Posted by on May 18, 2010 in
Uncategorized Not all personal mind maps are created equal. That is, not all of them follow the pattern that people think is the standard, where ideas are written down on a piece of paper in a sort of radiating pattern around one central word or concept.
This is indeed the first sort of map people create when they start their mapping training. It just isn’t the only kind. That radiating sort of pattern is called a spider map, and it is just one type of visual map among many.
Some mind maps are rather more linear, in fact. It’s not that they return the user to a linear mode of thinking; instead they take all the ideas that the person comes up with in their brainstorming and represents them in a way that shows how the ideas flow into or perhaps cause each other.
For example, a fishbone map is a central line leading to a final conclusion, with other lines angle into it on either side, in a fishbone pattern. Indeed, when someone is looking for causal relationships, they are much easier to see using these methods than by creating a less organized type of pictorial representation.
Other mind map cases might be those viewed as chains or circles. A chain might be just a series of loops, one after the other, showing events or causes that are connected to each other.
It might involve loops descending from each other in ever widening branches, like the roots of a tree, as a single event creates a cascade of repercussions. Another type of map displays itself as an actual circle, and would illustrate certain things that go in repeating cycles. These mind maps, especially the chains, can probably fall into the flow chart category as well.
Visual mapping allows people to find and illustrate relationships between all sorts of ideas. Whether you’re talking a spider map that encourages random brainstorming, a fishbone map that illustrates factors that contribute to an end result, or a flow chart that demonstrates a series of cause-and-effect chains, these many different kinds of personal mind maps rise to whatever the occasion demands.
After all, when using right-brain thinking and not being tied to the more rigid formats of the left brain, the results are bound to be creative and prolific.
Tags: business, concepts, mind maps, project management, visual mapping
Posted by on May 17, 2010 in
Uncategorized If you are a business owner then there are many potential pitfalls that you have to be aware of. These are usually to do with communications, financial, technological and security focused and they all require vast amounts of planning to make sure they are successful. Technology has shaped the way that business is done in the modern world and as a result it has brought a number of new opportunities but it has also increased the number of risks and threats that a business can face.
You may feel inclined to keep up to date with the latest advances in information technology when new software and programs are released. It might not always be a good idea to invest in the latest advancements in technology for your business because sometimes they simply aren’t needed for your business to work properly. To make sure that this doesn’t happen it is important to put together a well thought out plan for new investments.
The most sensible thing to do to secure financial investment for a new information system or software is to put together a business plan with a feasibility study to present to potential investors. This is vital when seeking an investment, as you need to show that it is feasible for your firm to purchase the technology and that there are no risks to the investor. Many businesses choose to write a business plan in house but it is often better to hire a professional writer for their business plan services as you’re more likely to get a professional plan. Using one of these writers can often save you time and money thanks to the wealth of experience and knowledge that professional business plan writers have amassed over the years.
Having a contingency plan for the potential loss of data is vital for todays modern businesses. Storing information on computer networks is now common place but in many instances it is still important to keep actual written documents. A lot of businesses don’t have the space to cope with storing large numbers of written documents. It is because of this that many companies are now using the services of secure document storage companies. These companies usually offer both offsite media storage and offsite secure document storage. The secure document storage is for paper documents that are stored in fire resistant containers and are managed by barcodes. Back ups of data that are stored on tape and digital disk are kept in media storage for an emergency incase computer systems crash or if data becomes corrupted.
When it comes to information and technology there are responsibilities that need to be taken care of. All private and public operations that use information technology or hold any potentially vulnerable data, could be attacked by hackers or criminal gangs. This is why it is vital to ensure information assurance and data centre design resilience to reduce the risk of threats. It is important to have a data centre design that has a good solid cabling infrastructure as well as good internal and external security but you also evaluate the human elements. To gain information assurance accreditation you need to make sure that your business complies with legislation regarding the management of the risk associated with the process, storage and transportation of information.
Tags: business, information technology, project management, security, Storage
Posted by on Feb 8, 2010 in
Uncategorized Getting started online can be time consuming for many business owners as they frequently face the issue of working ON the business versus IN the business.
Outsourcing tedious tasks can be the best time saving and money saving alternative for an business person even when just starting out. Investing money in this segment of your business can enable the business person to put energy ON the business rather than IN the business.
Outsourcing has become one of the best strategies that we can have in our business plan. It is now easier than ever to employ staff from overseas that have the skills to be able to do the projects that we either don’t know how to do or have the time to do.
Entrepreneurs need to be able to projects how much their time is actually worth. Often we spend so much time working on tedious projects that we really could hire out for much cheaper than what our time is worth. As the business owner, you should not be spending 14 plus hours a day on these types of tasks. Calculating your per hour rate will help you to create your outsource budget.
You can improve your business greatly by outsourcing the following types of tasks: writing articles and sale copy, the promotion of your site and business, customer support and bookkeeping tasks, research done online, site design and a lot of other projects that seem to take up much of your day.
Outsourcing can be like giving yourself a day to day raise when the management of your staff and their tasks are done correctly. Many times this type of work can be done faster and better by hired help and the outsourcing will actually translate to business profit as the money spent is such a good investment in the business.
One issue a lot of employers may have during the initial hiring of staff, is one of honesty. When you are managing a virtual staff, you will need a way of communication that clearly defines task and
hourly time reporting so that you can learn to trust them and move on to all the valuable aspects of your business without worrying about micromanaging your staff. They don’t want this either!
This issue is easily solved by incorporating some type of tracking employee time software within the tools that you use in your business. With today’s technological advancements, you no longer need a physical punch clock system to be able to do this. There are many great tracking employee time software options available that can be run completely online.
Employees from anywhere in the world can login to your timecard system as long as they have access to the Internet. Management can easily track the time and tasks of their virtual employees and ultimately an employee time tracking system will save you money.
Your initial concern and potential micromanagement inclination will decrease as you learn to rely on your system of time keeping to work for you and your business. Your staff will now be running like a well oiled machine and your business will grow and profit as a result of the great programs and strategies that you now have in place.
Learn more about employee time and attendance software, read articles, tips and resource suggestions that will help you to have a successful online business. Get started saving your business money today!
Tags: business and management, employee time management, project management, time and attendance software