Mind Mapping for Business

I couldn't wait until I had created a suitable page on our website to break the news.

Today I became an accredited trainer for one of my favourite mind mapping and planning tools - Matchware Mind View.

What makes Mind View stand apart, in my mind, from other similar tools? In one word: flexibility - and in that respect it is very much like Brightology itself!

All the usual mind mapping facilities are there - creating bubbles and linking them together hierarchically; adding notes, images and hyperlinks to bubbles, etc - but these are intelligently pulled through to the final document if/when you choose to export to a Microsoft Word or PowerPoint file.

Awesome as that is (and believe me, it is awesome when you compare the quality of these functions to their competitors), these are not the functions that make me go "wow".

Mind View can also be used for project management purposes, and this part of it looks and behaves much like Microsoft Project. You can assign start times/dates, durations, multiple predecessors (so tasks don't have to flow A>B>C, they can go A+B>C, etc), resource allocation, percentage completion, calculated fields and summated calculated fields! It has a Gantt view and a simpler time-line view, you can export to Project and Outlook, you can have it email your allocated resources (if you gave them email addresses), and tonnes more! All the while, these tasks still behave like ordinary nodes in a mind map too, so you can still add notes, images & hyperlinks!

I tell you, I was like a child in a toy shop at today's training session.

Obviously, if you are a Mind View user and you would like some training on it - or if you fancy a demonstration to whet your appetite - give us a call!

Responsive Training and Guidance in Plymouth

So today I am very pleased to announce a new service for businesses in Plymouth: Responsive Training & Guidance

Having spoken to many Plymouth businesses it became clear that they liked different aspects of our current training plans - full day workshops that can be customised and half day workshops that mean you can get back to work and start using your new skills quickly. One thing stood out though - people were only asking about one or two topics each.

With a bit of brainstorming and discussion we realised what was going on. People were asking specifically about topics with which they were currently having difficulties - so why not run a service where people can request some support for them? Responsive Training & Guidance was born!

Think of it like Tech Support, but rather than coming out to fix your computer (we can do that too, by the way - just ask), we come out to help you with your Office & Productivity software needs; we'll teach you how to achieve what you're asking for, or how to avoid the problems you're currently having.

Pricing and contact details are on our main website.

Obligatory Olympics Post

So, we're part of the way through the London 2012 Olympics now. What can we make of it all?

The BBC seem to be doing a fine job of covering all the events via the Red Button service... however, their iPlayer service is not designed to allow you to watch the Red Button broadcasts - only the regular channel broadcasts. They do provide all the coverage on their website, though: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/live-video

In some instances it can feel like you're going around in circles trying the specific coverage you're looking for. My advice would be to go to the Schedule Results Page and follow the links from there.

Herald Newspaper

Brightology has made it into the local press! See the link below for the full story:

http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Bright-ideas-improve-skills/story-16445783-detail/story.html

Networking & Recessions

Not of the technical kind, but of the business kind. Saw a number of new businesses launch their endeavours today - I wish them all the very best of luck. A recession can be one of the hardest times to launch a new business for a number of reasons, including the fact that people and businesses are less likely to splash the cash, so getting them to part with their money for your product or service is harder than ever. Also with so many people being made redundant, more and more are turning to self-employment as a possible means to make ends meet, so recessions indirectly bring more competition. Competition is, however, a good thing as it means products and services are going to improve in order to attract attention, and ultimately custom. It is hard, though. If you can make a business successful in a recession, you should be ready to take on the world when the economy recuperates.

Management Strategies

Busy day today. Morning session with local businesses on the importance of board meetings, what should be discussed and at what levels. I think the session may have been a little overwhelming for some who are just starting out, but the general reaction was good.

A Happy Dragon

A short training session early this afternoon on Dragon Naturally Speaking. The candidate seemed very impressed with Dragon's performance, even with only the minimal amount of voice-training provided.