Idea Mapping Success - Learn how to idea map

NastGroup, Inc.

NastGroup, Inc. was founded in 1998 in Plymouth, Michigan and moved to Naples, Florida in 2022. NastGroup’s focus is to offer tools and services which will help organizations and individuals save time, organize their thinking, and improve learning, creativity, memory, and job performance.

Check out Press, Articles & Events for Idea Mapping articles, interviews, book reviews, and webinars. To see what we are up to day-by-day, make sure to visit our Idea Mapping Blog.

Our Services

Workshops

Idea Mapping or Mind Mapping Workshop in DC

Idea Mapping: A Learning Workshop (Abstract) - This 2-day learning experience is the premier offering from NastGroup, Inc. and taught by author Jamie Nast unless otherwise indicated. The whole-brain course is unlike anything provided by traditional training vendors. By both orgainations and individuals it is consistently rated the best workshop participants have ever attended because the practical tools taught in this class can immediately be applied to your business and life. These skills are also transferrable to any of your future business endeavors. Enhance your organization's creativity, productivity, communication, thought organization, visual thinking and many other core competencies by bringing this workshop to your organization. See this 3-minute video featuring Idea Mapping Workshop participants or sign up for a course today.
Memory Workshop Flier - This 3-hour (or the full 5-hour) workshop teaches vital memory skills. Most people don't think their memories are very good, when in reality they are nearly perfect -- but most have not been taught HOW to remember information and have never been exposed to the simple systems that the great memory champions use. By the end of the day you will be taught to count to 100 in Chinese in less than 10 minutes. I know you don't believe this, but nearly 24,000 past participants will tell you it's true!
Memory & Speed Reading Workshop (Abstract) - This 1-day workshop includes many of the skills taught in the above Memory Workshop but saves roughly 2 hours to include some frequently requested speed reading exercises. You can significantly improve your reading speed with the help of some simple techniques.

3-Minute Idea Mapping Workshop Video

Certifications

To be considered to become a Certified Idea Mapping Instructor there are several pre-requisites including first attending the 2-day Idea Mapping Workshop and passing an interview process.

Although very rewarding and prestigious, this certification process is not to be taken lightly. It is extensive and requires a high level of commitment and learning. For information on becoming a Certified Idea Mapping Instructor, please see the Idea Mapping Certification Process for details and requirements. If your interest continues you will be provided with the full certification information documents.

Idea Mapping and Mind Mapping Examples From Around the Globe

Idea Mapping and Mind Mapping Examples

You can find over 480 Idea Maps and Mind Maps at the Idea Mapping Blog. Each person who submitted their map tells a story of why they created it, how it was used and the benefits they received.

This website also features some idea maps that fall into one of three categories:

The colored versions of the Idea Maps from Nast's Idea Mapping Book.
Idea Maps shared by Idea Mapping Workshop participants.
Additional maps shared by readers of the Idea Mapping Book.

Jamie Nast

Jamie is committed to guiding individuals and organizations towards overcoming barriers to achieving success -- including those which reside in one's own mind.

Jamie was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She and her husband founded NastGroup, Inc. in 1998 in Plymouth, MI and moved the business to Naples, FL in 2022. NastGroup is a training and consultancy organization. She has specialized in mind potential optimization since 1992. Her workshops augment mental aptitudes and maximize individual and organizational productivity. Her range of expertise spans Idea Mapping, memory, speed reading, leadership, creating personal missions, creativity, strategic planning, and graphic facilitation.

From 1992 until 2006 Jamie directed Buzan Centres USA and was the only Senior Master Trainer representing Buzan Centres world-wide for mind mapping and other mental literacy skills. During that time she mentored over 15,000 people world-wide (now over 24,000) towards better mental productivity and certified 109 Qualified Buzan Instructors from 24 countries. She also wrote the Think, Learn & Create Workshop instructor training manual for the Buzan Centres.

Since the publication of her book she has certified 14 Idea Mapping Instructors from 5 countries: US, Brazil, Canada, Macedonia, and Switzerland. This certification is the most demanding and highly sought-after training in the world for Mind Mapping and Idea Mapping.

She spent 12 years at Electronic Data Systems in management and leadership training capacities and was certified as a trainer for Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in 1996. She is a graduate of Purdue University with a BA in Industrial Management and a minor in Computer Science.

Jamie's first book Idea Mapping: How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More, and Achieve Success in Business (published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) was released September 20, 2006 and translated into Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Japanese, and Korean. This book combines her real-world business experience with her teaching and Idea Mapping skills. Using her unique, results-oriented coaching skills, she brings her workshop right to the reader. Jamie was published in the October 1996 issue of Personal Excellence, and was published in the Fall 2006 edition of the Krannert Magazine (Purdue University’s Business School). Jamie was a guest on VoiceAmerica.com in February 2004. In January 2007 she was a guest on both the Rolanda Watts Show (Hollywood, CA) and A Closer Look hosted by Leslie Stone of Summit City Radio (Ft. Wayne, IN). She was a guest on BCTV’s Michigan Entrepreneur Show in both July and September of 2007.

She is an accomplished conference speaker and has consulted for a wide array of clients both domestically and internationally including: Abu Dhabi Oil Company, ACH (Automotive Components Holding, LLC), AIB (American Institute of Banking), ABA (American Bankers Association), Association of Christian Schools International, Ball State University, BMC Software, Boeing, BP, Chattanooga Advertising Federation, Communities in Schools of Florida, ConocoPhillips, CPPIB (Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board), CSHET, Deloitte, Diabetes Partnership of Cleveland, Dow Chemical, DTE Energy, The Dwight School, eStrategy Group, Farmington Hills Public Schools, Forward Training & Consulting (Amman, Jordan), Franklin Templeton, Ford Motor Company, GM, General Physics, HSMAI, IIBA Wisconsin Chapter, Institute of Management Accountants, L.L.Bean, Larimer County Government, Macomb Intermediate School District, MARC Advertising, Matrix Imaging, Mayo Clinic, Mercy High School, Middle Tennessee State University, Mindwerx International of Australia, MJM Creative, NIH, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Operation Smile, Pennsylvania College of Optometry, PMI Consulting CoP, PMI Global COP, PMI Heartland Annual Conference in Omaha, PMI New Jersey Chapter's Annual Conference, PRA International, Psychotherapy Networker, Saline Leadership Institute, Software Spectrum, Takreer, Tranquility du Jour with Kimberly Wilson, U.S. Army Ammunition Management, University of Pittsburgh Institute For Entrepreneurial Excellence, University of Warsaw in Poland, VHA Inc., VizThink, and Willow Run High School.

To date over 24,000 people have been through Jamie's Idea Mapping Workshop.