Abby Leutzinger's Orbiting the Giant Hairball Idea Map

Author Unknown - Orbiting the Giant Hairball 1

These Idea Maps are the 15th and 16th examples in this school year’s experiment (initiated by Dr. Tim Schweizer) following students at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. The October 23, 2009 posting first introduced this series and  and the October 28, 2009 post puts this experiment in context. Read those postings for background or search on “Luther College” in this blog for other examples.

Today’s idea mapping examples come from students Abby Leutzinger (top) and an unknown author who both provided their reflections on the book Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie in the form of an idea map. Here are Abby’s thoughts about Idea Mapping:

“When first introduced to Idea Mapping, I had a difficult time with it. While I loved that I didn’t have to work in any particular order (as that is how my mind works anyway–all over the place) I struggled with wanting the map to be perfect and concise at my first attempt. It was a challenge for me not to throw out an Idea Map as soon as  I messed up by making it too crowded, scribbling words out, disliking something I had written, etc. However, after I came to terms with the fact that mind mapping is a skill that improves with practice, I’ve really started to enjoy it and I find it very useful as it allows me to take notes in a way that suits my own personal thought process.”

Thank you to Abby and the unknown Luther College student for sharing your examples.

Remember: If you are a project manager and have either considered taking the PMP exam, are in the process of studying for it, have passed the exam, or gave up on the whole process — this is your chance to share your experience in this survey which takes less than 10 minutes. As a “thank you” please enter the drawing for free Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of Idea Mapping by Jamie Nast. Full story here.