At Omio, our Monetization tribe operates in a world of complexity. Pricing strategies, service fees, insurances, campaigns—all intertwined. In one of our recent workshops, we explored a practice to regain clarity before rushing into execution: Mind Mapping.
Workshop Slides
What is a Mind Map?
A mind map is a visual thinking tool. At its core, it helps you capture and connect ideas the way your brain naturally works: in a network, not a list.
While traditional note-taking follows a top-to-bottom, left-to-right structure, a mind map starts with a central idea placed in the middle of the page. From there, related thoughts radiate outward as branches. Each branch can split into sub-branches, forming a map of concepts that reflect relationships and structure.
This is not a new invention—Tony Buzan popularized it in the 1970s—but it remains one of the most effective techniques for thinking, planning, learning, or reflecting.
Why Mind Mapping?
In this session, I introduced mind mapping not as a creativity exercise, but as an antidote to ambiguity.
We explored problems that feel familiar: meetings filled with ideas but no clear direction, presentations that try to organize thoughts after decisions have been made, and JIRA tickets with outputs but no visible connection to the initial problem.
Mind maps give us space to see the shape of our thinking before we structure it. They allow groups to identify gaps in reasoning, align on scope and purpose, and prioritize visually.
The Workshop Format
We began with a simple structure. Each person started with one word or question in the center of a blank page—their core topic. From there, they drew thick lines outward for main categories or themes, then split into thinner lines representing sub-ideas or examples.
The key instruction was not to filter or overthink. We encouraged drawings, arrows, even messy sketches. After 10 minutes, participants stepped back to reflect: what surprised them? What patterns emerged?
Each person worked on a real current topic—something unresolved or swirling in their head.
What Happened
When teams externalize ideas through visual structure, something shifts. Silence becomes exploration. Complicated projects gain form. One participant mapped out their insurance logic project and immediately saw misalignments across dependency teams.
Mind maps don’t solve the problem, but they help you see the problem better.
A mind map is not a list of todos, a flowchart with strict logic, or a diagram meant for sharing with stakeholders. It is a personal (or collaborative) space for connecting what’s unclear, a technique to structure before you write, and a tool for surfacing what’s missing.
When to Use
After this workshop, I encouraged everyone in the tribe to start mind mapping in these situations:
- Before creating a Confluence spec or technical document
- When writing a complex ticket that touches multiple systems
- Before leading a project kickoff or planning session
- During post-mortem preparation to map incident connections
- When planning a personal project or learning path
- Whenever your brain feels like a browser with 30 tabs open
We don’t need mind maps every day, but they become invaluable when complexity overwhelms linear thinking.
Try It Now
Here’s how you can get started:
- Take any topic where you feel unclear and open a blank page (physical or digital)
- Write that topic in the center
- Set a timer for 10 minutes and let your thoughts branch outward
- Don’t edit or filter—just let ideas flow
- Stop, read, and reflect on what you’ve created
And now you have a map.
This won’t replace deep analysis. But it’s a starting point.
Clarity often begins with a sketch.
Want to run this with your team? Send me a message, and I’ll share the workshop kit we used at Omio.