of the company;

Risk assessment;

Financial plan;

Applications.

It is these sections, located radially around the core, that will form the first level of the mental map.

Rice. 67.Business plan in a mental map (level 1)

3. Level 2– this is the structure of each section of the first level. For example, the Title Page and Introduction do not have any structure. These are single-level map branches. However, this is typical for other sections.

The executive summary should cover the following points: goals, product, financial results, expected sales, investment volume, gross profit, payback period, etc.

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“Mental map... Esoteric again?” - I thought when I first read this title more than six months ago. Then I got into it and tried to draw my plans for the week in this format. It turned out surprisingly easy and interesting.
Here I could write that since then I began to use cards constantly, but this is not so. I forgot about them. And I remembered only in August, when I was planning a vacation trip. That's what came out of it.

What are mind maps

And suddenly, having accidentally stumbled upon a review of services for mind maps, I realized what tool I was missing. The puzzle came together and away we go - a map for going to the store, for planning life goals, for work. Maps, maps, maps... They were blue and multi-colored, in mindmaps and on album sheets. Now the euphoria has subsided, and I use them more soberly. I'll tell you how and when.

Mind maps and me

Where can I use the cards?

What am I doing
Using cards I collect information and sort it. What I know about the subject: properties, disadvantages, features, use - all this easily fits into the mind map scheme.

What should you do
Replace a boring lecture with a simple presentation and you will capture the audience's attention. Replace it with an interesting presentation and you will also win the respect of your audience.

2. Learning and remembering

What am I doing
The same as in the previous paragraph: I highlight the main issue, put it into sections. A huge plus of cards is that you can complete the drawings of branches if a new thought suddenly comes to mind. That's why I always draw with reserve. I’m not very friendly with services yet; I prefer a snow-white sheet of paper and colored markers.

What should you do
Create notes for lectures or books, write various texts (coursework, dissertations, articles), analyze the text. You can use detailed maps (1 map - 1 question), you can write down basic schemes.
By the way, most of you have seen something like mind maps in textbooks - these are flowcharts of the main questions of the course.

3. Brainstorming.

What am I doing
I come up with ideas (what to give for a holiday), solve problems (where to find time to study) - this is how cards help with brainstorming. I can draw cards alone or with colleagues, in any case it is effective.

What should you do
Maps for brainstorming are drawn as usual. In the center is the problem, large branches are solutions, small branches are features or consequences. If you need to generate ideas, then there will be a topic in the center, and the ideas themselves are large branches.

4. Decision making.

What am I doing
I am a logician to the core. Intuitive decisions are not my strong point. And here I have differences with Tony Buzan, the founder of the mind mapping method. It is believed that drawing and the use of symbols stimulate creative thinking, which means that the brain is tuned to search for an effective and non-standard way out of the situation (I don’t argue with that). And at such moments, intuition turns on and we make a decision based on it (here’s the catch).
Therefore, I simply write the problem in the center of the sheet, with branches of the 2nd level I designate all possible solutions, and with branches of the 3rd level I denote the consequences of these decisions.

What should you do
You write down the problem and turn it around from all sides, at the same time writing down everything that comes to mind. We organized our thoughts and saw the solution. Those who find it easier to handle facts and figures write them on branches. And whoever relies on intuition will bet on the associativity of the cards.

5. Planning.

Plan work and personal projects, budget or time.

What am I doing
First, I wrote down on the map all the books I want to read. Then I singled out from the book the form in which I would learn the material (synopsis, summary). And I created a similar goal on SmartProgress.
And then a big drawback of the cards emerged - it is difficult to tie them to deadlines. On a Gantt chart, for example, it is clearly visible which event should take place and when, and the temporal relationship of events is visible. And on the mind map you can only sign the deadline by which the task must be completed. In SmartProgress you can set intermediate deadlines, there are deadline reminders. So these two tools work well together.

What should you do
In the center of the sheet, indicate a goal, for example, “to celebrate a wedding anniversary.” And then write down the associations. Choosing a venue, list of guests, menu, budget, program - these are the key lines of your mind map. From each large ray, several more small rays depart, specifying who and in what way you will invite, what elements of the program will be, and who is responsible for them.

Why is this particular form advantageous?

The larger the volume of the cerebral cortex is connected to the perception of information, the better it is remembered. The brain does not think linearly, but associatively, so for most people, mind maps are a suitable tool for planning or working with large amounts of data.

Pros and cons of mind maps

And now about the advantages.

The brain first focuses on the key areas of the project. This helps you prioritize.
All main and auxiliary stages of the project are clearly visible. Contradictions, interference, and overlaps are also noticeable.
It is convenient to mark the paths already taken.
It’s easy to expand the project by adding new branches.
You can place heterogeneous elements on maps: megabytes coexist with the number of people.

What if you use mind mapping to plan goals? In combination with SmartProgress It turns out quite effectively. The main directions are determined on the map, and discipline occurs using the service.

How to build maps

In the center of the sheet or a little higher, draw a central image (idea, goal, problem). Draw from it first-level branches (sub-ideas), with associations or key concepts that slightly reveal the central image. From the branches of the 1st level, take the branches of the 2nd level. If necessary, add 3rd level branches.

12 Tips for Drawing Maps

1. Include imaginative, creative thinking and associative skills. This helps the brain approach a problem from different angles and look for an unusual but effective solution.
2. Use different colors of branches to separate directions of work. If this is a map with tasks for employees, mark the branches with a specific color for each project participant. There should be no more than 8 colors so as not to get confused. The highest speed of perception is for red, yellow and orange colors. The lowest is in brown, blue and green.
3. The number of branches of 2 and subsequent levels should not be more than 5-7.
4. The map reflects the style of thinking, so do not try to standardize it.
5. Exaggerated examples are better remembered. Therefore, feel free to draw unusual pictures.
6. Freehand drawing stimulates thinking. Despite the various convenient services, do not neglect white paper and markers.
7. Make images vivid and memorable so that they evoke emotions. This will help the brain work in the right direction.
8. Build the structure according to hierarchy: important concepts are closer to the center, details are further away. You can number the branches if necessary.
9. Less words, more drawings. If there are several words, then write them down in one line so that the eye does not make unnecessary movements.
10. Come up with your own symbols. Lightning is fast, eye is control, light bulb is important.
11. Draw the first level lines thicker to see the importance of actions. The length of the line is equal to the length of the word. Vary the size of the letters to emphasize the importance of the branch.
12. Delimit branches by drawing them into blocks, connecting them with arrows to show the relationship.

Services for mind maps

Psychologists believe that it is best to draw by hand, activating creative thinking as much as possible, then you will think and solve problems much more effectively. And the modern rhythm of life suggests using any service you like. Well, it's up to you. But mind maps are a really cool tool, I recommend them.

A mind map (also known as a mind map, thought map and mental map) is an analytical tool that is used if you need to find the most effective solution to a problem. Mind maps can be used for a variety of purposes: to generate ideas, prepare for presentations, organize and conduct various events, take notes on lectures, memorize large amounts of information, plan your work day, the progress of work on a project or free time, and much, much more.

Radiant Thinking

Tony Buzan: “By studying the structure of the brain, I discovered what I had been so persistently looking for. I was inspired by the fact that the human brain is made up of approximately 100 billion cells, each of which contributes to the thought process. The structure of neurons could not but cause admiration: processes extend from the center of the cell in all directions, resembling a branched tree. It dawned on me that using a diagram based on this model, it was possible to create a universal thinking tool. This became the starting point for the development of the theory of radiant thinking, which ultimately led to the creation of the technique of constructing mind maps."

In short, a mind map is a complex diagram that copies the tree structure of a neuron and is built on the basis of associations. However, since its inception in the mid-1960s, mind mapping has proven to be not only an excellent way to keep records, but also an effective thinking tool. The theory has developed rapidly and has found application in a variety of areas - from stimulating creative thinking to improving memory and fighting dementia.

Stages of creating a mind map

A good mind map has three main components.

1. A central image that conveys the topic (subject) of study.

So, if you need a mind map to plan a project, you can place an image of a stationery folder in the center. At the same time, you do not need any special artistic skills.

2. Thick main branches extending from the central image.

These branches represent key topics relevant to the subject matter being studied. Each branch should have its own color. In turn, the main branches are divided into “shoots” of the second and third levels, which represent subtopics.

3. A single keyword or image on each branch.

So…

Step 1

Place a piece of paper horizontally in front of you (as if you were deciding to draw a landscape). In the center, use at least three different colors to depict the subject you want to study. In our example, these are the plays of William Shakespeare. If you don't want to draw a portrait of a great poet, draw a pen and ink or any other symbol. The central image stimulates the imagination and evokes associations. If you need to place a word in the center, let it look three-dimensional and be accompanied by an image.

Step 2

Choose a color and draw a thick branch extending from the center image, like a branch from a tree trunk. Give the branch a natural curve, as this is visually more attractive to the brain and will increase the likelihood of remembering information on that branch. Paint over the branch. Its thickness symbolizes the importance of this association in the hierarchy of the mind map.

Step 3

Label the branch with one word or a capital letter. In our example, the mind map is dedicated to the plays of Shakespeare, which means that the first branch could be called “COMEDY”, “TRAGEDY” or “HISTORY”. Instead of a word, you can draw a comedian's mask, a dagger or a crown.

Step 4

Draw secondary branches extending from the main one. Then the branches of the third level, extending from the second. Label each branch with one word, or a symbol, or a combination of both. Each character must have its own branch. Take your time: leave a few branches empty, this stimulates the brain to come up with something to fill them with.

Step 5

Choose a different color and draw the next main branch extending from the center image. (Many beginners find it easier to move clockwise around the center image, but you can do whatever works for you.) As before, draw the second- and third-order branches and label each one. Add a few more main branches to make a total of five or six.

Step 6

Now that you have a structure of main branches, you can freely move throughout the mind map from branch to branch, fill in the gaps and add new additional branches as associations arise.

Step 7

If desired, you can add arrows, connecting lines, and links between the main branches to emphasize the relationships between them. Voila - you've created your first mind map!

Go ahead

You can continue to work on the example given and expand the mind map to include, for example:

All 37 of Shakespeare's plays,

His sonnets and poems

As well as basic facts relating to his life and historical era.

Having memorized the information presented on the map, you will know many facts about the life and work of the great poet and, on occasion, you will be able to show off this knowledge. Because mind mapping involves both hemispheres of the brain, the technique is multifunctional and applies to all cognitive functions, including memory, creative thinking, learning, and all forms of thinking. This is one of the reasons why this technique is called the “Swiss army knife of the brain.”

Mind maps. What do mind maps look like? What it is. Areas of application of mind maps. How to make a mind map. Rules for compiling mind maps.

What are mind maps?

This amazing and fascinating instrument came into fashion and into mass use not so long ago. The author and inventor of mind maps is Tony Buzan, a well-known figure in the field of learning psychology and intelligence development.

What are they?

A mind map is a special type of recording materials in the form radiant structure, that is, a structure emanating from the center to the edges, gradually branching into smaller parts. Mind maps can replace traditional text, tables, graphs and diagrams.

Why is writing in the form of a mind map more convenient and useful?

It's all about the peculiarities of our thinking. Our thinking is NOT organized like text, linearly. It has exactly this structure: branching, each concept in our head is connected to other concepts, these other concepts are connected to third ones, and so on ad infinitum.

This organization of material is called multidimensional, radiant. It is this structure that most organically reflects our real thinking.

Neurons in our brain are connected at the physical level in exactly the same way: each neuron entangles a network of dendrites of other neurons, and from one neuron we can move through chains of connections to another neuron.
On the contrary, one has to wonder how a person can work and think linearly? After all, our brain is not designed for this at all.

Mind maps- most adequately reflects our real multidimensional radiant thinking. That is why it is more convenient to use compared to plain text. Mind maps allow you to better display the structure of the material, semantic and hierarchical connections, and show what relationships exist between the component parts.

Thanks to their structure, mind maps allow you to reveal your intellectual potential. And this is achieved through proper organization and through the work of both hemispheres of the brain. Indeed, in such a branching structure, both the right and left hemispheres of the brain work.

A short video about how the mind map is connected to our thinking

Mind maps have one more wonderful effect. Due to its extensibility and adaptability to radiant thinking, the creation of mind maps contributes to the development flow of associations, thoughts, ideas.

As a rule, those who switch to using mind maps begin to notice how many ideas are formed in the course of their depiction; often there is not even enough space initially allocated for all the ideas.

That is why in our information age the use of mind maps in various areas of life becomes so relevant.

Brief video: benefits of mind maps

How can you use mind maps?

They can be used almost everywhere, in different areas of life. Namely:

• Mind maps at work

  • create a common vision for the project
  • create work plans
  • plan events, budget
  • prepare a plan for a speech or presentation
  • decisions
  • brainstorm
  • generate ideas
  • create motivation
  • write goals
  • prepare a negotiation plan
  • organize thoughts and ideas

• Mind maps in educational activities

  • write down from books and by ear
  • create plans for writing articles, books, abstracts, diplomas
  • pass exams
  • structure any material, which allows you to understand the essence, the author’s thought, and sort difficult material into shelves
  • remember the meaning of the material. Mind maps are remembered many times easier than any text material
  • write a series of interrelated hypotheses

• Mind maps in everyday life

  • use in structuring everyday tasks, household chores
  • describe the advantages and disadvantages of planned purchases and acquisitions
  • create your personal family tree
  • describe the structure of a holiday or other event
  • plan a vacation

Mind map from T. Buzan’s book “Super Thinking”

Creation: how to create a mind map?

Unfortunately, not everyone understands how to make a mind map correctly. After all, it is often precisely because of errors in its preparation and lack of understanding of the principles of its construction that we make only a rough sketch. But it turns out that the admitted inaccuracies affect the perception of this mind map so much that it seems ineffective and meaningless to us.

Therefore, let's look at the basic rules. Algorithm for creating a mind map:

1. Take an unlined sheet of paper and place it landscape, that is, horizontally. It is this arrangement that is most convenient for depicting the radiant structure when compiling mind maps.
2. Take several colored pencils, markers, at least three or four colors. Using colors allows you to divide information into blocks or rank it by importance. All this facilitates the perception of information, improves the quality of memorization by preserving the visual image and actively connecting the right hemisphere.
3. Write large and voluminous in the very center of the main topic. It is advisable to use large letters, and also to depict the main idea of ​​the map schematically or with a drawing. Drawings and graphics further connect the resources of the right hemisphere, which promotes quick memorization of the compiled mind map
4. From the center make several branches, designate each of them with a keyword. The branches located around the central theme will be the largest, then as they branch, the branches will become smaller. This division will visually indicate the hierarchy and relationships in the mind map.
5. Continue branching large ideas into smaller ones as long as you need to. Each concept has associative connections with other concepts. Include the process of associative thinking. Then your card will begin to grow quickly.