Mind mapping for problem solving and idea generation

Challenge

I am an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Business Administration. My course comes with a  lot of assignments for internal assessment and they are a crucial aspect of our overall grade. My class  was given a group assignment of coming up with a business idea and presenting a business plan for the  same in front of a panel. We were divided into groups of six. I was nominated to be the team leader of  my group.

Brainstorming business ideas together was an enjoyable experience. However, the cohesiveness of the  group started to fade as we approached the discussions on the key factors of the business such as  supply chain, marketing techniques and funds. Members of my group had differing opinions on building  the various aspects of the business plan. It reached a point where our group discussions were more of  arguments and contradictions than effective discussions and planning. The entire discussion became  unorganized. With a deadline approaching, we were left with an unorganized, incomplete business plan  that was not worthy to be presented in front of a panel. As the team leader, it was my responsibility to  find a solution to this problem and restore the group cohesiveness.

Selection

When the traditional method of pooling in ideas from all the members and choosing the most viable  option through discussions failed, I decided to implement some design thinking tools. The concept of  mind mapping stood out to me the most to solve the problem I had at hand. I realized that mind  mapping would help bring in a visual aspect to presenting ideas that would enable us, as a team, to  present our ideas in a more organized manner with an increased clarity. Additionally, this radical  approach would also help the team come up with new and innovative ideas and solutions.

Application

We started off by keeping the central idea of the business at the focus point. After doing so, we started  adding the relevant aspects of the business that we needed to address in the business plan, around the  central idea. We approached each aspect of the business plan systematically, pooled in everyone’s  ideas, weighed the pros and cons of it in the present business environment, and we finally chose the  most viable option in complete agreement. With mind mapping, we analyzed our strategy at each stage  making the business plan efficient and highly error free. It also gave us a broader understanding of the  various business processes, thanks to the spot on visuals and organization that comes with  implementing mind mapping, and enabled us to be prepared for any sort of cross questioning by the  judging panel at the time of the presentation of the business plan.

Insight

Initially, our business plan was clustered, incomplete and incompetent. However, after implementing  mind mapping into our planning processes, we were able to obtain clarity on the task at hand, thanks to  the visual benefits of mind mapping. Mind mapping also guided us in proceeding with a step by step  approach, keeping the central idea at the focus point and branching out the various aspects of it  systematically. The overall organization and effectiveness of mind mapping also boosted the team’s  motivation to build the business plan and come up with smart ideas and solutions.

Approach

This experience has taught me the importance of having an organized and systematic approach when  dealing with a group lest the team’s performance will not be up to the mark. In my future team  leader/managerial roles, I will definitely implement the mind mapping technique to solve problems.  Additionally, I will incorporate visualization wherever possible to establish a common ground of  understanding.

