Thought Mapping

www.goodmind.net from The Business Strategy Cookbook © Goodmind, LLC

ThoughtMapping

ServesStructuring creative thinking, brainstorming

Generating relevant, well developed ideas

Utilizing collective team knowledge

Ingredients15-20 people

Moderator

Topic

20”x23” Easel Pad

3-4 Pencils

3-4 Packs of Markers

3-4 Tables

Tape

Whiteboard

Time1 Workshop Session

Crea

tive T

hinking is a piece of cake

http://www.goodmind.net


1Summarize Objective and Topic on the Whiteboard. Discuss Topicfor 3-5 minutes.

2Divide into Break Out Groups of 3-4 people, and move to isolatedtable. Distribute materials.

3Note Topic in the middle of the paper, and record ALL initialThoughts around it.

4Establish tentative connections between related Thoughts in pencil.

5Examine the Thought Map, and circle Thoughts that are Ideas.

6Re-examine the Thought Map, and identify Themes/connectionsamong Thoughts and Ideas. Note connections with markers, andrecord on the Thought Map as Sub-Topics.

7Review the Thought Map, looking for connections betweenSub-Topics. Note connections with markers, and tape thecompleted Thought Map to the wall near the whiteboard.

8Reconvene as a full team to discuss group Thought Maps. Notesimilarities on the whiteboard, and probe reasons for majordifferences.

9(Optional) Form a collective Thought Map on the whiteboard. Try tofit in all of the ideas from all of the breakout groups into the Map.

Successes

►Capturing non-linearthinking

►Discovering distributionof team knowledge

Messes

►Evaluating ideasprematurely

►Creating a neat ThoughtMap

Satisfies

►Brainstorming Workshops

►Crisis Management

►Business Planning



MarkersModerator WhiteboardTopic

summarizeobjective & topic

discuss topic

divide into breakout groups

free associate topic

establish tentativeconnections

between thoughts

circle ideas

identify themes &sub-topics

review thought map

Symbol Key

moderator activity

repeat process

team technique

team activity

Team

reconvene team &tape maps to

the wall

discuss thoughtmaps

ingredient

Objective Tables Paper Pencils Tape

distribute materials

note key points onthe whiteboard

create compilationthought map(optional)

Difficulty

What’s a corecompetency?

Thought Maps capture thecollective knowledge of a group,

and consolidate all theinformation needed to devise

new concepts, as a team.



Recipe Lineage

If you thought you were already familiar with the concept of ThoughtMapping, think again. When informed by the principle of FocusedDivergence, this brainstorming tool becomes part of the recipe forsuccessful idea generation. Kelley Styring of insightfarm combines theThought Mapping process with the technique of Focused Divergenceto help her clients ideate effectively.

Her process frames planning sessions with a specific Topic, related to abroader strategic objective. Instead of limiting the creative scope ofthe team, Focused Divergence provides a bit of structure to thegeneration of creative ideas, making it easy enough for anyone to try.

Unstructured team activities, such as brainstorming, strike fear in thehearts of many a manager. Overcoming this irrational fear ofnon-linear thinking is easy with a step-by-step explanation of freeassociation, with a little Focused Divergence on the side. ThoughtMapping is a phobia friendly method for recording thoughts,developing ideas, and connecting them to clearly articulate the outputof brainstorming activities.



TOPIC

Sub-Topic

Sub-Topic

Sub-Topic

idea

idea

idea

idea

idea

idea

thought

thought

Objective: How, or where you will apply ideas generated around Topic

thought

thoughtthought

thoughtthought

thought

Ideas are mostrecognizeable after all

Thoughts on a Topic havebeen recorded, and you begin

identifying connectionsbetween related

Thoughts.

After Thoughts,Ideas, and Sub-Topics have

been identified, and preliminaryconnections formed, continue tolook for unlikely relationships

between different parts of the map.This will help you identify broad

Themes related to thesession Objective.

For the purposes of

this exercise, Thoughts

include initial reactions to

the Topic, or notions of how

the Topic relates back to

the Objective.

Sub-Topics can beidentified where severalrelated Thoughts or Ideas

converge. They can be initialThoughts, or added later todescribe new connections

or recurringThemes.

One Thought willinevitably lead to

another, and might eventurn into a full fledged

Idea at somepoint.
