The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures

by Dan Roam

Book Overview

Consultant Dan Roan shows readers how to harness their inate talent for visual thinking, promising that thinking with pictures can help anyoe discover and develop new ideas, solve problems in unexpected ways, and dramatically improve their ability to share their insight.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591841992
• ISBN13: 9781591841999
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Portfolio
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.3" x 7.4"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Refreshing

I found this book refreshing, even relaxing, and recommend it as a gift item for any student or adult. Had I been the publisher I would have made the book larger and the visuals (by definition, handwriting and sketches) consequently larger and fresher, but what is offered suffices. I have been immersed for the past several weeks in some of the most advanced technical automated multi-media, multi-dimensional, geospatially-grounded visualizations with time lines and cross-cutting cultural dimesions, and after all of that, this book not only stands the test of holding my attention, but proves itself equal to the task of challenging what is supposed to be "state of the art." A few other books that come to mind that complement this one: Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing The Design of Dissent: Socially and Politically Driven Graphics Information Design Visual Interfaces to Digital Libraries (Lecture Notes in Computer Science)

One of the Top Communication Books this Decade!

This book should be taught at the college level. It is an extremely well written book that captures the essence of business communication and what it should be. How many of us have sat through boring word wall presentations of list after list of speakers notes. The next time someone makes me sit through one I am going to send them this book. The basic concepts of Visual Thinking: Look, See, Imagine, Show are helpful in providing a framework for developing your thoughts prior to starting any presentation. Then using the SQVID guide to understand what type of picture to use helps you think through the problem and finishing with the author's six ways we see and show of Who/what, how much, where, when, how, and why provides a guide for how to communicate your ideas. I never read a business book twice but find myself studying this one. I have read over 50 business books in the last 18 months and this is at the very top of my list.

From Bar Room to Boardroom

As an longtime napkin scribbler and doodler, I was so pleased to see someone actually put some rigor and science into that process! Bring it from the bar room to the boardroom, so to speak. Anyone who even remotely buys into the idea that we are becoming increasingly dependent on right brained thinking for success needs to be exposed to Roam's work. The ideas and techniques in this book can make the difference between engaging people's brains and losing their interest. Between "making a sale" and losing a prospect. Between getting your idea across and boring people to tears. Very important piece of work for anyone who is in the business of communicating ideas -- and who isn't??!! The ideas in this book are the types of things that I will keep coming back in my work -- looking for new ways, techniques, approaches etc. to communicate in a powerful way. My only complaint -- I wish that the publisher would have invested more in high quality color images, since the work itself is so visually oriented.

The simple cover and concept shields a deeply powerful tool

I saw the book on the shelf at Borders and the cover caught my attention. I read the first few pages and knew I had to read the rest. I am a technical trainer and writer and have been teaching classes for more than 10 years now. For the last 7 years I've been using a pen tablet in my classes to draw diagrams on-the-fly while lecturing about different technology concepts. The attendees have given phenomenally positive feedback about this learning method. Now, I find this book that not only validates the process I've been using but helps me take it to the next level. The author reveals the four steps to visual thinking and the six problem categories that we all face. He shows you how to do it with case studies and examples that are practical. One thing that I think many will find helpful is the way the author quickly removes any fear of drawing you may have. He gives the testimony of many attendees that he has helped overcome this fear of drawing in front of others. Personally, my family plays Pictionary very regularly because I want my children to be comfortable with this process. My favorite part was the Appendix: The Science of Visual Thinking. I found it very interesting as it presents scientific research as it relates to this simple process. If you want a great new way to solve problems and a great way to communicate ideas, I think you'll find this book very useful. Excellent!

Readit, Draw, and Solve a problem

If you have ever scribbled on the back of a napkin or for that matter any piece of paper while explaining something to a cohort, this book might help you. Mr. Roam's main premise is that pictures on the back of a napkin are a most effective way to solve problems and sell ideas. He takes you through his process in this quick read and convincing book. His suggestion to solve business problems with simple drawings could raise a few doubts. Drawings are not business solutions is the common wisdom. Conventional tools such as spreadsheets, deep mathematical analysis are the norm. The book more than adequately addresses the doubts and other questions about drawing pictures to accomplish business objectives. He resolves denials like "I can't draw or I don't carry napkins in my pocket ". This is accomplished by demonstrating how we all have the ability to draw within the system he has developed. He first drew a successful proposal on the back of a napkin while eating breakfast on a train in England. In the book we are taught by leading us through the development of the complete solving/selling process. The book is written in an easy to read conversational style and is laced with the type of drawings he proposes that are most useful in attacking the most intractable of problems. While reading the book one finds themselves thinking things like "I can do that" or "I need to remember the steps in the process so I can do them whenever I have a problem and a napkin" We are introduced to a group of problems that have been solved using the system. In those solutions the drawings were not only on napkins but white boards or just sheets of paper. The reader begins to understand that the system is a cleverly developed method to cause one to think not only outside the box but with pictures rather than words. He also takes care in pointing out that timing and following a sequence of steps is most important. Pictures are often said to be worth a thousand words. He gives examples that explain when one is selling the idea one has to be sure the audience is led to the conclusions that the team found while developing the solution. Just flashing a picture and saying "this is the solution" is not usually the most effective way to convince those you are trying to convince. The book takes us from puzzle (the problem) to plan (the selling of the solution) in simple and easy to follow steps. In these days we are constantly faced with solving complex problems. The Back of the Napkin presents a thought process and method that can help solve those problems. Using the method will help sell the solution. It becomes an arsenal one wants in his tool kit. When you couple that arsenal with an enjoyable read there is little to lose and much to gain. Now where are those napkins?