Addressing the Canny Investor

What is Brainstorming?

Brainstorming has in the past been viewed negatively. All that paper stuck over walls, PC’s Fridges and any where else we can think of to “jog our memories” or when plan those simple or complex tasks from grocery shopping to increasing sales by 10% all with illegible notes with no structure or direction to them.

You spend many hours of planning something individually or in those dreaded business meeting of which most never gets achieved no matter how good the suggestions or ideas they get lost in translation with no real document process in place.

To some degree we all know brainstorming and what it is but nearly 95% of people or businesses do not know how to document it or the best way to use and place those ideas into there plans or business.

However effective brainstorming can increase productivity by making valuable breakthroughs from all involved.

When you have people bouncing ideas around that can be captured and filtered in an easy visual format you will guarantee higher productivity and ultimately profits with simple techniques that will create a feeling the whole team is involved and see in plain visual format exactly what needs doing to achieve those results.

The Usual approach to Brainstorming:

We have all used them! those darn post it notes, flip charts and huge white boards that look like road kill once we have poured our ideas out all over them. Very cumbersome that requires hours afterward to be properly understood and concluded thats why many brainstorming sessions fail!!. Despite all those “power ideas” being discussed there is rarely the follow up done and the key actions never jumped on resulting with ideas forgotten.

With MindMapper Brainstorming has been completely resolved and you will never lose another idea or thought that could be the next breakthrough to leapfrogging your competitors.

Using MindMapper to Brainstorm:

You have a simple yet powerful software in place like MindMapper you have a process that captures those ideas and information. MindMapper does so in a simple visual format that ensures you will succeed in your objectives

Any one who can turn on a PC can use MindMapper!

MindMapper is the ultimate Brainstorming tool, it allows you to progress your Brainstorming into crystal clear information that is easy to see and read making it child proof to understand.

Your ideas and information is gathered and structured automatically in a visual map. This visual map is easy to collect and collate information.

Try this! In your next Brainstorming session (business meeting, project planning session or even your shopping list) use MindMapper. Encourage all involved to contribute ideas no matter how small, irrelevant or grand. Encourage feedback applaud ideas from all involved and place into your map.

When you have MindMapper open create the objective of your Brainstorming session in the centre heading. Then bounce ideas and add new branches with each aspect needed to achieve this (Tip- use Keywords for your main headings in branches). Then create sub branches to break down each idea further. Creating branches and sub branches is a snitch just click on a branch type and hit enter and so on with each sub branch.

Add notes to each idea! Click on the branch or Sub Branch and add your not in the text box at the bottom of your map. (TIP- only use bullet points of the idea in your notes to keep the flow of the idea and information coming)

You will notice before long that there are many branches and sections with sub sections making your map look larger than needed.

Break these down, collapse branches of the map so only the “key objectives” are showing. You can always go back to each individual section to “storm” more. The key factor is that you will have all your ideas and information within a couple of clicks.

This makes it simple for you to go back to an idea with no more scrolling through notes and interrupting the brainstorming process.

During your “Brainstorming” if you decide a certain idea would be better in another section or you want to use that idea in all areas simply “drag and drop” your idea into that branch.

Enhancing your Brainstorming session:

Typically this is where other Brainstorming methods and software begins to fall short of MindMapper.

Information overload with traditional MindMapping methods your map gets messy the information is all over the place and cannot be accessed easily creating a bottle neck in the brainstorming process.

Not with MindMapper. With MindMapper you analyse break down ideas and information into branches and click on the branch (objectives) to decide which are critical or most significant and which is the background information required. By doing this you already have saved hours in time and probably money (staff time, resources). Without hardly any effort on your part to gain there input.

The Nearly finished Map!

When you have completed your brainstorming session your map can be broken down to a crystal clear set of blue prints, you then begin to allocate tasks and information to people who will be working to achieve the main objective.

All the ideas and information discussed can be sent to those involved allowing them to remember each specific task or piece of the map they need to complete. Each person can then access the map with MindMapper on workstations and begin the process of achieving the main objective. (here is where sub maps are encouraged to them to keep the brainstorming process going)

Wow! you have just saved countless hours and increased your productivity! can you remember doing all this without MindMapper! Gathering all information and allocating the “branches” to be completed for your success in the key objective. None of this is possible with out MindMapper. Well it is but why waste a few weeks and half a rain forest in printing.

Once the map is complete comes the action and communication planning:
To ensure Maximum results from MindMapper and ensure those ideas and information gathered in the brainstorming session are not just shop talk, you need to decide on a plan of action.

You can achieve this using the legend in MindMapper. On the right hand side of MindMapper there are symbols (legends) and color codes that can be used to break the map down to Action each part of the brainstorming session.

You can allocate people to each objective (or task) by color or priority. (1-10) Add resources that may be needed to achieve this. Add documents for reference or hyperlinks to information sources.

Acting on the brainstorming session

MindMapper allows you to act on your brainstorming session in a number of ways. You can export or save your map on the network so it can be accessed and action taken and update the map after each component has been completed.

You can ensure that each specific task is sent to the owner by MS outlook simply export part of the map that they will be working on to MS Outlook and they will soon see there Task list in MS outlook flashing.

The key point is that everyone know’s exactly what they need to do and is expected of them to achieve the main objective.

Other bonuses you can do from your brainstorming session:

Once you have completed your Brainstorming session you can create this in a presentation or report. With MindMapper you have a variety of options including exporting to MS word (report writing) MS PowerPoint (full project process presentation) or MS Project and go further implementing the brainstorming session into a full fledged project.

With just a couple of click’s on the mouse you have a completed format ready for reporting, presenting or project initiatives.

So MindMapper can not only take your brainstorming sessions to real life goals it can make those things happen today!

So why waste more time and money on planning non starting ideas use MindMapper today and get ahead and Explode your productivity and ultimately your profits!

Visit our website to learn more: www.EssentialMindMapping.com

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There have been numerous comments made about “aligning” corporate departments, sales and marketing strategies, and ‘le sujet du jour’. It seems everyone wants to compartmentalize the alignment process thereby making it easier and faster to accomplish. Translated, do it the quick and easy way! The result, there is little success or just plain failure.

Alignment should be viewed as a long term process, which when done correctly, can yield incredible results. But first things first, you need a reason to consider taking on the task of aligning your company. The two reasons all owners and managers understand: growth and profit!

You must have certain building blocks in place to align your organization. Start by ensuring you have a mission statement. It must be concise and describe your overall mission. This means a one-sentence only description. Your mission statement is not a marketing plan, business plan, or statement of values.

The first alignment that must occur is ensuring the mission statement and any corporate positioning statements make sense together. That is, the corporate statement should not conflict in any way with the mission statement; it should expound on it. Secondly, your marketing position should also grow out of the mission statement and corporate position and not conflict with them.

It is amazing how few companies can even get to this point. Countless companies, large and small, do not even understand their product/service position in the marketplace. As a result, employees, suppliers, and customers are frustrated with the ‘mixed’ messages they receive daily. How can a company try to position itself as a provider of premium products/services when they are known as a low-price company or vice-versa? I see it every day even with Fortune 500 companies.

But let’s say you are one of the 10% of companies who have achieved aligning their mission statement, marketing plan, product position, etc. You should be happy, right? Wrong! You have only done the easiest parts of alignment. What is the one thing that defeats all attempts to align an organization: corporate culture!! This is true even in small organizations but it is easier to change when there are fewer people involved. There is nothing tougher to do than change an old, large organization with its bureaucracy, fiefdoms, and entrenched beliefs. Some would say it is impossible.

I am not sure it is impossible but it does require tremendous effort and usually some changes in the people. Some of them will not let go of their fiefdom, some will not let go of “the way we have always done it”, some will not let go of their beliefs and so on. If you want to truly align your organization then the company leadership must make the tough decisions even if it means replacing people.

What are the benefits of a ‘Total Alignment’? Organizations which have aligned their processes, mission statement, marketing, sales, corporate culture, etc. have outperformed their competitors and grown at phenomenal rates. Think this is smoke and mirrors? I lead 4 consecutive organizations in 4 separate industries to a minimum 300% and as much as 3,000%+ revenue and profit growth in the first 3 years I was with the organizations. Believe me, it works!

Remember, start with the mission statement and build from there. Make sure you know how your products/services are positioned in the marketplace. And, most importantly, ensure that you align your corporate culture to fit all the other aligned functions. You too can grow at 300% or more!

Stephen A. Burgess is founder and CEO of Corporate Toolbelt, a premier business strategy, business planning, leadership and advisory firm. He has served as a ‘C’ level executive, is a noted speaker, and has his MBA. He currently serves on several Boards of Directors. Steve is also a partner in the Power of 8 and the co-founder and Managing Partner of Speakers Alive!, a southern California speaker’s bureau.

He is the Co-Author of the #1 Best Selling book, Purpose, Passion, Abundance, On an Enlightened Path and Business Successes. He is also author of the forthcoming book, Legacies of Leadership, as well as numerous published articles. Steve’s advice is highly sought after by entrepreneurs, business owners and companies of all sizes. He works together with clients to uncover the power to maximize their growth and profits!

Discover more at http://www.thebusinessprophet.com.

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Many investigation companies advertise free background checks on their websites, but for any background checks required in business that involves collecting some quality and accurate information, spending money for a professional background investigation would still be the best option. Free background checks do exist but are not the proper choice when it comes to jeopardizing a business or a company. Although not a good option when an exhaustive search is essential, a free background check can provide some enlightening basic information about an individual.

One of the first searches in a free criminal background search is the fundamental records search. This could unearth some of the basic information such as the date of birth and other personal details of the individual. Since this search usually produces information about the specifics of the individual, they can be used for further background search about the person.

SSN authentication can reveal a gamut of information about an individual. The SSN can be verified from the records existing with the DMV. Since a falsified SSN would look similar to the original one, the truth can be revealed only during the investigation. A driver’s license could be another option with which to conduct an investigation. Though the driving history is not open to the public, investigators can persuade the officials to give access to these records if the investigation is legal.

The DMV also has access to an individual’s personal details as well as the addresses of all the places where the individual has previously resided and is currently residing. So a legal investigator would be able to obtain these details with ease from the DMV.

These are some of the basic details that can be unearthed by anyone or by companies providing free background criminal search. However, an exhaustive and in depth search would entitle spending a lot more along with taking up a bit of time while waiting for an accurate and extensive report to be delivered.

Background Checks provides detailed information on Background Checks, Criminal Background Checks, Employment Background Checks, Online Background Checks and more. Background Checks is affiliated with Criminal Background Search.

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October 2004 saw the introduction of the Employment Act 2002, which has brought a new approach to staff dispute resolution.

It has long been acknowledged that disputes in the workplace are disruptive, stressful, and costly – both for employers and employees. Once time and legal expenses are taken into account, the average cost of an employment tribunal for a UK employer is £2,000. In addition, it is said that 50% of employees who take a case to a tribunal end up in lower paid or lower status jobs after the hearing, and almost a quarter find themselves unemployed.

In a recent twelve month period, the UK employment tribunal service received over 94,000 claims. But research showed that in more than 33% of cases, the employee and his or her manager had not had any prior discussion about the problem.

The new legislation in the Employment Act aims to address these problems by:

• encouraging both employers and employees to discuss disputes
• promoting alternative ways to resolve disputes
• enabling the employment tribunal system to work more effectively.

Since October 2004, all employers and employees have been required to follow a new three-step process when dealing with most dismissals, disciplinary actions or grievances. If they don’t, they could face a financial penalty should a dispute reach
a tribunal.

The stages in this new three-step process are as follows:

1. Write a letter explaining the issue

   If an employer is considering disciplinary action, he must put the reasons for this in writing to the employee. Similarly, if the employee has a grievance against his employer, he must put it in writing in a letter to his employer.

2. Have a meeting to discuss the issue

   A face to face meeting must take place between the employer and the employee to discuss the issues raised in the letter. There must be a suitable amount of time prior to the meeting for the recipient of the letter to consider the other party’s complaint. Following the meeting, the employee must be informed of the employer’s decision and notified of their right to appeal.

3. Have an appeal meeting if required

   This may happen after sanctions have already been imposed. The employer must inform the employee of the
   outcome of the appeal.

The above standards are intended to be a minimum which must be met by all UK employers. However, so long as these minimum standards are complied with, companies are free to personalise the procedures to suit the needs of their own business.

Remember, if a dispute reaches tribunal and one of the parties has not followed the three-step process in full, they will almost certainly face penalties.

If an employer fails to follow the new rules, then any award made to the employee by a tribunal will be increased
by a minimum of 10% up to a maximum of 50%

If the employee fails to follow the procedure, any award they are adjudged to receive is reduced by a minimum of 10% up to a maximum of 50%.

In light of the new regulations, all businesses need to:

• Understand the new laws
• Review existing disciplinary and grievance procedures
• Put in place new procedures where none exists
• Inform employees of their new rights and where they can go to obtain more information
• Update company documents such as the employee handbook to reflect the new legislation
• Follow the new three-step process when dealing with any disciplinary matters of staff grievances.

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Copyright 2004 David Miles. You are welcome to reproduce this article on your website, so long as it is published “as is” (unedited) and with the author’s bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information included. In addition, all links to external websites must be left in place.

David Miles is the editor of the Employee Contracts website which provides information on HR and personnel issues such as: contracts of employment, disciplinary procedures, and staff dispute resolution.

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