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| Name: Carlos Dias-Madeira | |
| Title: EMEA Service Practice Lead, Astadia Inc. | |
| Started using Mindjet: 2010 | |
| Social links: LinkedIn, astadia.com | |
How did you hear about Mindjet?
A job trying to ‘figure things out’ is fun, isn’t it? Well, at least it is for me – and it’s that foundation that fuels my career, as I’ve found I can be quite good at looking at something from a high level perspective, understanding the elements that bind it all together and then identifying areas that need to be focused on to make the whole more successful. Doing this as a consultant in the CRM sphere has meant I am often in meetings with clients, marker in hand stood in front of a whiteboard – or asking for a picture from somebody who is describing their business model to me. I’ve worked with some very smart people over the years and one of my colleagues introduced me to my first mind map around 4 years ago – something he’d picked up in University from a professor. As happens with the best ideas, I stole it, and then tried out a few different mind mapping tools on the web – Mindjet won of course, and now it’s my default tool of use.
What do you primarily use it for?
I use Mindjet in a few different ways, one being to get me started on a new area of thought. I’m often thrown in at the deep end with my clients in that I basically have to go meet them and figure out what they need and how to provide it. A mind map allows me to brainstorm the areas I need to cover beforehand as well as go down into more detailed levels really easily. Panic over, an hour later I usually have a sensible map of what would be good to cover, and I’m able to run a session and direct it to areas I may have missed without capturing those elements on the map first.
Another way I use a map is to collate info on a subject and replay it back to a client or internal group. I love the way that loads of information can be shown on one page. How can walking through a dry long document compare to that! Often the reaction I get from clients on a map I’ve simply thrown together is, “Wow, you’ve got this covered!”
Tell us about your map.
This is a simple map I built collaboratively with a colleague in a quick call last week – I had an emergency call asking for help, as he’s been tasked with building out a competency framework for a client, and needed some support. While it wasn’t anything I’d done before I fired up a map, shared my screen and we build a framework that enabled him to get on with his task.
[Click for full sized image]
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A consultant in CRM for over 10 years, Carlos is a leader in the functional application of CRM, understanding how CRM supports Sales, Marketing and Service to a deep level. He can be reached on cmadeira@astadia.com, or on +44(0) 7956 410 387.
Here at Mindjet, we know the value of sharing ideas. It’s just like philosopher Michel de Montaigne said way back in the 1500s: “It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others.” The Mindjet User Spotlight series aims to help that little endeavor along by bringing your stories and experiences with Mindjet to the forefront. If you’ve got one to share, don’t be shy! Give us a shout.
