As you may know the bread and butter of my work for nearly two decades has been Dialogue Mapping -- the process of facilitating meeting discussions using IBIS maps projected on a screen.  Until now CogNexus Institute has been entirely focused on practicing, teaching, and writing about Dialogue Mapping facilitation.

Today I am very excited to announce the launch of a new part of the business focused on "Issue Mapping" http://www.cognexus.org/issue_mapping.htm, which is simply Dialogue Mapping minus facilitation.  Where Dialogue Mapping is about the quality of conversation and shared understanding in a group, Issue Mapping is all about the IBIS map.  Issue Mapping is a writing and structuring skill -- it doesn't involve translating participant comments into IBIS on the fly, and is thus easier to learn and use. 

The new flagship offering is the Issue Mapping Workshop.  Please consider coming to the premier offering of this brand new workshop, March 31 in Menlo Park, CA. (yes, in just 3 weeks!)
http://www.cognexus.org/issue_mapping_workshop.htm

The reason for launching this new business is that many people have expressed interest in learning to use Compendium to create powerful issue maps for purposes of planning, analysis, problem solving, note taking, modeling, decision making, design, etc. ... but they don't need to facilitate groups.  Now we are working on creating a whole range of Issue Mapping training products -- workshops, webinars, videos, and manuals -- for this audience.  For a long time graduates of the Dialogue Mapping workshop have told me that the most valuable thing they got from the seminar was a new way of thinking and listening.  Our new training offerings will help people to get skillful and fluent with issue-based thinking as an important life skill and business skill in itself.

Please let me know your thoughts about the new Issue Mapping business, starting with the new website pages!  http://www.cognexus.org

Yours,
Jeff Conklin

PS We are also about to launch a new 4-session webinar series just for our workshop graduates.  The new virtual seminar gives graduates a chance to review the fundamental concepts, practice Compendium and pick up some new moves, and develop their IBIS fluency.

PPS Also look for announcements this summer about software tools for sharing Issue Maps, and doing Issue Mapping, on the web!