Mind Maps® are an excellent vehicle for effective group working. There are several different ways in which Mind Maps can be used by groups. One way is to use a process called ‘Brain Blooming’ as an alternative to Brain Storming. The steps are as follows: 1. Use a Mind Map to capture your individual thoughts. 2. Blend your thoughts with others from a small group. All ideas are added and considered equally. Discuss the Basic Ordering Ideas (BOI’s) to converge and catch all the input. Make sure that every one feels as though his/her individual ideas are included. Remember all ideas are accepted at the initial stage. Depending on the purpose of the Mind Map, you may want to experiment with different ways of working with the BOI’s: 3. Amalgamate all small group Mind Maps onto one large Mind Map for a true representation of the group’s thinking. 4. Have a ‘Miscellaneous’ branch for ideas that do not ‘fit’ anywhere else to ensure that ALL ideas are captured. There are a number of advantages of Group Mind Mapping over brainstorming: