The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
Written by: Dan Roam
Editorial Reviews:
A bold new way to tackle tough business problems—even if you draw like a second grader
When Herb Kelleher was brainstorming about how to beat the traditional hub-and- spoke airlines, he grabbed a bar napkin and a pen. Three dots to represent Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Three arrows to show direct flights. Problem solved, and the picture made it easy to sell Southwest Airlines to investors and customers.
Used properly, a simple drawing on a humble napkin is more powerful than Excel or PowerPoint. It can help crystallize ideas, think outside the box, and communicate in a way that people simply “get”. In this book Dan Roam argues that everyone is born with a talent for visual thinking, even those who swear they can’t draw.
Drawing on twenty years of visual problem solving combined with the recent discoveries of vision science, this book shows anyone how to clarify a problem or sell an idea by visually breaking it down using a simple set of visual thinking tools – tools that take advantage of everyone’s innate ability to look, see, imagine, and show.
THE BACK OF THE NAPKIN proves that thinking with pictures can help anyone discover and develop new ideas, solve problems in unexpected ways, and dramatically improve their ability to share their insights. This book will help readers literally see the world in a new way.
If you like "The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, you might also like ...
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Comment: A funny thing happened on the way to the boardroom--this book is for everyone trying to problem solve in a creative, and also prgamatic way. Oxymoron? Not so! This book teaches you how--
Right-brainers and left-brainers are both super stars in this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Back of the Napkin
Comment: The book was not what I expected. I was thinking quick and dirty simple math formulae but what I found was something more robust and comprehensive. The book began with the 5 W's (Who, What, When, Where, Why...) and finished with process flow diagrams and XY charts. Examples of effective, simple, basic shapes are introduced at the beginning. Four steps of visual thinking are presented with examples. The thinking process of Looking vs. Seeing are presented in three separate chapters. These chapters show how to layout the most effective visual diagram tailored for the audience. The SQVID (Simple, Quality, Vision, Individual, Delta) method is presented enlarging the visual content methods.
The book is a concise course in data presentation/analysis. The chapters can be read at once or as needed. I suggest scanning the book for familiarization with the contents. Then cherry-pick or smorgasbord what you need, when you need it, for who you need it...
If you work in this kind of business situation or are a student with term papers and theses ahead then this book is for you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Draw with ease to communicate your best ideas
Comment: You don't need to be able to draw like an artist to communicate and capture great ideas. This book eases you into overcoming your fear of drawing and jump in with simple sketches and annotations. Unleash your creative right-brain and get to work immediately with the tools Roam provides. I liked the book and use it in my business practice to help people discover the power the ideas we develop together. When the communication on paper begins with drawings, clients engage with me, the concepts come together quickly and momentum is formed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beauty in Simplicity
Comment: "The Back of the Napkin" provides a methodology to quickly identify the underlying structure in apparent random, complex and nebulous problems/processes. As an American working in a foreign country, I found the graphical methods especially effective in creating an inclusive environment for all team members, including those with poor English skills.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good General Coverage of Solving Problems Visually
Comment: "The Back of the Napkin" is a well-written (and illustrated) book on how to solve problems visually. Dan Roam covers a lot of important ground in a small book...there is a high density of useful information in this book.
Through a liberal use of examples, a linear and easy-to-follow narrative style and extensive pictures found across sections of the book, Roam offers readers a unique set of problem-solving tools.
I especially like the various frameworks that Roam utilizes over the course of the book. I recommend this as a good source for problem-solving tools and approaches.
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.403
EAN: 9781591841999
ISBN: 1591841992
Label: Portfolio Hardcover
Manufacturer: Portfolio Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2008-03-13
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Studio: Portfolio Hardcover
 | Format: Hardcover List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $15.64 Your Save: $ 9.31 ( 37% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Average Customer Rating: |
Editorial Reviews:
A bold new way to tackle tough business problems—even if you draw like a second grader
When Herb Kelleher was brainstorming about how to beat the traditional hub-and- spoke airlines, he grabbed a bar napkin and a pen. Three dots to represent Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Three arrows to show direct flights. Problem solved, and the picture made it easy to sell Southwest Airlines to investors and customers.
Used properly, a simple drawing on a humble napkin is more powerful than Excel or PowerPoint. It can help crystallize ideas, think outside the box, and communicate in a way that people simply “get”. In this book Dan Roam argues that everyone is born with a talent for visual thinking, even those who swear they can’t draw.
Drawing on twenty years of visual problem solving combined with the recent discoveries of vision science, this book shows anyone how to clarify a problem or sell an idea by visually breaking it down using a simple set of visual thinking tools – tools that take advantage of everyone’s innate ability to look, see, imagine, and show.
THE BACK OF THE NAPKIN proves that thinking with pictures can help anyone discover and develop new ideas, solve problems in unexpected ways, and dramatically improve their ability to share their insights. This book will help readers literally see the world in a new way.
If you like "The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, you might also like ...
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Comment: A funny thing happened on the way to the boardroom--this book is for everyone trying to problem solve in a creative, and also prgamatic way. Oxymoron? Not so! This book teaches you how--
Right-brainers and left-brainers are both super stars in this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Back of the Napkin
Comment: The book was not what I expected. I was thinking quick and dirty simple math formulae but what I found was something more robust and comprehensive. The book began with the 5 W's (Who, What, When, Where, Why...) and finished with process flow diagrams and XY charts. Examples of effective, simple, basic shapes are introduced at the beginning. Four steps of visual thinking are presented with examples. The thinking process of Looking vs. Seeing are presented in three separate chapters. These chapters show how to layout the most effective visual diagram tailored for the audience. The SQVID (Simple, Quality, Vision, Individual, Delta) method is presented enlarging the visual content methods.
The book is a concise course in data presentation/analysis. The chapters can be read at once or as needed. I suggest scanning the book for familiarization with the contents. Then cherry-pick or smorgasbord what you need, when you need it, for who you need it...
If you work in this kind of business situation or are a student with term papers and theses ahead then this book is for you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Draw with ease to communicate your best ideas
Comment: You don't need to be able to draw like an artist to communicate and capture great ideas. This book eases you into overcoming your fear of drawing and jump in with simple sketches and annotations. Unleash your creative right-brain and get to work immediately with the tools Roam provides. I liked the book and use it in my business practice to help people discover the power the ideas we develop together. When the communication on paper begins with drawings, clients engage with me, the concepts come together quickly and momentum is formed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beauty in Simplicity
Comment: "The Back of the Napkin" provides a methodology to quickly identify the underlying structure in apparent random, complex and nebulous problems/processes. As an American working in a foreign country, I found the graphical methods especially effective in creating an inclusive environment for all team members, including those with poor English skills.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good General Coverage of Solving Problems Visually
Comment: "The Back of the Napkin" is a well-written (and illustrated) book on how to solve problems visually. Dan Roam covers a lot of important ground in a small book...there is a high density of useful information in this book.
Through a liberal use of examples, a linear and easy-to-follow narrative style and extensive pictures found across sections of the book, Roam offers readers a unique set of problem-solving tools.
I especially like the various frameworks that Roam utilizes over the course of the book. I recommend this as a good source for problem-solving tools and approaches.
Technical Details
Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 658.403
EAN: 9781591841999
ISBN: 1591841992
Label: Portfolio Hardcover
Manufacturer: Portfolio Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2008-03-13
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Studio: Portfolio Hardcover
