Dear Mindjet MindManager 7,

Yes, your name is a bit long, but I take pleasure in typing it, saying it, enjoying the sound of each syllable. The alliterative M’s echo what I say in my mind when I think of you, which is, of course, “mmm!”.

First, I have to be honest with you - you are not the first mind mapping program I tried. I was flirting with all sorts of freeware. After I’ve used most of the free alternatives around, I was frustrated. They were too difficult, took forever to load, or were web based. I didn’t need something web based - I needed something I could come home to, a face I’d expect to see when I turn on my work station. I couldn’t find that with my former flings.

Then I thought, “Mind mapping just isn’t for me”. I should’ve known that I was lying to myself.

Of course, that’s when my love story with you started.

Former Pimp Your Work blogger Tris Hussey kept talking about you. I forced myself to give you a try, since I knew that deep down, mind mapping represented my thought processes. I’ve always been a visual person. That’s the quickest way for me to learn and express.

So I said “Hello”, pressed that “Free Trial” button, and before I knew it, I completely bought into your charms. Literally. Roughly $99 worth of charms.

But it was completely worth it. (We did use company funds, but that’s not the point.)

Yes, I’ve had mind mapping tools before, but not one quite like you. What was it about you that captured me so?

Simplicity. One of my frustrations with my previous tools was that they made mind mapping complicated, when it’s supposed to be the simplest thing. A bunch of shapes with arrows and lines. You made mind mapping simple for one who was frustrated, for one who thought it wasn’t for her. For one who almost gave up.

User-friendly. It was very easy to figure you out. It seemed almost intuitive. I never had any doubts in my mind as to where the needed function was - everything you can do can be accessed wherever it needs to be accessed. It was like we’d made an instant connection and you immediately understood my thoughts.

Web-friendly. You are friendly with the web, but not too friendly. I could insert hyperlinks, notes, spreadsheets - and you were also interacting with my Microsoft Office friends.

Beautiful. Your interface is sleek, and soothing to my eyes. Your mind map templates are creative. You know which one is my favorite? The blue and orange one with your faint watermark in the background going “Mindjet Mindjet Mindjet”. Apart from the fact that blue and orange are our corporate colors, reading your name in the background reminds me of a lover’s name etched in a tree.

I do not know if you share these feelings, or if you already know that I think so fondly of you. But what I know is this - my love for you is so strong that I would share you with the world so that they will stand in your light in the way that I already have.

Faithfully yours (or at least until version 8 comes along),

Celine

You think that mind mapping is just for brainstorming?  Maybe a little document outlining?  Ah how wrong you are.  I think one of the best uses of mind mapping is taking meeting notes.  Gaelen links to Lifehacker’s post on mind mapping meetings and points us all to the MindManager map gallery:

The Mindjet Map Gallery also offers templates for managing meetings. Check out a sample meeting management map located here now. Source: The Mindjet Blog » Lifehacker’s “Beginner’s Guide to Mind Mapping Meetings”

Lifehacker’s examples are pretty basic, and with the crayon colours, enough to make any business person cringe. So let’s look at what Mindjet and MindManager have to offer, shall we?

Okay the default template, which I’ve used for many meetings, is simple, clean and effective.  Nothing fancy, but it has all the basics that make for a good map.

Now, Gaelen, being the awesome person she is, sent me all of the new MindManager 7 Productivity Packs and let’s look at the fancier version of the template you get with that:

Not bad, huh?  There are also a bunch of goodies in the pack like this map that helps you make the most of mind mapping a meeting.

I really like to map the agenda, send it around (as a PDF or something) and then I take notes right there on that map… so when I sent it out people are already familiar with it.  And if you organize it all nicely, export the map to Word and bam you have meeting notes for everyone in a couple minutes.  Getting the action items and notes out to everyone who was at the meeting (and people who couldn’t make it) helps you take advantage of the momentum you created in the meeting.

 Since MindManager comes with a 21 day free trial, well you don’t have any excuse not to try it. Oh, and yes, there will be a contest soon so you can win a copy of MM7Pro.

MindManager 7 Pro brought the Office 2007 look and feel to MM users, but the Ribbon Bar might get annoying for some people.  Brain Friedlander has a quick movie on saving space:

Many of us are really enjoying the new Fluid Ribbon Interface in MindManager 7, which has made the program much more accessible. However, there are times when we might want to hide the ribbon once we start working on the mind map. Here is a tip on how to hide the ribbon in MindManager 7. I hope that you enjoy this tip!Hiding the Ribbon in Mindmanager 7
Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D
Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:44:26 GMT

I did that simple little thing…and wow I feel like I have a ton more room to map in!

Okay that’s awesome but what about those maps?  Have you even looked at the templates and styles included in MM 7 Pro?  I didn’t think so.

I was working up a map last night and I thought I’d try a new look … so looking through the styles I found this great corkboard - sticky note look (click for large version):

There are basic styles and ones that are more interesting.  Have a “look” you like?  Make your own custom style!  It’s easy to always have the kind of map you want.  Just get your map tweaks, go up to the button…and choose Save As… you can make it a Style (just the look and feel) or a template (look and feel, plus the stuff you already have in the map as a starting point).

Speaking of templates, check out these two cool templates for a weekly planner and a to-do list:

Not bad eh?  See getting more out of an application, even if it is just to have a little fun with it, is just a matter of exploring around.  You can submit your own templates and styles here … I’ll even host them for you if needed!

I got an e-mail from the folks at MindJet today letting me know that MM7 was now available. Disclosure: Because of my participation in the beta and other MM7 events I received a free license to MM7 Pro.

MindManager 7 helps users and workgroups “mind map” — lay out concepts and manage information visually. The technique can be helpful for both individuals and groups of users to brainstorm and collaborate. It can help you create project plans, set up workflows and processes, and manage meetings. Source: PC World - MindManager 7 Visualization Software Ships

There has been some work on MM7 since the last beta I downloaded.  The UI has been cleaned up and such.  I’m particularly interested in seeing if schools pick up on MM7 Lite and offer it to students.

Since I’ve only had MM7 Pro (final) installed for a bit this isn’t a “review” it’s an announcement.  I’ll be working with it and giving a more detailed review on the final version soon.

Gotta love the folks at MindJet. As the count-down continues (4 more days!) until MM7 is released, here is a great map idea–use a drafting table metaphor.

You can, and I would suggest, taking it to the next level. Dart board? Cork board? I think with the right background image you can make a map not only useful, but fun too.

Why not, it’s only work ;).

Tags: free downloads, GTD, software tips, MindJet, MindManager, mind mapping

Man I’ve been dying to blog about this for over a month.  I’ve been in the private beta test of the new MindManager 7 Pro.  If you’re a MM fan, this is a good upgrade.  Must upgrade?  If you use Office 2007, I’d say yeah.

The new MM 7 Pro is officially coming out May 30.  I had the chance to listen to a MindJet overview of the new product yesterday (and for disclosure as an invited guest and attendee I get a free license for the new version).   What impressed me about this new version are the nice UI improvements.  No huge changes.  Some nice improvements to styles (topic-level styles are now possible) and data connections, but really it’s what I’d call steady evolution, not revolution.

The Mac version has been updated and there is an new MM Lite aimed for occasional users and the education market.

Personally, I think MS should bundle MM Lite with Office, but that’s just me.  Heck if I could, I’d give it away to students on a flash drive.

From a UI perspective MM now uses the Office 2007 UI.  I like it … I know some don’t like it, but well …

I haven’t been in proposal or project planning mode for a while, so I haven’t had to use Office integration for a bit … but with improved connectors, like link from a Word doc to a particular topic, I think I’ll be building some pretty cool things soon.

When I get the final version (I’m still using the beta) at the end of the month, I’ll let you know how the final product looks.

 I got an e-mail from Tom Hodgers today.  Remember him?  Yeah he was one of our contest winners.  It sounds like Tom has been getting into MindMager and told me about a really cool new MM add-on called ThemeReader.  Here is how Mindsystems describes it:

Mindsystems ThemeReader™ is the latest edition to the MindManager® family of products. Offering an advanced new way to scan almost any document type for ideas and common themes. Mindsystems ThemeReader™ then instantly converts the relevant information in into an easy to understand visual MindManager® Map.
Source: Mindsystems: Mindsystems ThemeReader™

You read this and think “Yeah, right. How can something go through my document and turn it into a useful Mindmap?”  Yeah, I was a skeptic too.  Then I tried it.

First pass was on a simple document from a client laying out the categories for a new blog.  It was pretty darn impressive.  It brought some things to my attention that I had missed on my first pass through the document.

Okay, that was just a simple Word doc.  So I figured it needed a real challenge, let’s try a PDF.  I took Charlene Li’s recent Blogging ROI whitepaper.  Not too long, but lots of info in there.  And …

Wow.  Took less than a minute to process and get the map up.  Now that’s cool.

Tom suggested that this app would be great for students.  I’m going to take it beyond that.  Here’s the best example I could think of.  You’ve been asked to summarize a whitepaper, proposal, or article for your boss.  Instead of reading it and then writing your summary, you read it and let ThemeReader make a map of it.  All the detail is there.  It’s easy to re-organze and edit.  Zap that map off to your boss and the original.  Done.  Maybe edit the map so the ThemeReader info isn’t there.  You don’t want to give away all your secrets do you ;-) (never forget the Scotty Principle)?

Best of all ThemeReader, like MindManager, comes with a 21-day trial so you can really give it a good try before buying it.  ThemeReader is on my wish list already.

So you need to create a new document.  It doesn’t matter if you’re using Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint (or even OpenOffice), looking at a blank screen is almost as daunting as getting the document done.

Now, when you make this a complex task, like a form letter or invoice, you can waste a lot of time making one from scratch.  My first stop whenever I need to do something like this is to look for the built-in templates that of come with Microsoft office.

Like today, I needed to make a new invoice, my old PDF invoice wasn’t going to work anymore, so I needed something new.  My first stop in Excel, because a knew Excel was the right application for me to make invoices, was to open help, and type invoice template.  I was given a choice of several different styles of templates, I picked one, downloaded it from Microsoft, filled it in, and I was done.

The same goes for Word or PowerPoint, browsing the built in templates can save you a ton of time when you need to make a new document, an especially a complex document.

For instance business cards.  When you buy one of the print yourself business card packs, using a template is critical to making sure the cards come out right.

For those of you who think all stock templates are boring and ugly, you’re wrong.  A lot of the templates are very nice, and all of them can be customized.

One of the best work tips I can give you is to use the resources your computer already has two save you time and effort.  Using templates is one of those tips that everyone should be using.

In the beginning, so to speak, there was brainstorming. And it was good.

It just didn’t work out very well in practice…

Brainstorming is critical to finding innovative ideas that will solve specific problems, both in your personal and business life.

The process is simple:

• Focus on Quantity of ideas
• No criticism
• Unusual ideas are welcome
• Combine and improve ideas

Kind of like Pimp Your Work, don’t you think?

It’s where the ideas meet the road that the trouble begins. The pitfalls in business are many:

• A manager that doesn’t like ideas not invented here.
• A department that says ideas are great, but never implements them.
• A group that agrees with the ideas, agrees to implement the ideas, and then fails in the execution.

The result is the same: loss of ideas that will solve problems.

Don’t let this happen to you. Your company may not agree with your innovative ideas, but that doesn’t mean “You, Inc.” shouldn’t continue to brainstorm ideas that can be implemented to help out your career and life pursuits.

Brainstorm about your career and what makes you want to work. Brainstorm about your relationships to come up with ideas to make them even better. Brainstorm about how to achieve what you want in life to get you closer to your goals.

Just because your work group doesn’t believe in brainstorming doesn’t mean you shouldn’t come up with innovative ideas for yourself.

What innovative ideas would you like to read about here on Pimp Your Work? A brainstorming session is in order in the comments. Gives us your ideas!

Over at What’s the Next Action they are having a contest to see who can create the coolest, most colourful mindmap with MindManager, and there are five copies MindManager up for grabs!  The contest closes Nov 1 at 7 PM ET.  What are you waiting for, download MindManager (21-day trial don’t you know) and get going!

Tags: MindJet, MindManager, contest, GTD