Let us look at a list of all the items a CEO of a business might focus on, on a day-to-day basis and consider how a long list of responsibilities such as this can be managed and executed.
CEO Priorities September 2009
Sales/Marketing Department
Upgrade of Website
Training of New Sales Staff
Sales Performance Vs. Projected
Margin Analysis
Purchasing Department
Pricing Issues
Alternative Sources of Supply
Bankruptcy of Supplier X
Substitutes
Lead Times Vs. Desired
Distribution & Logistics Department
Inventory Control
Delivery Performance
Customer Service Levels
Costs Vs. Projections
New Transport Vehicles
Finance Department
Credit Control
Purchases Ledger
Receivables Ledger
Payroll
Financing Mix
IT Department
New Telephone System
Accounting System Upgrade
Introduction of Mobile Technology for Sales Force
Server Solution & Backup Routines
Staffing & Holiday Issues
CEO-Key Account Management
Major Client 1
Major Client 2
Major Client 3
Major Client 4
Major Client 5
CEO-Product Innovation
Testing New Product 1
Testing New Product 2
Sourcing New Product 1
Rolling Out New Product 1
Rolling Out New Product 2
CEO-Financial Management
Banking Relations
Investor Relations
Cash Flow Management
Financial Reporting
Staff Salaries & Industrial Relations
CEO-Supplier Management
Major Supplier 1
Major Supplier 2
Possible New Supplier 1
Possible New Supplier 2
Possible New Supplier 3
CEO-New Market Development
Analysis of Export Market 1
Analysis of Export Market 2
Acceptance Testing of New Market 1
Acceptance Testing of New Market 2
Negotiation of Terms for New Market 1
Business Planning
Board Meetings
Management Meetings
Management & Use of Information
How on earth can one individual deal with so many things on an ongoing basis and not drop the ball occasionally? Mind Mapping provides the answer.
Now take a look at the same information shown in a Mind Map. Which is going to be easier to manage at a glance?
Now the owner has an ordered list of all that is moving and shaking in the business on one single page. It allows him to actively manage every single key initiative and interact with his direct reports to ensure nothing slips by him. Every time something happens with any of the tasks or initiatives, the owner simply adds an additional item to the Mind Map but one step removed from the original item. A printed Mind Map like this one should constantly sit on the business owner’s desk to remind him of what is important and what requires attention in his business.
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There really is no limit to the uses of mind mapping in business. Take a look at some examples below:
Business Planning
If you don't have a background in running your own business or have a business degree you may attempt to start your business without a clear idea of where exactly you are going, or how you're going to get there. This is probably the single most common mistake made by entrepreneurs. If you want to travel from Boston to New York by car it would seem reasonable that you would consult a roadmap to show you the most effective way to get there before starting the journey. Without the roadmap, it is possible that you may head west rather than south and end up adding hundreds of miles to your journey and perhaps never reach New York at all. Running your business without a roadmap is equally futile because you are likely to continuously take the long way round and there is a high possibility that you will never reach the destination you had in mind.
Mind Mapping allows you to approach business planning in a structured way. You can look at each individual component of the business plan as a separate exercise to be brainstormed by you and your team. Full details of using Mind Mapping to develop your winning business plan are available on www.kkmembers.com home page.
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Business Health Check
Have you ever wanted to know how well your business is doing from the perspective of an outsider looking in? Do you know the things you should be asking yourself about how well your business is really performing? Do you want to pass a barometer over your business without the huge expense of getting a professional in to do it? Now you can, using Mind Mapping
The example below shows some of the key areas in your business that require scrutiny to determine if the business is being run properly and realising its full potential. Full details of using Mind Mapping to carry out a Health Check on Your Business are available on www.kkmembers.com home page.
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Communication
Rightly or wrongly, poor communication is often cited as a major issue within business – it leads to incorrect assumptions, misaligned expectations, apathy and general disquiet. Employees feel left out, claim to be unaware of what is going on and generally lose enthusiasm and motivation.
Poor communication is often blamed on the time required to continually keep everyone informed. However, it also results from failure to:
- recognise the different needs of each target audience
- recognise the most appropriate communication mechanism
- align the message to each target audience
- substantiate claims made, with credible backup
- provide timely and regular information
- test assumptions of how information is interpreted and communicated
Mind Mapping helps make communication a strength within your business – it allows you to quickly and easily assemble all facts and information relevant to the communication need, explore its relevance to each target audience and determine how best to convey your message.
Mind Mapping allows you to rapidly develop content which can be communicated as maps, or easily formatted as Microsoft® PowerPoint® or HTML files as appropriate – minimising the time and effort required to provide regular briefings. In addition, Mind Mapping provides the ability to interact with Microsoft® Outlook® or to send maps by e-mail.
With Mind Mapping, employees have an ideal mechanism to feedback information in a format that is easy to review and assess their understanding of the communication and the impact on staff.
The use of Mind Mapping in communicating provides a mechanism that with little effort provides the basis, justification and content of your message and a methodology to maintain excellent dialogue with the audience – overcoming one of the most significant challenges facing business.
Use our discount code MGPMSL at the checkout to save 5% off the purchase price.
The list of business uses for this amazing tool is endless.
- Planning
- Project Management
- Presentations
- Meeting Management
- Problem Solving
- Brainstorming
- Workload Management
- Report Writing
- SWOT Analysis
- Business Process Development
Mind Mapping has literally hundreds of different applications and it can turn you into a structured thinker as well as supercharging your business performance.
For free management advice visit http://www.youtube.com/user/NiallStrickland
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