The dominant quality we seek in a CSR is "S," steady and patient- a reactive, non-combative individual who listens well and is naturally empathetic to distraught callers. The second primary characteristic is "I," or influence. The person with a moderately high "I" in his or her profile is friendly and persuasive, and enjoys challenge of verbal dialog. The one quality you don't want is high "D." A confrontational person with a bent to disagree tends to heighten, instead of lessen, emotions of dissatisfied callers. The fourth characteristic is "C," or compliance, characteristic. I prefer "C" to be rather high in profile because this person has a tendency to follow rules you have established, and not make them up as he or she goes along. This "ideal" CSR profile I depicted on this page. You'll notice that I placed range boxes around "Xs" in each of D, I, S and C categories. However, you will rarely have latitude to fill your headsets with "ideal" candidates. As this profile system predicts impact a person will have on your organization, these boxes provide you with some flexibility as you seek qualified candidates. In no instance should this screening device be used to make hiring decision. This profile system is best used to filter-out candidates who will not last long in position. Why will they quit? When you ask a person to use behavior that is not naturally strong in him (or her), you ask him to conjure up qualities that do not reinforce his self-esteem. It's like asking Robin Williams to stop joking around! Let's look at what happened to Phyllis.

An Example Of Evaluating Impact Each profile produces two graphs. Graph I displays motivated style, behavior a person demonstrates on job, and Graph II depicts innate, natural behavior. In interviewing process, you should primarily concern yourself with Graph II (basic style). In addition, Graph I (motivated style) gives you an idea of stress imposed on person in his or her previous position. Phyllis' graphs are depicted on this page. Phyllis has great potential, but not for position of CSR. In Graph II, she exhibits great drive (high "D") and a high sense of urgency (high "D" - low "S"), she is optimistic and enthusiastic (high "I"), has great natural self-confidence (high "I" - low "C"), but is impatient and a sporadic listener (low "S"), and prefers to do things her own way instead of way stipulated by her CSR manual.

The beauty of this is that you can see everything on one page. No time wasted sorting through pages. No need to flip through your notes to see your next point or find your conclusion--it's all right there in front of you. No need for extra notes. No energy spent on rewrites.

He didn't stop there. Buzan understood that color is a strong factor in helping us remember, so he encourages us to use different colors for each of radiant thoughts and sub-thoughts. Instead of using only words, incorporate little line drawings and images to make connections between thoughts.

This is way our brains work naturally. We don't picture word B-O-X when we picture a box. Instead, our brains conjure image. We don't always go from thought A to thought B to thought C. We're just as likely to start with A, then head over to E, skip back to A and then saunter over to R. Our neural pathways look like webs, not straight lines. In fact, more criss- crossed our connections, more we're able to synthesize complex ideas and come up with new ways to use old information.

Mind Maps give us an excuse to play. They give us a reason to keep a whole set of colored pens right on our desk for everyone to see. Mind maps allow our thuggish left brains to make friends with our timid rights. For once, there's harmony on playground!

Use a Mind Map for your next planning session, and watch reaction. Raised eyebrows give way to smirks, which dissolve into delighted grins. Linear notes become circular masterpieces. Black and white becomes a rainbow. Words become pictures. Workers become creative. Work becomes joyful collaborative experience it is meant to be.

Grab your markers and become radiant. Your brain is waiting to play!