Mindjet MindManager Emerges as Must-Have Software for Business Professionals

MindManager empowers business professionals to better capture, organize and communicate ideas, information and projects for business success

San Francisco – July 13, 2010 – Mindjet®, the leading provider of software and cloud-based applications for visually organizing and managing information and ideas, today announced the latest version of the company’s flagship software – Mindjet MindManager Version 9.  Used by millions of business professionals, MindManager delivers an inherently unique value to today’s workers – a flexible, intuitive way to visually brainstorm concepts, organize information, develop actionable strategies and project plans, and communicate results.

On a daily basis, business professionals combat masses of information coming from multiple sources – web, email, documents and meetings – with no means to connect the dots and see the big picture.  MindManager provides the destination that unifies diverse information allowing users to organize, act on and communicate their ideas and strategies.  With its enhanced integration with Microsoft® Office and fluid, drag-and-drop interface, this latest release cements MindManager as the go-to software for business professionals to quickly capture, organize and reorganize information to discover new avenues of thought and new solutions – and then put those solutions immediately into action and stay ahead of the competition.

“By organizing information visually, MindManager fits the way I work and serves as a destination for me to be more productive and effective,” says Corey Sherman, Principal at Sullivan, Cotter and Associates, Inc.  “If you can think, MindManager can help you work better.  And with an ever-expanding list of features and functionality, the new MindManager Version 9 solution has more ‘ooomph’ than ever!”

MindManager provides an intuitive visual framework for individuals and teams to capture information, analyze complex relationships and identify priorities.  Taking advantage of MindManager’s tight integration with Microsoft Outlook, Office, Project and SharePoint, Mindjet is helping users to accomplish more, ensure project success and improve communication by organizing and presenting information in a visual context.  In one clear, easily modified visual “map,” information from group thinking and the web can be combined with existing documents, files, meeting notes and emails.  This visual, flexible presentation of information improves business planning and fosters better collaboration among teams.

A main feature of MindManager is data import and integration with Microsoft Outlook, Office, Project and SharePoint, which enables users to take advantage of MindManager in the context of typical workflows. MindManager version 9 for Windows integrates with Microsoft Office 2010.

“Throughout history, a key leading factor in economic growth and wealth creation has centered around productivity and creativity to drive innovation,” said Scott Raskin, CEO of Mindjet.  “Our goal with MindManager Version 9 is to dramatically improve an organization’s creativity, project planning, performance and innovation.  Whether overloaded with information, solving a problem, working with a team on an important project, or wanting to communicate more effectively, MindManager Version 9 is simply a must–have.”

Key Features in MindManager version 9 for Windows:

• MindManager Slide Show – Enables users to create and present a series of slides based off map, tree and organizational chart layouts helping to align and organize information, ideas and strategies to be more productive.

• Microsoft Outlook Integration – Features more powerful integration with Microsoft Outlook tasks, emails, notes, calendar items and contacts and enables individuals to easily assign priorities, filter on priority, and drag and drop content for better organization.  Dynamic branches of Outlook tasks can be added to maps and visualized in MindManager’s integrated Gantt chart.

• Microsoft PowerPoint Integration – Users can now easily export content from MindManager into PowerPoint slides to accomplish more, faster.
• Microsoft Project Integration – Improved integration allows for exporting of plans created within MindManager as Microsoft Project files.
• Resource Utilization – To help ensure your plan’s success, users can better understand which resources are over or underutilized.

• Gantt Chart View– Individuals can view task and project plan timelines in MindManager’s integrated and synchronized Gantt chart. Updates can be made to maps by adjusting the Gantt chart or by making changes directly into a map.

MindManager version 9 for Windows will be generally available on August 10 in three languages: English, German and French, and can be purchased through Mindjet.com for $349.

Supporting Resources

• Hear what individuals and organizations have to say about Mindjet
• Follow Mindjet on Twitter to learn more: http://twitter.com/Mindjet
• Learn more about Mindjet on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mindjet
• See the post on MindManager version 9 announcement on our Dutch Chapter site.

Olin is a results-driven, technology sales and marketing professional with experience building market presence and success for emerging companies. He has demonstrated ability to drive strong and sustainable revenue growth in both domestic and international markets. Olin has for the last 3 years been the General Manager of CS Odessa in the Americas, an innovative developer of visual personal productivity products based in the Ukraine, whose responsibilities include sales, channel development and marketing for the Americas.

Prior to CS Odessa, Olin was responsible for sales at Mindjet for the Americas and Asia Pacific for nearly 5 years. Olin has had a number of senor sales, marketing and business development roles in companies ranging in size from Fortune 500 to start-up. Olin is also a frequent contributor to the CS Odessa company blog “CSO: The World of ConceptDraw Products” at http://mapthink.blogspot.com/ and can be reached at oreams@csodessa.com.  Wallace Tait: Visualmapper

The Human Side of Data

Mind mapping. Visual mapping. Business mapping. These are all information management strategies that have a bit of a relationship to one another. The primary focus behind each of them is to get something accomplished—create a process, make a plan. There are lots of tools that can help with this—each of which might present information in different graphical forms. Software applications that map out processes and plans using a radial format, though, have been getting lots of attention lately. Users say there’s something about them that seems to make it easier to think quickly, creatively, and strategically.

Visual information mapping applications can be used to do an endless variety of things: from managing new product releases or developing a testing process to planning a home remodel or writing a novel. But if I was to put my finger on the one general thing they do very well, I would say it is to organize human thinking in a visual format that‘s easy to grasp, and that puts the content into a hierarchical order that allows you to use and reuse the information to do your job more creatively and efficiently.

User testing versus lab testing:

I’ll be the first to agree that very little hard scientific evidence supports my contention about the value of radial placement of information or mind mapping. But there is lots of very positive user feedback. Three such comments in particular give me the confidence I need to market and sell this kind of software—which I’ve been doing successfully for the past ten years.

The first comment is one I hear a lot when I ask users if they’ve told other people about mindmapping: “Are you kidding? This is my secret advantage, my competitive edge. Why would I want to level the playing field?”

Then there is the blunt, but very human, observation from dedicated mind mappers that they don’t want to introduce the software into their organizations because “my company doesn’t deserve the benefits you get from mind mapping.”

And then there was the sort of compliment my wife permitted mind mapping tools. My wife is a huge auto racing fan – and of one team in particular. One evening I came home and told her I’d learned that a rival racing team had bought a copy of our mind mapping software and were probably going to use it to work through their race and preparation strategies. Unbeknownst to me, my wife bought a copy of our product and sent it, along with a note, to her team—explaining that she suggested they use it to plan smarter race strategies. But she never heard back from them. Maybe it’s just a coincidence that this same team has since had to merge and be reorganized. Maybe they never installed her gift.

A Short List of Criteria
With all of the visual mapping, mind mapping and business mapping solutions on the market, how do you know which one’s best suited to your needs? Based on my experience I have four suggestions for people considering different applications.

1)      The product has to be comfortable for you. Does it work the way you want it to work? Does the operation seem logical? Many products have two or three ways to accomplish the same goal. Is there a way that works for you?  Be wary of marketing spin. Trust your gut instincts.

2)      If you think you’ll need help, make sure you can get it from a human. Most companies say they provide “support.” Find out exactly what that means. For starters, see if you can get someone from the company to have a meaningful email or phone conversation with you about whether their product will meet your needs? Find out if the support you get before the sale resembles in any way, shape or form the support you can expect afterwards?

3)      Find out if the company is planning ahead. The product might meet my needs for the present time. But will it adapt to future requirements that may become standard? CS Odessa, for example, greatly extended ConceptDraw MINDMAP capability by integrating it into the ConceptDraw Office suite. This integration enables users to move seamlessly from project inception, to detailed planning, to comprehensive reporting and even to documentation. Our InGyre technology allows you to work the way you want to work, during every step of the process. Recently, CS Odessa has also introduced new collaborative technology based on Google Wave that enable groups of any size to work together in a shared, same-time edit mode to collect and organize the combined intelligence of the group.

4)      Finally, understand your total cost of ownership. What are you getting and what is it going to cost you? If 1, 2 and 3 are in place; then it is important to look at how much it’s going to cost you over time to use and maintain the application.

With so many choices on the market, it can be hard for someone to decide which product is right for them. Price is always an important consideration. The bottom line is to understand what you need in a product, compare alternatives against a clear—and short—list of criteria, and then make your best decision. Of course I always suggest you start looking here http://www.conceptdraw.com

The ugly truth about visual mapping and list-making

Power Markers for MindManager solves the incompatibility between maps and lists

In recent years “Mind Mapping” software has expanded rapidly into productivity management and information management, with most products offering some form of graphical labelling and task management capabilities ranging from simple icons through to fully featured Gantt charts. But the tree-shaped diagrams created by mind mapping software are poorly adapted to handling these extra layers of information hung on the topics. How does this problem arise, and how can we solve it?

Let’s go right back to basics.

The parent topic sets the context for subtopics

A topic in a map has a number of “properties” that combine together to represent something meaningful. Its primary “property” is the parent topic to which it belongs. This sets the context, which delivers the majority of the meaning in a map. It is the visualisation and manipulation of context that sets visual mapping apart from most other ways of conveying information, and adds substantial value.

The second most important property is the topic text itself. When combined with the context of its parent, the topic becomes something meaningful that can be understood, explored, expanded upon or examined as part of a pattern. (I’m not going to debate the “one word” rule for mind maps here.)

So far, so good – this is standard mind map visualisation. But with the advent of mind mapping software, we can also hang lots of other information (or properties) to our humble topic, for example

• converting it into a full-specified task, with a percent complete value, a priority, a duration, a start date and a due date,
• adding extra tagging information such as keywords or task resources,
• adding extra text (Topic Notes),
• adding named visual markers (icons),
• adding images,
• adding text or fill colours, boundaries or shapes, or
• adding a hyperlink or an attached document.

A topic with too much information assigned to it

These properties enrich the topic and tell us more about it. Further, using the same marker on several topics creates a grouping across the map, so that the presence of a marker tells us that the topic also belongs to other groups, e.g. “Priority 1 items” or “Finance Department items”. The advantage of these properties is that you can apply several of them to the same topic; a topic can belong to multiple groups at the same time. Compare this to the primary property of context (the parent topic); a topic can have one and only one parent, unless it is the central topic, which does not have a parent. Topics cannot have multiple parents – after all, this is what makes a tree a tree. So it is very handy to have so many ways for a topic to be a member of other cross-tree groupings as well.

This is where mind mapping software starts to cough and splutter. The primary property, context, is very well supported. We can surf around maps, drill down into trees, expand or collapse detail as we wish, visualise patterns, summarise things and literally change the meaning of a map simply by moving topics around. We can visually “understand” the relationships in a map through the lines that connect topics together. We can play around with contexts, reinforce our knowledge and create new insights. Mind mapping software offers a rich and rewarding set of controls for working with the context property. But the picture is very different when it comes to understanding our map in terms of its other properties, indicated by icons or other markers. Typically, there are only a couple of options:

• We can look at the map and visually recognise markers, with reference to a legend to explain them if necessary (and if available).
• The software can help us to look in a more focused way by filtering out the parts of the map that don’t carry the markers we are interested in (unless they are in the path to the central topic). This removes the context surrounding the topics of interest, making them easier to spot.

In both cases, we need to change our mindset to stop looking at the map as a whole, and try to see it as a list – but the list only exists in our minds. Whichever way you slice it and dice it, the information in our map is still a tree, dominated by the context property. It relies on our concentration and visual diligence to ensure that we don’t overlook something important. But take care – there are many ways that a topic can be out of view; it might be outside the visible area, or filtered out, or folded up in a collapsed tree. There is no safety net.

That’s easily solved, I hear you say. All you need to do is make lists in your map – a section for things to do today, a section for critical information, a section for open questions and so on. This works perfectly if you can devise a way to organise your stuff so that each item clearly belongs in only one place. Remember that a topic can have one and only one parent. This is fine for natural hierarchies, such as a breakdown of countries, counties, towns and districts. But the majority of the real world is not as nicely organised as this. Most of the things we deal with belong on more than one list at the same time. If I have promised to finish a report for my boss by next Friday, which list does it go on? The list of actions? The list of commitments to other people? The list of things to do by next Friday? The list of things connected with my boss? The list of reports to write? How about all of the above? If you are constructing lists within a map, this last option is not a practical one unless you are patient enough to create the same topic in five different places – and the novelty of doing that will vanish the first time you get it wrong.

The conclusion is that visual maps are perfect for the big picture, and for making sense of information by organising it, summarising it, surfing it and manipulating it. But visual maps become much less ergonomic if you want to keep track of the detailed properties of topics. Lists are far better for taking action and quickly assessing what needs to be done. So how do we get reliable lists out of our maps, without compromising the structure of the map itself?

If you haven’t already guessed, this is what Power Markers for MindManager does. Power Markers is an extension for MindManager for Windows that adds a “Hot Lists” task pane, and automatically extracts lists from your maps. So you get not one but two views of the information in your map; the visual map for the big picture and navigation by context, and the cross-tree groupings that exist within your map, based on the map markers that you have used. These lists group and sort topics by every property except context – colour, task status, icons and so on. Because this is a set of lists, rather than a tree of topics, it is normal for the same topic to appear on more than one list at the same time – so your “Write report” item is simultaneously shown on five lists, and you can find it by reviewing any one of them. When it is completed and checked off, it disappears off all five lists again.

A dashboard map with dynamic status indication

Hot Lists of topics, generated by Power Markers

Power Markers can do a lot else besides. It can “roll up” important information to the centre of your map, greatly reducing the risk that you might overlook something vital. You can also design your map marker groups in the map itself, and make their definitions a richer part of your map. Power Markers Standard Edition will create up to 15 lists per map, and does not require a license key.

If you use MindManager to organise information or keep track of activities, Power Markers will help you to get a lot more value out of your maps by being able to see them from two perspectives at the same time.

Resources

Power Markers demonstration map on BiggerPlate: www.biggerplate.com/viewmap.asp?id=904

Download Power Markers for MindManager 7 or 8 for Windows:  http://www.olympic-limited.co.uk/mindmanager-add-ins/power-markers/

Free white paper on designing Dashboard maps with MindManager: http://tinyurl.com/34mlzos

The Beyond Mind Mapping blog: www.beyond-mind-mapping.com

Copyright © Harport Consulting 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Wow, yes WOW: After viewing some of the training videos and release media regarding NovaMind 5, and I have to say it again WOW.  And yes I use NovaMind 5 too.

Gideon King, the creator of NovaMind delivers an awesome and totally new framework for version 5. It delivers numerous new tools, methods and expands upon the mindset associated with NovaMind.

The information manager of this century now has a Mind mapping product in NovaMind 5 that is graphically sophisticated, extremely professional and effective to the nth degree.

I really do believe NovaMind 5 raises the bar for professional Mind mapping, and the many competing benchmarks in this arena are being eclipsed by this latest release.

NovaMind 5 covers personal productivity, academic enhancement and business uses at all levels of service, manufacturing and corporate.

If at all you’ve been a past user of NovaMind, you’ll notice a whole new UI, functions and capability for both platforms. The new and enhanced functions are numerous and this blog just won’t contain them all; so here’s a few of them from the Express, Pro and Platinum versions.

NovaMind Express Features:

Map Elements:

Create your mind map using a range of different shaped topics such as lines, rectangles and ovals. Use callouts to add extra information. Highlight and visually group topics using boundaries. Use floating topics to create separate mini mind maps. Attach free floating shapes, images and text

Media Library:

Make your mind maps look great by selecting from over 3000 high quality adornments and images right within NovaMind. The images are tagged with a large number of keywords making it easy to find what you are looking for. Take the media library with you and use it offline.

Advanced Layout Engine:

Focus on your ideas while NovaMind’s unique layout engine keeps your mind map compact and tidy. Fine tune the look of your mind map by using flexible topic orientation and advanced spacing options. You can also move any topic to exactly where you want it.

Intuitive & Easy to Use:

Forget distracting popup dialogs. With NovaMind you can use a familiar MS Office-like user interface to edit your mind map and see changes live. Keeps the flow of your ideas going while NovaMind takes care of the layout! Other applications add features upon features just to add another bullet point on their sales pages. We carefully design new features to provide a consistent look and feel.

Imports & Exports:

Conveniently import mind maps created in XMind and FreeMind. Import and export OPML and text files. More imports & exports are available in NovaMind Pro.

Hyperlinks:

Add multiple hyperlinks to your topics. Link to websites, files and folders.
NovaMind Pro & Platinum allow you to attach (embed) files.

Themes & Styles:

Create beautiful mind maps with ease. Experiment with different themes and try various color and font combinations.

Outline View:

Work with the Outline view and the Mind Map at the same time. Immediately see changes in both the outline view your Mind Map. Drag & drop topics within the outline view or even between the outline view and your Mind Map.

NovaMind Pro Features:

Multiple Mind Maps in a Document:

Create multiple mind maps in a single document to keep them conveniently together. Add, remove and reorder mind maps. Copy & paste mind maps between documents.

Advanced Imports & Exports:

Create your documents and presentations using NovaMind. Export to Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint. Import and export MindManager 7/8 mind maps.

Attachments:

Use NovaMind as your information hub. Attach as many files as you like to any topic. Attachments are automatically stored within the NovaMind file and can be opened from within NovaMind or extracted to become separate files.

Checkboxes:

Use NovaMind for your to do list. Add checkboxes to your topics. Automatically rollup checkbox states from sub-topics or use manual checkboxes. Get a full set of Project Management tools with NovaMind Platinum.

Plugins:

Extend the capability of NovaMind 5 by using Plugins. With NovaMind 5 we are introducing a new plugin system which allows developers to create new features and integrate their own products with NovaMind. We are already working with a number of partners on exciting Plugins.

NovaMind Platinum Features:

Project Management:

Manage your projects using NovaMind. Visualize (and print) task information such as priority, percentage complete, duration and start and end dates. Setup resources and assign them to tasks. Presenting and discussing your project using NovaMind will make it easy to understand at a glance. Access project reports and export the data to Excel. Import and Export Microsoft projects.

Presenter:

Get your message across clearly and concisely using the NovaMind Presenter. You will be able to glide over your Mind Maps and zoom into topics. Your audience will be able to easily understand the context and meaning of your presentation.
The NovaMind Presenter is currently in development. When you purchase your NovaMind Platinum license key, you will be eligible to receive the NovaMind Presenter as a free update when it is ready. As pioneers of presentation tools for Mind Mapping, we are completely redeveloping the NovaMind Presenter for NovaMind 5.

So there you have it, just a little taste of what you get with NovaMind 5. You’ve just got to grab a copy RIGHT NOW!!

Wallace Tait: Visualmapper

Just completed reading Mark Wogan’s excellent publication named Crystal mapping; The BIGGER Picture. The book gave me quite a few “AHA” moments, but I want to focus on one that’s impacted me.

IT’S THE POWER OF 3

A really good case was made for limiting the foundation of how we may best initially create our Visual maps. The power of three refers to being confined to the core, first level and second information levels. And looking further at the structure of Crystal mapping, I agree with mark’s finding; here’s why.

Mark states; “the number three wasn’t selected based on any magic number theory, urban myth or mystical quality but on its practical real world ability to present information in a simple context”.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel the 19th-century philosopher put forward a three tiered evolution of thought from thesis to synthesis via antithesis in aid of the pursuit of logic. And in language and grammar; three elements are needed to form a simple proposition; a subject, a predicate and a copula.

Three keeps on popping up as if it is some kind of mystical adage of getting your point across. I even find myself using the three elements stated above to get my point across most of the time. I state the Visual mapping arena is made up of three arenas; personal, academic and business. I could also state the personal has 3 sub arenas of productivity, motivation and communication, and that academia has 3 sub arenas of school, college and university, and further define business to have 3 sub arenas of service, industry and corporate. OK, I’ve just blabbed on about 3, three, III; but it does feel so comfortable to restrict to three elements, and from that point onwards to express sub associations.

So, it does appear three seems to offer something, at least anecdotally, in support of qualities as a communication method.

7 (+ or – 2) is also thought of as being a magic number relating to communication based on George Miller’s work in his 1956 paper The Magical Number seven, plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information.

There has however been a great deal of misunderstanding of what was meant regarding the use of seven in communication. Many have taken 7 as the standard number of units for communicating anything.

7 points on a slide, 7 words to a line, 7 paragraphs on a page; using 7 in such a format seems to be taking things too far and doesn’t seem to be what Miller meant.

George Miller states 7 (+ or – 2) was a limit “for the discrimination of uni dimensional stimuli (pitches, loudness, brightness, etc.) and also a limit for immediate recall, none of which has anything to do with the capacity to comprehend printed text”. According to Edward Tufte a deeper meaning of Miller’s work is “to suggest strategies, such as placing information within a context that extend the reach of memory beyond tiny clumps of data” http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0000U6&topic_id=1

Using three is a convenient and practical strategy to assist simple context. Putting information in context answers the following questions
• What is the point being made?
• Why is it important?
• How does it relate to me?

Delivering information in such a way enables authors and recipients to create, manage and exchange information processes quickly and easily. By adopting such an approach; the creative processes enable a bigger picture.

Another unit of three in context asks who where, and when?
• Who is responsible for it?
• Where is it to be found?
• When will it be done?

Setting organizational targets we have another contextual threesome, where objectives are communicated relating to responsibilities such as:
• What is my target?
• How does this fit in with my immediate superior’s target?
• How does this fit in with my immediate subordinate’s target?

By managing information within a simple power of 3 contexts; instant understanding is captured.

The power of 3 is experienced in and through using Crystal Mapping. It works by limiting information display to three levels within the visual workspace, presenting information initially within the simplest of contexts. Understanding is further built upon, by continuing to add more levels, while retaining the graphical display of information within units of three.

It is essential to make sure that wherever you are in the organization structure, you and your team are aware of the organizational objectives. To grasp the bigger picture context you need to see how objectives fit into the overall organizational structure.

Crystal Mapping always starts with the purpose at the core or centre of the map it is easy to always see how your ‘piece of the pie’ fits in with overall information objectives.

Mark Wogan believes the best way to achieve success is to make sure everyone understands the overriding mission or plan and then to let them get on with it. The Crystal mapping power of three structures enables clarity, concept in an unambiguous visual format.

So; I encourage you to grab your copy of Mark Wogan’s publication and experience your very own AHA moments. The product is developing at an agile rate, and it’s certainly going to evolve into a very formidable information management app for the forward thinking Information manager.

Here’s a youtube video of getting started with Crystal Mapping:

Wallace Tait: Visualmapper
www.visualmapper.org

A unique and powerful feature of the MindGenius Gantt view is the ability to use the map explorer to focus on specific areas of the project plan. Since it is not unusual to have a project plan of a couple of hundred lines or more, this makes it much easier to plan and schedule projects, easily switching back and forward between the map and Gantt views which are continually in sync with each other.

The Gantt view also integrates with the MindGenius quick filters, simplifying project management by allowing the user to quickly identify tasks assigned to each individual, tasks due or overdue, milestones, critical path and status.

MindGenius 3.5 is free to all current V3 customers and will be available during the week of March 15th 2010.

The Gantt view further extends MindGenius’ reputation as the mind mapping tool for business. They have also added the Gantt view to MindGenius Education as a cost effective solution for the management of student, school, college and university projects.

For more detailed information on MindGenius, please visit http://www.mindgenius.com/.

The term “method neutral” is an oxymoron, and IMO; it is a genius breakthrough approach to challenging existing perceptions to the data, information and knowledge development processes.

Graphical information management has been around for a while, and it has unfortunately continued to be restricted to the fringes of the mainstream. This is to a degree, due to a certain radiant technique being touted as being the “one size fits all” solution.

A single hierarchy while being the basis for reasonably effective graphical communications, has become rather passé when assessing the needs (read demands) of the forward thinking information manager.

Multiple modes of expressiveness are now needed within products that offer end to end capabilities that combine various information management modes. Convergence is the key request from information management expressed within corporate business.

Method neutral offers flexibility in a convergence model, cutting through the one size fits all approach.

The three main arenas for information management are; personal, academic and business. While looking at the overwhelming range of software offerings currently available, we simply have way too many choices. Choice is (we are told) good and competition is what motivates creativity; so why do we keep on getting the same old same old from the Mind/Visual mapping developers?

Method neutral has its origins at Mindsystems, the developer of Amode, and version 2 was recently released. Amode gives the user the ability to experience a further enhancement of method neutral in a completely new functional approach within the product.
This new function is called ThoughtPad; offering the user the ability to associate almost any kind of graphical expressiveness that can be associated with the central mode of the database knowledge tree.

The genius of this new approach; we are no longer constrained by the many singular formats that are either Mind, concept, flow, argument and others offered by some software developers. We can simply use them all, and then some.

Information is the core function and importance that is contained with the knowledge database tree mode. Having the ability to associate almost any kind of graphical idea and visual thinking within the ThoughtPad; giving the user absolute freedom and comfort of knowing they are not constrained by a singular format.

Mindsystems has taken this opportunity of shaking up the status quo, and I do believe this is exactly what is needed within the Visual information management arena at this time.

As a forward thinking Information Handler, IMO there’s 4 main points of your future success to consider.
1. The need for a stable desktop knowledge database product
2. The need for absolute freedom of graphical expression
3. The need for control of all of your processes that support your particular system
4. Seamless integration into to your business/project management mainstream

Mindsystems Amode offers the user these and more. Of course there are more points to consider; it is however very clear though that Mindsystems Amode has developed an information management tool in Amode that offers an end to end complete package for the forward thinking information handler.
The information management arena offers some wonderful products, and I firmly believe Mindsystems Amode takes the lead for the business/project management approach to Personal, Academic and Business knowledge handling.

I certainly look forward to experiencing the further evolution of this product; it has a very light footprint, an amazing stable database load. The new Mindsystems ThoughtPad will take the Visual mapping arena into a whole new mindset of flexible graphical expressiveness.

The status quo shift is CHANGE; nothing to be scared of and much to embrace. So; do you want the same old same old, or do you want to move forward with confidence, control and flexibility?

Wallace Tait: Visualmapper
www.visualmapper.org

John England the founder of Mindsystems is the consummate professional. I have known John for a relatively short span of time, and in this period he has indeed enabled me to glean much from his illustrious past relating to his careers. John has worn a few hats, and has performed his tasks with great success to the nth degree of professionalism. His initial business success has enabled both him and his team to create a strong Mindsystems presence within the business management arena.

Mindsystems have developed a new concept called “Method Neutral”. Once you get your head around this, you’ll receive an “aha” moment for sure; I know I did; so read on and receive yours.

… Tell us about your involvement and work at Mindsystems?

I am the executive director and founder of Mindsystems which means that I’ve relinquished much of the day to day running of the company to other managers far more competent than I. Seriously though; this means that I can spend my time in more innovative and entrepreneurial ways than I was able to in the past.

My major focus these days falls into three distinct yet overlapping areas: making new industry contacts, focusing on developing Amode .and constantly researching new trends in information handling.

… Give us a brief history of the organization?

I spent 16 years in the Royal Navy and in the late 70s was posted to the Australian Navy as an exchange officer and training assessment expert in their Educational Research Unit at HMAS CERBERUS … that is how I discovered one of the world’s best kept secrets: Australia. In 1983 I left the Navy with the intention of returning to Australia. Initially I had a couple of jobs as the National Training Manager of multinational companies, but at the same time started a part-time business importing computer-based training into Australia. After a couple of years, a major Australian university started using our company name and as I decided discretion was the better part of valour, we came to a financial arrangement to relinquish the name. At that point “Teamlink Australia” came into existence and soon gained an Australia wide reputation for excellence in corporate training and consulting in areas such as management, leadership, communication plus team development and selection.

While in the Royal Navy I did a full-time Master’s degree at Sussex University and there met a young lecturer by the name of Tony Buzan, later to become world-famous as the father of mind mapping. So it is perhaps understandable, that I have always been extremely interested in visual techniques in general and mind mapping in particular. However paper mapping caused me considerable frustration as my mind tended to function far more quickly than I could draw. I was therefore delighted when I spotted a piece of software on the Internet called “MindMan” written by a young German engineer, Mike Jetter. This was the first translation into English and the help files were extremely entertaining, but not in the way intended by the authors! I was so happy to see the arrival of this innovative software that I offered to put the help files into more formal English. That started a long-term association with the now internationally recognized company “Mindjet” and their MindManager software.

I used MindManager extensively in the training and consultancy, and this led to one of those “blinding flashes of the obvious”. I suddenly realized that the exceptionally good living I was making was solely dependent on my ability to stand in front of corporate clients. I had tried creating links with other consultants, but soon came to realize that most consultants are terrified of someone stealing their intellectual property. This is something I have never been able to understand as, while you must protect intellectual property, I have always found it to be of considerable advantage to be open in sharing with other people. This is a principle I have applied through my business career and it has reaped handsome rewards. So, I was faced with the issue that I could not really “multiply myself” so what was I to do?

I had to do something that either multiplied me as an individual or did not depend on me standing in front of clients. This was in the early 90s, and I decided to start selling “MindMan” as it was called then on this newfangled thing called “the Internet”. All my friends and business colleagues thought I was crazy. This business grew and grew and eventually 3 years ago we changed the name of the company from Teamlink Australia to Mindsystems, as we felt is this more represented what we were about.

… Tell me about the “Method Neutral” approach you now take to software design

Method Neutral is described as “multiple modes of information expressed within a flexible workspace”. We developed the Method Neutral concept in response to our frustration towards the “one size fits all” approach of many software companies. For example there are those that would have you believe that the mind map is the centre of the universe. I would suggest that the true centre of the universe is not mapping (or any other particular technique) but rather the information itself. Now please do not misunderstand me, I am a great fan of mind mapping, but in its place. Let me give you an example of what I mean: without a doubt mind mapping is superb when it comes to the initial scoping of an idea or project or for generating a creative approach to a situation. However the situation changes dramatically as the map grows and becomes larger. It is quite easy to reach a point where the information is hidden behind the technique of mind mapping. Quite simply large maps are very difficult to manage even when filtering techniques are applied to the map.

This led us to the Method Neutral approach to software development. To restate what I said earlier, we believe that information handling software should be designed with the clear intention of making information the centre of the universe, not the presentation technique: hence the concept of Method Neutral.

… You recently developed a new information management product called Amode; tell us about it and what it can do for us?

Mindsystems Amode was developed from our existing product KnowledgeLink Pro V5. This product itself was developed because of the significant difficulties people experience with converting large mind maps into more practical applications such as reports and the difficulty of merging multiple maps having similar concepts. However, Amode is light years ahead of the original product in that it has over 60 improvements and a completely new interface. Amode V1 was launched in May 2009 and received a very enthusiastic reception. We are now well into the development of Version 2.

The really significant part of the development was an almost fanatical application of Method Neutral. Another principle which was kept in mind was the model of Chaos Theory. This theory does not really say that the world is in chaos, but rather we are surrounded by a great deal of data and information in random and constant motion and that from time to time patterns (emerging trends) form. Thus Amode is designed to handle information in a neutral way and make the identification of patterns simple and straightforward. What is so important about these patterns … well two things: First the identification of “knowledge” and second the identification of emerging commercial trends … in fact staying ahead of the curve! The graphic below expresses what I mean:

There are some subtleties in this model, one of which is a fundamental fact that “knowledge” is by its very nature “transitory”. This perhaps goes against conventional wisdom, but it seems to me that as the circumstances change (Data changes and new patterns emerge) what could be seen as knowledge today may not be so tomorrow. If you disagree, simply look back at the debates designed to support the theory that the sun revolves around the Earth! Copernicus was almost banished as a heretic for suggesting otherwise.

I think perhaps I should say something about the name we chose for the product “Amode”. The idea is simple: the information is presented in a neutral format and the user is offered a choice of “modes” in which to view and manipulate the information. At this point there is the option of the familiar tree mode, a calendar mode, the Gantt mode and the unique Briefcase mode. We have currently commenced the second phase of Amode development and I can assure you there will be some very interesting visual modes added to the repertory. One very important feature is that the user can switch between these modes with a single mouse click; in fact I would describe the general direction of Amode development as “turnkey”.

… Method Neutral, IMO, as a new concept and definition shall undoubtedly impact the information management arena; how will it impact information handling?

You’re quite right in saying that this concept and its definition of information handling are set to have a big impact on people’s perception of the way in which information should be handled and its importance in the systems approach.

Firstly let’s consider what we mean by “systems approach”. We could get very complex, and academic, about such a definition but in reality it comes down to doing things in a systematic manner. This implies that there is definable process in everything we do, which is fine providing the process does not get in the way of the information. I have previously talked about the importance of mind mapping in projects scoping and creativity, but I’ve also talked about the actual process of mapping eventually acting as a shield or constraint to a user where the information is hidden. The Method Neutral approach is not restricted to software development, but the way in which organizations tackle information handling, meaning the existence of the information will be transparent while allowing instant (one click) choices of the best way to present that information dependent on the circumstances.

On reflection it seems to me that there are only two major factors in both personal and business development namely “information” and “process” … both of which Amode was born to handle! For example the day starts with a process in that most of us have an exact routine for getting ourselves ready for work. So it is for most aspects of business and once we have identified and documented a process we can logically examine it and possibly improve it. You do not have to be a “process expert” to do this with Amode.

At the risk of being boring I would once again point out that definition of Method Neutral which is “multiple modes of information expressed within a flexible workspace”. I have been amazed at people’s reaction to this simple concept in that almost everyone seems to have one of those “Aha” moments when they suddenly “get” the critical concept that the information is the centre of the universe and not the presentation technique. I fully appreciate that we will meet considerable opposition from those entrenched in a particular visual presentation process, be that as it may, our experience and people’s reaction to this concept leads me to believe that it will be the way of the future for information handling.

… List the environments where Mindsystems Amode is being used?

That is a difficult question for two reasons, firstly Amode has been on the market to date for six months, and secondly because its use is only limited by imagination. The global answer to this is that everything we do in life is controlled by process as I mentioned previously. The interesting thing is that most people hardly vary from their normal daily routines and while this may sound inflexible it also means that it brings a measure of continuity and statistical certainty to many events. So does this mean when we apply the concept of “process” to industry and business that we create an inflexible environment? The answer is a definite” no”; providing you build flexibility into the process. In other words, process can imply inflexibility, but only when the process is imperfectly constructed. Of course there are certain processes in which you do not enable flexibility, examples such as dealing with compliance requirements regarding safety, quality, environment and taxation.

So, what is the connection between process and Amode? The connection is that Amode is arguably the best tool ever produced for constructing process in a simple to understand and logical manner. These processes are seen in such things as the “Amode Solution” which consists of a number of related or discrete projects. One of the aims of the original design process was to allow a number of projects (or processes) to be worked on simultaneously while being manipulated in a single workspace. Amode achieves this very effectively.

In the short time Amode has been commercially available; multiple licenses have been sold to groups varying from a tertiary institution in California to a major defense contractor in Australia. Naturally, as we are in the early adoption stage, most sales go to farsighted individuals who are prepared to take a chance, or are intrigued by a new approach to an everyday situation. Most of you will be familiar with Geoffrey Moore’s famous book “Inside the Tornado”. The simple fact is that our original product, KnowledgeLink, was used mainly by innovators, and there are clear indications that this relationship between KnowledgeLink and Amode has enabled us to move directly to the early adopters. Moore’s model shows that Amode is approaching what he calls “the chasm” which lies between early adopters and the early majority. This is, of course, a very dangerous period for a software company and we need to tread with great care.

… What are the capabilities of your product?

Mindsystems Amode allows you to work in a logical and structured way.

Mindsystems Amode combines visual planning, information handling, project management & multi-task management all in one tightly integrated application. Over 60 new features as compared to the original KnowledgeLink Pro!

Mindsystems Amode key benefits are:

• Manage & organize information visually
• Robust Information Handling System
• MS Office® / Open Office Integration
• MS Project and MS Outlook Integration
• MindManager integration
• Full Project Management, Gantt Charting
• Powerful Filtering & Searching
• Alarms, Notes, Embed Attachments
• Work in groups in real time

Above all Amode allows the user to focus on Information and Process in an uninterrupted, elegant and intuitive manner.

… How do you differentiate Mindsystems Amode from the other leading visual mapping tools?

An interesting question Wallace! The short answer is that Amode uses the Method Neutral, where as the others do not. It really is as simple as that. Let’s be clear that I am not “knocking” other visual mapping tools: however I am saying that to my knowledge Amode is the only application which allows your information to be the constant focus without adding unwanted distractions. I repeat what I said previously and that is that the information itself must always be clearly visible and there must be the ability to switch to whichever presentation mode is appropriate with a single click of the mouse. As time goes on we will enable additional visual interfaces to Amode, but never at the expense of information clarity.

… How do you view the benefits of using Mindsystems Amode?

The benefits of using Amode can be summed up with five words: process, organization, control, efficiency and time-saving.

Process and time-saving, while being separate issues, are still intimately linked. This is well illustrated by an incredibly powerful feature in Amode and that is the “Template”. I know the concept of a template does not sound very exciting but in Amode whole projects and solutions may be pre-prepared and stored for instant use. When you couple this feature with an extensive ability for Version Control, you will understand that every project you start is in fact a flying start.

Organization and control are similarly separate but related. The combination of the presentation modes, a calendar, and extensive project management features means that time and resources (not forgetting cost) can easily and accurately be controlled.

However the major benefit of using Amode is a little more subtle in that it imposes a system based discipline on the user which aids clarity of thought and creativity. The whole interface has been designed to recognize that much of our daily and business life leans towards a left brained activity while recognizing that; engaging the right brain also brings maximum effectiveness and productivity. Another major benefit is that, getting into the habit of defining process has the inherent benefits of gradual quality improvement in that shortfalls and inconsistencies in process frequently become very obvious.

… What do you see in the field of visual mapping as trends going forward?

Another very good question Wallace and one which I know is dear to your heart. I believe we have come to a fork in the visual mapping highway. One group will vehemently defend the pure visual approach (of which mind mapping is a perfect example) while others accept the inevitable conclusion that must be drawn when considering and using the Method Neutral approach.

I make no apology for repeating that I am a great supporter of visual techniques, particularly mind mapping. However I believe the visual techniques themselves have a critical place, but only in specific circumstances. That does not mean that one visual technique is the correct one in all situations. This is the real strength of Method Neutral, in that it recognizes, unadulterated clarity of information is paramount at all times, so that the appropriate visual presentation technique should be used, but only, repeated “when appropriate”.

Anyone who has tried to create extensive information databases using techniques such as mind mapping knows the inherent difficulties. To continue down that path where information and knowledge databasing is unimportant seems to me to be irrational. I am sure you have heard the definition of insanity: “doing what did not work in the past and expecting a different outcome”

So in summary: we certainly need a range of visual techniques to display our information, however to display the information, not to manage it. We need a neutral approach to information handling. So there will be two paths: those who “get it” and those who don’t!

… What are your customers saying about Mindsystems Amode?

Here are a couple of examples:

• For a leading Australian Planning Expert:

“It is rare for me to write to a software vendor in congratulations for a product, but I must thank you for developing Amode. I am a long term loyal user of Mindjet MindManager used in conjunction with GyroQ and other add-ons such as KnowledgeLink (which I use rarely) but I cannot overstate how excited I am by Amode. I will continue to use MindManager as well but there is something about the Amode interface and functionality that grips me. I have been using it non-stop for personal productivity and strategy planning in my role as a financial planner.”

• Sandie Terry (Director of IT, Franklin County, VA)

“I just want to applaud you on Amode!!! What a fabulous product!!! I have been a faithful user of Mind Manager for a few years now – even participated in v8 beta. So, when I ran across information on Amode I was intrigued and downloaded the trial. At first I was a bit lost and thought — this is too complex. However, I took a little time to scan the user guide and within about 3 days I became totally dependent on this information manager! I am a Technology Director for local government and manage many projects at a time and Amode is FANTASTIC support for those efforts!! THANK YOU for an excellent software tool!!!!”

… What can we expect from further development of Mindsystems Amode?

As you can appreciate this is definitely “a commercial in confidence” area and I am not prepared to go into detail. Shall we just say that a number of extremely interesting visual interfaces will be added to Amode without compromising the Method Neutral approach.

… Where should a potential user of Mindsystems Amode purchase the software and what’s the cost?

The Mindsystems website is http://www.mindsystems.com.au and a direct link to the Amode micro site is http://www.mindsystems.com.au/products/amode/index.php and the blog and community forums can be found at http://www.methodneutral.com.

Mindsystems Amode currently costs:

$181.23 USD

$187.06 CAD

€122.76 EUR

£114.56 GBP

¥16,309 JPY

$220.00 AUD inc Tax for Australian customers

Educational and volume discounts are also available.

Wallace Tait: Visualmapper
www.visualmapper.org

Sitting in any vehicle; what’s the centre of visual control (Apart from keeping your eyes on the road PLEASE)? It’s the instrument panel, better known as the “dashboard”. Every vehicle has one, we require them and they give us an accurate measurement of performance and capability.

Consider the vehicle analogy while using information mapping software. It makes perfect sense for the information manager to use a dashboard to measure key process variables (KPV”s) within business.

Have you considered a dashboard approach as a “single point of access” to all of your KPV”s while using the tools, methods and mindset of visual mapping? Another pertinent question may be asked of the developers of visual mapping software. Why is a dashboard approach unavailable in most of the applications that utilize a mind mapping approaches to information management?

A visual map can, when used effectively, be an ideal tool for graphically communicating ideas and gaining team buy in right at the genesis of a project; and as a dashboard, an excellent way to graphically track the progress of any project. While a visual map is extremely effective as a communication tool, it’s much more effective and powerful when used as, or synchronized with a dashboard.

ConceptDraw Office is a product suite that, in our opinion, has a very unique and powerful dashboard function that enables tracking and reporting of critical KPV’s within a business management project.
Analyzing CD Office through the eyes of a busy project manager; the power of the dashboard function is evident. For those of you who may not be familiar with ConceptDraw Office; it consists of three distinct applications:

All of this is supported by the CS ODESSA InGyre technology; the tool that seamlessly synchronizes the information exchanges between the three products within CD Office. In any business there are many shift points where data is transformed to meet particular audience requirements. InGyre Technology Adds Value at any Stage of a Business Process. InGyre Technology supports delivery of information in an optimal visual manner for specific audiences.

CD Office provides a turnkey approach to creating, managing and exchanging information and knowledge, while easily generating reports and utilizing the graphical power of the product. Using the “Generate Reports” function, the project manager can generate an impressive report of KPV’s within seconds.

The process from mind mapping your project in CD MindMap and sending it to CD Project is processed with ease while using CD MindMap. Making it easy to communicate ideas and brainstorm project paths before moving into project management is what CD Office does well. You can determine which branches of your mind map are moved over to CD Project which gives you lots of control. Once you have synchronized the mapped information with CD Project you are in the full featured project management function and ready to go.

CD Project has several different views which are useful in planning your project. Most users of project management software will spend most of their time in the Gantt Chart as they set up the dependencies, schedule, and track the tasks. You can also view the Resource Sheet, Network Diagram, as well as Resource Usage from within CD Project.

The absolute power of ConceptDraw Office is the generation of the business system reports. Simply chose the “Generate Reports” function, and you can create highly visual reports to keep you and your team up to date with project status, capabilities and performance measures. Communicating project information in a clear and succinct manner ready enables the elimination of ambiguity for stakeholders and shareholders alike. So we encourage you to take a closer look at ConceptDraw Office, use the dashboard approach and manage your projects, while keeping them on time and within budget.

Brian S Friedlander PhD and Wallace Tait

I’m the manager of global communications for Mindjet. We sell our products around the globe and have offices on three different continents. My job is to maximize Mindjet’s awareness in all of these different locales, focusing on spreading the message of Mindjet’s leading position as a provider of personal productivity and collaboration solutions that visually connect ideas, information and people to save time, improve business processes and drive innovation.

2. Overview the history of Mindjet to date?

Mindjet started in the mid 1990s as a programming project by Mike Jetter centered on the technique of mind mapping. Shortly thereafter he formed a company to sell his new software. With more than 10 years of development, Mindjet is the worldwide leader in providing visual information mapping and collaboration solutions to users around the world.

3. Why do you believe Mindjet is and remains to be the leader within the Mind mapping arena?

Mindjet is used by more than 1.5 million professionals around the world in six out of every 10 of the companies listed in the Fortune 100. By dramatically boosting productivity and team effectiveness, Mindjet has a proven track record of delivering solid business value for our users. Surveys across several industries show that Mindjet can increase productivity by up to 25 percent by making meetings, common communications and project management tasks more efficient and effective. When potential customers evaluate all of their options, they’re consistently drawn to what works; oftentimes the best sales reference is word-of-mouth. Well, almost 70 percent of our current sales come this way: a friend or a colleague telling another friend or colleague. Those are excellent references for us, and they have helped us maintain our leadership position.

4. Would you agree the term “Visual mapping” encompasses moving beyond mere Mind mapping?

Mind mapping is a technique, primarily a brainstorming technique. Obviously, MindManager is a great brainstorming tool, but it’s much more than that as well: people use it to drive presentations, manage complex projects, streamline complicated business processes and reduce time-to-market. As you know, many people also use it to keep their day-to-day lives in order. Lots of individuals have suggested several different names for what MindManager can do for you or your business, so something other than “mind mapping” would be accurate in that it goes beyond just the act of brainstorming. As it stands though, “mind mapping” seems to be the term with which most people are currently familiar.

5. Has the term “Mind mapping” been an impediment to the further infusion of Mind Manager as a Visual mapping product?

Sometimes people hear the term “mind mapping” and it conjures up ideas completely unrelated to what MindManager actually does. But one of our primary jobs is to educate potential users about the benefits of Mindjet, and that’s where we focus our resources. Once people see the power of what Mindjet offers and how we offer significant business value by cutting down time-to-market, reducing the length of the sales cycle, or smoothly managing a difficult project, they don’t care what it’s called. They just know that we made a significant difference in their ability to achieve success!

6. The business and academic environments has been the focus of Mindjet for some time; what about a more personal approach to productivity and self development?

One of the great things about MindManager is its flexibility. That means that you can use it to manage an enormously complex project; like for example all of the logistics surrounding production of a new airplane being built by a major aircraft manufacturer. Or you can sit in your office, at home or at work, and map out your personal goals, and keep your day-to-day life on track. At www.mindjet.com, you can find many use cases from individuals who use Mindjet in business and academic settings and also personal productivity use cases. I would also encourage readers to check out our blog at http://blog.mindjet.com where our chief evangelist Michael Deutch often posts about ways to improve your personal productivity and accelerate your development.

7. Do you have any favorite add-ins you use for personal productivity and self development?

I think all of our add-ins provide potentially excellent added value for our users depending on their needs. All users need to do is to check out the Mindjet Partner Solutions site at http://mindjetsolutions.com/Default.aspx to see the many offerings that are available and find out which may be best suited for them.

8. Why so many third party add-ins for Mind Manager?

I think one of the strengths of any particular software platform is the vibrancy of its developer community. The thousands of new apps each month in the Apple App Store, for example, are a testament to the iPhone’s popularity. While we’re not on the same scale as Apple (at least not yet!), we’re proud of the strong developer community that has formed around MindManager and we’re constantly encouraging innovative developers to produce add-ins that will augment the already significant value of our products.

9. Have users asked for specific add-ins to be integrated to Mind Manager?

Whether it’s for features or add-ins, we constantly get requests from our users. If you have an idea for an add-in or a way to improve any Mindjet products we encourage you to send your ideas to products@mindjet.com.

10. Database qualities are being offered in competing benchmarks; can we expect a more robust approach to the data/information/knowledge management in future editions?

MindManager 8 in fact has a robust data linking ability that enables users to connect their MindManager maps to Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft SQL server, MySQL server, and .CSV format databases. You can find this feature in the Insert menu under “Databases.” We are always working on ways to improve Mindjet products, however, and anyone with any suggestions should send them to products@mindjet.com.

11. How has Web 2.0 impacted Mindjet’s approach to SAAS?

We have a technology that is especially well suited to the social and community-driven aspects of Web 2.0. At its very core, a MindManager map is a very powerful way of sharing information. That information could be for internal use only, as is the case in many business implementations. But when you want to communicate information to the outside world, you can create a Mindjet Player file that can be shared on any website, blog or wiki. This can have a tremendous viral effect. Mindjet recognizes the power of hosted services and their ability to take advantage of user communities online. In the future, you will see a new approach to way Mindjet tackles sharing capabilities online.

12. Mindjet Connect: has it fulfilled your expectations regarding collaboration?

We’re constantly impressed by what our customers are doing with Mindjet Connect. We currently have thousands of Mindjet Connect users who are logging in and collaborating with their colleagues. They’re using it actively to do everything from implementing new sales force training programs to the planning and execution of academic conferences to information dashboards for remote workers and more. Visual collaboration is a central tenet of what Mindjet is all about, and we’re continuing to invest in, develop and expand our collaboration capabilities for our users.

13. Can you (within reason) give us a glimpse of what to expect from Mindjet in future editions?

Well I can’t say specifically what we’re working on, but I can say that we have an exciting pipeline right now. It’s so exciting that I’m anxious to just let all the news out now, because it’s that cool. From collaboration products to solutions to the different platforms on which our software is available, we’re working on a little bit of something for everyone.

14. What are users saying about Mindjet Mind Manager?

We have tons of great quotes from our users. One of the best, I think, is from Stu Schmidt, currently vice president of sales at Unisfair and former Webex executive. Stu recently said that MindManager “is the only application that I’ve said is never optional. Wherever I go I have to have MindManager.” Stu has detailed for us the business value he gets from deploying MindManager throughout his organization, including the fact that MindManager has cut the length of his company’s sales cycle by 66 percent. When you get results like that for your customers, consistently and across the board, it’s not hard to find great testimonials!

15. What are the challenges for Mindjet, as we move towards a more monetized knowledge economy?

We prefer to see them as opportunities. As the knowledge economy continues to grow, knowledge itself becomes more valuable. As knowledge becomes more valuable, easy access to that knowledge will be very important. We believe we’re well positioned because Mindjet makes visual collaboration and productivity solutions that, at their core, provide people with instant access to both their own and their colleagues’ information, so they can make the best informed decisions to improve their bottom line, to make a sound organizational decision, or to simply organize their personal life so they can put themselves in positions to succeed. We believe Mindjet is an invaluable tool for the knowledge economy, and will become even more so in the future.

16. What is your elevator conversation piece regarding Mind Manager?

MindManager is a personal productivity solution that visually connects ideas, information, and people to help you save time, improve business processes, and drive innovation. MindManager enables you and your team work in real-time to organize, manage, and communicate ideas and information while solving real business problems.

17. What’s the link to your sales pages at Mindjet?

You can find our free trial page at http://www.mindjet.com/products/trials/default.aspx or you can find out how to contact Mindjet Sales at http://www.mindjet.com/store/contactsales.aspx

Wallace Tait: Visualmapper
www.visualmapper.org