1-Day Experiential Workshop | Led by Eric Cheong, Master Trainer, ThinkBuzan UK

In today’s fast-paced, AI-driven business environment, executives face constant pressure to think creatively, lead with clarity, and solve complex problems swiftly. Despite having access to powerful AI tools, many professionals still feel mentally blocked, trapped in habitual thinking patterns, or overwhelmed by information. They are stuck in:

• Linear thinking patterns that limit perspective
• Surface-level solutions that don’t address root causes
• Over-reliance on digital outputs, without tapping into intuitive, human insight
• Groupthink in team discussions, where bold ideas get filtered out
• Creative burnout, where the spark feels dulled despite the tools

Why? Because creativity isn’t a software feature—it’s a cognitive function. And when under pressure, even high-performing professionals may lose access to their most imaginative and intuitive thinking. This one-day, high-impact workshop helps leaders break free from linear, logic-only thinking by reconnecting with how the brain naturally generates ideas—through Radiant Thinking and Mind Mapping®. Developed from the work of Professor Tony Buzan, this method trains your brain to work the way it was designed to: associatively, visually, and holistically.

Participants will also gain hands-on experience with AYOA, an award-winning online mind-mapping and collaboration platform. You'll discover how to transform your Mind Maps into digital tools that support real-time brainstorming, AI-assisted ideation, and strategic planning—enhancing individual and team performance in any setting. This workshop is your roadmap to rediscovering mental clarity, unlocking team creativity, and driving results through better thinking.

Objective

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Harness their brain’s natural creative state to enhance ideation and decision-making
• Draw and apply Mind Maps® effectively using Tony Buzan’s Laws of Mind Mapping
• Generate five times more ideas using the IDEAS group brainstorming model
• Apply a structured Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process to real-world challenges
• Use the AYOA digital platform to create, share, and collaborate on Mind Maps with teams
• Present and implement solutions with confidence using visual thinking methods

Outline

Discover Your Brain's Natural Creative Capabilities

• Your Brain is a Natural Problem Solver
• The Left and Right Brain Paradigm
• Measure and Activate your Creativity
• Ellis Paul Torrance’s 4 Creativity Benchmarks

Radiant Thinking with Mind Maps®

• It’s Time to upgrade your Linear Thinking
• Think Out-of-the-Box using Associative Thinking
• Principles behind Mind Mapping®
• Mind Map® Applications in the Business World

Generate 5x More Ideas using I.D.E.A.S.

• Individual Ideas are Unique
• Deposit and Collate Ideas as a Team
• Elaborate and Develop Good Ideas
• Apply Key Ideas into a Solution
• Showcase your Recommendations

The Creative Problem Solving Process

• Types of Problem Solving Models
• Activating Your Creative Brain States
• Process of Creative Problem Solving
• Focus on Incubating and Insights

Identifying and Finding Problems

• Keys to Finding Problem Root Cause
• Five Steps to Define the Problem
• Identify Problem Issues using Mind Maps®
• Case Practise: Finding Possible Problem Causes

Solutions Finding

• Types of Solution Finding Tools
• Select and Focus on Major Concerns
• Presenting Group Mind Map for Approval
• Case Practise: Finding Multiple Solutions

Methodology

The workshop follows a structured, experiential learning format that includes:

• Interactive mini-lectures with visuals and demonstrations
• Individual and group drawing exercises using Mind Mapping® techniques
• Collaborative brainstorming using the IDEAS model
• Case-based problem-solving practice
• Hands-on digital collaboration using the AYOA online platform

Testimonial

Eric Cheong's Profile

BSc(Hons) MSc (HRM)
Accredited ACTA Trainer, Developer & Assessor (SG)
Master Trainer, Buzan iMindMap & AYOA (ThinkBuzan UK)
Certified Trainer, Guerrilla Marketing® (USA)
Certified Trainer & Coach, Identi3® Personality Profiling (SG)
Master Trainer, Click Colours International (AU)
Certified Trainer, Inquiry Institute (US)
Design Thinking Certificate – MITx and DesignThinkers Academy (SG)
Adult Educator Network and Institute for Adult Learning (SG)

Eric Cheong is a corporate trainer and thinking-skills specialist who helps organisations improve critical thinking, decision-making, and collaborative problem solving. With 25+ years across telecommunications, technology, and education, he equips leaders with questioning and mindset tools to navigate complexity and ambiguity.

Previously with SingTel, Pacific Internet, and the National Library Board, Eric understands matrix organisations, public sector systems, and corporate transformation. His experience spans governance, entrepreneurship, and executive education, linking thinking frameworks to real workplace challenges.

As former Managing Director of Buzan Asia, he expanded creative thinking and Mind Mapping programmes across Asia. An Accredited Master Trainer in Click! Colours® EQ Profiling (Click! Colours International), he has trained over 10,000 professionals from organisations including Intel, HP, HSBC, Sony, Far East Organization, Singapore Airlines, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Eric holds a Master’s in Human Resource Management and is pursuing a DBA focused on leadership influence and cognition in complex organisations. Having lived and worked in Hong Kong, Belgium, and the United States, he brings strong cross-cultural leadership insight.

Global Training & Thought Leadership Credentials

Eric’s expertise in critical and creative thinking is shaped by training with leading global pioneers:

• Certified Master Trainer in Mind Mapping, trained under Tony Buzan and co-trained with him.
• Master Trainer, Click! Colours® International, trained by founders Greg Barnes and David Koutsoukis (emotional intelligence and behavioural profiling).
• Trained by Michael Gelb, author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (creativity and whole-brain thinking).
• Graduate of the Chief Questions Officer Programme by Marilee Adams, creator of Question Thinking (Learner mindset and decision-making).

Speaking Engagements & Media

• Guest speaker, Smart Nation 2021 — Prime Minister's Office webinar on Applied Creativity
• Featured expert, BrainTalk 2021 — MM2 Studios parenting series
• Guest speaker, SPH MONEY FM 89.3 — Thinking & Innovation at Work
• Corporate talks for Sony Singapore, UPS, Singtel, Hewlett Packard, and others
• International speaker, 14th International Conference on Thinking (Malaysia)

Testimonials

“I have not come across a Trainer like Eric who takes great lengths to engage his participants, address their inner motivations and going the extensive way to build up his trainees. He is not just a Trainer, but a unique educator who cares for his Learners and stays true to his purpose of educating minds.”
Christie Khoo, Manager, SG Professionals' and Executives' Co-operatives

“Eric makes me understand the importance of being open, flexible and adaptable. If the trainer is rigid and unimaginative, then so will the learners, and they will participate in the training in a dull and unmotivated manner.”
Vinay Rai, Business Owner, Writer and Editor

“Eric has diligently put together this all-in-one programme, making it simple and easy for anyone - even for a beginner to be equipped as a Corporate Trainer very quickly.”
Lui Ng, Senior Vice-President in a technology firm