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The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
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.
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.
278 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
1020 people are currently reading
15968 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 424 reviews
November 22, 2008
A third of the way through this book, I was afraid that it would be nothing more than another "here's how to present information graphically: you have hue, intensity, etc. to work with" beginner book on design. I've read several and they have completely failed to stick.
But now I'm 80% of the way through and I see this book is not that at all. Instead, it's a way of tackling difficult problems by creating the "picture worth a thousand words" that gets your point across. The author tells you to look at situations in terms of who/what, where, when, how, why, and how much. Once you're aware of the important quantities, you turn to which aspect of a presentation will be most useful (SQVID: Simple vs elaborate; Qualitative vs quantitative; Vision vs execution; Individual vs compare; Difference (change) vs as-is). Then there are lots of examples and some great rules about how to go about creating pictures that respect that.
More useful and practical than I thought it would be, and interesting for the ways in which it teaches you to look at the world.
But now I'm 80% of the way through and I see this book is not that at all. Instead, it's a way of tackling difficult problems by creating the "picture worth a thousand words" that gets your point across. The author tells you to look at situations in terms of who/what, where, when, how, why, and how much. Once you're aware of the important quantities, you turn to which aspect of a presentation will be most useful (SQVID: Simple vs elaborate; Qualitative vs quantitative; Vision vs execution; Individual vs compare; Difference (change) vs as-is). Then there are lots of examples and some great rules about how to go about creating pictures that respect that.
More useful and practical than I thought it would be, and interesting for the ways in which it teaches you to look at the world.
December 2, 2010
There are two things I didn't really enjoy with this book. One isn't really the fault of the author as such, it's more my fault for reading it. I'm in a creative industry and read this as part of a industry bookclub I attend. I think I thought it would be more about methods of thinking visually and tips and techniques - turns out it much more aimed at management consultants and offers problems solving methods with a visual skew.
The second aspect that I didn't like was the convienience of it all - he always seemed to come up trumps, pull an awesome presentation out of the bag at the last minute or miraculously know what data goes on which axis. There was a distinct lack of the real world - things going wrong, learning from mistakes, not having access to any data - the kinds of thing we mere mortals come across on a daily basis.
With regards writing style, he tends to use 50 words where 3 would have surficed. Plus he's got a very marketeer, smarm, smugness about him.
I would not recommend this to creatives. I probably wouldn't recommend it to management consultants either.
The second aspect that I didn't like was the convienience of it all - he always seemed to come up trumps, pull an awesome presentation out of the bag at the last minute or miraculously know what data goes on which axis. There was a distinct lack of the real world - things going wrong, learning from mistakes, not having access to any data - the kinds of thing we mere mortals come across on a daily basis.
With regards writing style, he tends to use 50 words where 3 would have surficed. Plus he's got a very marketeer, smarm, smugness about him.
I would not recommend this to creatives. I probably wouldn't recommend it to management consultants either.
January 6, 2022
I don't think it's got much of a chance to be particularly helpful.
SQUID got it 3 stars but that's the most that could be squeezed out of it, I'm afraid.
SQUID got it 3 stars but that's the most that could be squeezed out of it, I'm afraid.
July 21, 2010
الكاتب كتابته سلسة جدا و ممتعة. و تنسيق الكتاب نفسه جذاب لا يتسم بالرتابة المملة التي يتصف بها القالب التقليدي للكتب. تعلمت الكثير، و أظن أن الأفكار التي وردت في الكتاب يكمن جمالها في قابلية تطبيقها في مختلف المجالات و الأمور. يمكن فهمها على أنها منظار عملي لمعالجة الظروف الحياتية، بشكل عام، من خلاله.
أعجبتني كثيرا فكرة أن أي مشكلة أو ظرف يمكن حلها من منظور "الست أسئلة": 1. من و ماذا. 2. كم. 3. متى. 4. أين. 5. كيف. 6. لمَ.
هي فكرة بسيطة إن تمعنا بها، لكن غالبا ما نغفل عن تطبيقها في حل المشكلات أو عند محاولة فمهما.
(اقتبست جدولا يوضح الفكرة بتفصيل)
--
اقتبست/تعلمت:
"Visual thinking means taking advantage of our innate ability to see --both with our eyes and our mind's eye-- in order to discover ideas that are otherwise invisible, develop those ideas quickly and intuitively, and then share those ideas with other people in a way that they simply 'get'." (p. 4)
**
يشرح المنطق وراء فكرة استخدام (النابكن) لحل المشاكل قائلا:
"First, simply by drawing it, I had clarified in my own mind a previously vague idea. Second, I was able to create the picture almost instantly, without the need to rely on any technology other than paper and pen. Third, I was able to share the picture with my audiences in an open way that invited comments and inspired discussion. Finally, speaking directly from the picture meant I could focus on any topic without having to rely on notes, bullet points, or a written script." (p. 11)
**
"We can use the simplicity and immediacy of pictures to discover and clarify our own ideas, and use those pictures to clarify our ideas for other people, helping them discover something new for themselves along the way." (p. 11)
**
"Any problem can be made clearer with a picture, and any picture can be created using the same set of tools and rules." (p. 12)
**
"Visual thinking is learning to think with our eyes, and it doesn't require any advanced technology at all." (p. 19)
"There are really only three tools that we'll need to become great at solving problems with pictures: our eyes, our mind's eye, and a little hand-eye coordination. I call these our 'built-in' visual thinking tools."
**
The process of visual thinking:
Look (collecting and screening) -> See (selecting and clumping) -> Imagine (seeing what isn't there) -> Show (making it all clear)
**
p. 66
**
"When we imagine, we're letting our mind's eye see things that aren't actually there." (p. 90)
**
(الكتاب ملون، و الصور فيه ملونة أيضا.الصور هذه تفتقر للألوان لأني استعنت بجوجل بريفيو لأخذها.)
http://upload.wa7di.com/Books/Back%20...
http://upload.wa7di.com/Books/Back%20...
http://upload.wa7di.com/Books/Back%20...
أعجبتني كثيرا فكرة أن أي مشكلة أو ظرف يمكن حلها من منظور "الست أسئلة": 1. من و ماذا. 2. كم. 3. متى. 4. أين. 5. كيف. 6. لمَ.
هي فكرة بسيطة إن تمعنا بها، لكن غالبا ما نغفل عن تطبيقها في حل المشكلات أو عند محاولة فمهما.
(اقتبست جدولا يوضح الفكرة بتفصيل)
--
اقتبست/تعلمت:
"Visual thinking means taking advantage of our innate ability to see --both with our eyes and our mind's eye-- in order to discover ideas that are otherwise invisible, develop those ideas quickly and intuitively, and then share those ideas with other people in a way that they simply 'get'." (p. 4)
**
يشرح المنطق وراء فكرة استخدام (النابكن) لحل المشاكل قائلا:
"First, simply by drawing it, I had clarified in my own mind a previously vague idea. Second, I was able to create the picture almost instantly, without the need to rely on any technology other than paper and pen. Third, I was able to share the picture with my audiences in an open way that invited comments and inspired discussion. Finally, speaking directly from the picture meant I could focus on any topic without having to rely on notes, bullet points, or a written script." (p. 11)
**
"We can use the simplicity and immediacy of pictures to discover and clarify our own ideas, and use those pictures to clarify our ideas for other people, helping them discover something new for themselves along the way." (p. 11)
**
"Any problem can be made clearer with a picture, and any picture can be created using the same set of tools and rules." (p. 12)
**
"Visual thinking is learning to think with our eyes, and it doesn't require any advanced technology at all." (p. 19)
"There are really only three tools that we'll need to become great at solving problems with pictures: our eyes, our mind's eye, and a little hand-eye coordination. I call these our 'built-in' visual thinking tools."
**
The process of visual thinking:
Look (collecting and screening) -> See (selecting and clumping) -> Imagine (seeing what isn't there) -> Show (making it all clear)
**
p. 66
**
"When we imagine, we're letting our mind's eye see things that aren't actually there." (p. 90)
**
(الكتاب ملون، و الصور فيه ملونة أيضا.الصور هذه تفتقر للألوان لأني استعنت بجوجل بريفيو لأخذها.)
http://upload.wa7di.com/Books/Back%20...
http://upload.wa7di.com/Books/Back%20...
http://upload.wa7di.com/Books/Back%20...
January 6, 2022
I think if you have any experience in science, that this book is useless. It's hard for me to judge what audience it is useful for. I thought this would feature many examples like the famous Southwest Airlines napkin with relevant comments. Instead, for a book on using pictures to communicate, it is extremely wordy.
For better, beautiful books on visual display of complex information, I would consider first the works of Tufte:
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
For better, beautiful books on visual display of complex information, I would consider first the works of Tufte:
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
March 29, 2009
Yes, you should read this book. The content is excellent and useful. If you have any desire to be a better problem solver or a better communicator, then I believe you will find this book useful. Especially if you are in any sort of leadership role.
Stylistically, Dan writes as if he is speaking; a trait that seems to prevail among many author who are also speakers. That got in a way a few times, but it was a small annoyance.
Stylistically, Dan writes as if he is speaking; a trait that seems to prevail among many author who are also speakers. That got in a way a few times, but it was a small annoyance.
September 7, 2022
This book is my third and final candidate for best business book I read in 2009. The first two were:
Strengths-Based Leadership
Talent is Overrated
This book resonated with me because of my current role as technology instructor. I am challenged almost daily with presenting sometimes complex concepts to design students who sometimes respond that they don't understand by stating "I'm a visual person."
This book helped me appreciate the value of telling a story with pictures and how to ask the right question to arrive at the appropriate picture to help visualize the concept.
The first assessment helps you determine the type of visual thinker you are as follows:
~ black pen ("Hand me the pen!")
~ yellow pen ("I can't draw, but...")
~ red pen ("I'm not visual")
I identified myself as a yellow pen visual thinker which places me in the middle of more creative types (black pen thinkers) and more analytical types (red pen thinkers).
The principles presented to help sell your ideas with pictures require practice. For example, I find it easier to write a proposal or a blog article, than to come up with the right image to help convey that same message visually. This book provides guidance on how best to create images that sell ideas.
Practice is one theme that is woven throughout the three books I've selected as Best of 2009. Strengths-Based Leadership helps you identify your strengths, but practice allows you to capitalize on your strengths. Talent is Overrated reminds us that long hours of practice can help us achieve important life goals long after others have given up and settled for less.
And for this reason I select Talent is Overrated as the best business-related book I read in 2009!
Access Gene Babon's reviews of books on Business Leadership and Business Strategy at Pinterest.
Strengths-Based Leadership
Talent is Overrated
This book resonated with me because of my current role as technology instructor. I am challenged almost daily with presenting sometimes complex concepts to design students who sometimes respond that they don't understand by stating "I'm a visual person."
This book helped me appreciate the value of telling a story with pictures and how to ask the right question to arrive at the appropriate picture to help visualize the concept.
The first assessment helps you determine the type of visual thinker you are as follows:
~ black pen ("Hand me the pen!")
~ yellow pen ("I can't draw, but...")
~ red pen ("I'm not visual")
I identified myself as a yellow pen visual thinker which places me in the middle of more creative types (black pen thinkers) and more analytical types (red pen thinkers).
The principles presented to help sell your ideas with pictures require practice. For example, I find it easier to write a proposal or a blog article, than to come up with the right image to help convey that same message visually. This book provides guidance on how best to create images that sell ideas.
Practice is one theme that is woven throughout the three books I've selected as Best of 2009. Strengths-Based Leadership helps you identify your strengths, but practice allows you to capitalize on your strengths. Talent is Overrated reminds us that long hours of practice can help us achieve important life goals long after others have given up and settled for less.
And for this reason I select Talent is Overrated as the best business-related book I read in 2009!
Access Gene Babon's reviews of books on Business Leadership and Business Strategy at Pinterest.
April 22, 2022
When a book encourages me to follow along by doing exercises or replicating the examples in the book I find it much more useful. The Back of the Napkin is one of these books. Basically any problem you can draw out on a small piece of paper. Roam takes you from the beginning - square one where to start - to the end - how to present your ideas in a presentation - both the pictures and words.
The best part of the book is that Roam establishes a process from start to finish. He demystifies visual thinking and tool like multi-variable charts and concept maps, in addiation to the skills you need to be a visual thinker - we all have them. Some of us (me) are just more red or yellow pen than black pen.
The author writes like he talks, he talks like he's giving a business presentation. I found my self skimming at points and just focusing on understanding the pictures. That's what more like what I would do if I was in a meeting than reading a book. Typically when I start skimming I lose interest. But not here.
The value of the book is presented through the pictures, exercises, and mnuemontics.
Here's the book in four numbers 3-4-5-6:
Three tools: Eye, Mind's Eye, Hands
Four steps: Looking, Seeing, Imagining, Showing
Five spectrum's: SQVID - Simple vs Intricate, Qualitative vs Quantitative, Vision v Execution, Individual vs Group(comparision), Delta (change) v Status Quo
Six Questions: What, How Much, Where, When, How, Why
Roam combines SQVID plus the 6 into a codex. The codex tell you what kind of picture - multi variable graph, concept map, flowchart, etc. you should chose.
In solving your problem you make a picture for all 6 and then focus your presentation on the one determine by the codes, which is like the rosetta stone of the book.
I guess I came late to the party as this was published in 2008, there is an online resource for more, but it's not as update and Roam has moved on to other books, which I would also check out.
The best part of the book is that Roam establishes a process from start to finish. He demystifies visual thinking and tool like multi-variable charts and concept maps, in addiation to the skills you need to be a visual thinker - we all have them. Some of us (me) are just more red or yellow pen than black pen.
The author writes like he talks, he talks like he's giving a business presentation. I found my self skimming at points and just focusing on understanding the pictures. That's what more like what I would do if I was in a meeting than reading a book. Typically when I start skimming I lose interest. But not here.
The value of the book is presented through the pictures, exercises, and mnuemontics.
Here's the book in four numbers 3-4-5-6:
Three tools: Eye, Mind's Eye, Hands
Four steps: Looking, Seeing, Imagining, Showing
Five spectrum's: SQVID - Simple vs Intricate, Qualitative vs Quantitative, Vision v Execution, Individual vs Group(comparision), Delta (change) v Status Quo
Six Questions: What, How Much, Where, When, How, Why
Roam combines SQVID plus the 6 into a codex. The codex tell you what kind of picture - multi variable graph, concept map, flowchart, etc. you should chose.
In solving your problem you make a picture for all 6 and then focus your presentation on the one determine by the codes, which is like the rosetta stone of the book.
I guess I came late to the party as this was published in 2008, there is an online resource for more, but it's not as update and Roam has moved on to other books, which I would also check out.
August 16, 2014
The methods weren't applicable. Forcing them would be a waste of time on my part. What a disappointment.
September 20, 2011
“The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures” explores the power an image can yield as a conveyor of ideas or concepts. Although it was recommended to me as a friendly way to learn about modeling languages (a rather work related topic), its not at all a technical book. Instead it aims to convey its ideas to the general public, demystifying the use of our innate visual thinking. By a series of business stories the author describes how simple sketches over a napkin (or similar) can explain complex ideas with ease, as a counterpoint to ordinary and sleep-inducing powerpoints/bullet point presentations. And, if you don’t consider yourself, as I don’t, “a drawing person”, you’ll get a lot of encouraging throughout the book, as it makes a point in defending that if you can draw a stick figure you’re up to the job.
While the topic is interesting enough (at least for me) the methods presented didn’t manage to convince me, at least not compared with other available creativity-related tools. It seems to me that a good brainstorming session with drawings included (brainsketching) is much simpler than the methods developed by Dan Roam. Also, the concept of simple drawings as abstractions of complex concepts is not a novelty (Understanding Comics by Scott McLoud masterfully explains this), so no breakthrough there as well. The book also dedicates much attention to help avoiding those sleep-inducing presentations, but again it lags behind other works (Presentation Zen is a must read). Moreover, doing a presentation based on sketches personally doesn’t feel as the right approach, and while I don’t condone “bullet pointing” everything, I also don’t like to see my choices limited. I stick to make it simple and engaging as a rule of thumb. Drawings can, and certainly are, a useful addition, but not a stand-alone magic formula to keep your audience from taking a nap (especially if your presentation is at a rainy Monday morning…).
Only a side note, the book is the size of a napkin and, while it might seems it’s a original set-up, it’s actually cumbersome and not very manageable. Well, before I start criticizing the typeset used I’ll conclude by stating my disappointment with this book. Maybe I was expecting too much as I heard quite a buzz around it but, until further proof of the applicability of the proposed frameworks I’ll remain a faithful follower of brainstorming.
While the topic is interesting enough (at least for me) the methods presented didn’t manage to convince me, at least not compared with other available creativity-related tools. It seems to me that a good brainstorming session with drawings included (brainsketching) is much simpler than the methods developed by Dan Roam. Also, the concept of simple drawings as abstractions of complex concepts is not a novelty (Understanding Comics by Scott McLoud masterfully explains this), so no breakthrough there as well. The book also dedicates much attention to help avoiding those sleep-inducing presentations, but again it lags behind other works (Presentation Zen is a must read). Moreover, doing a presentation based on sketches personally doesn’t feel as the right approach, and while I don’t condone “bullet pointing” everything, I also don’t like to see my choices limited. I stick to make it simple and engaging as a rule of thumb. Drawings can, and certainly are, a useful addition, but not a stand-alone magic formula to keep your audience from taking a nap (especially if your presentation is at a rainy Monday morning…).
Only a side note, the book is the size of a napkin and, while it might seems it’s a original set-up, it’s actually cumbersome and not very manageable. Well, before I start criticizing the typeset used I’ll conclude by stating my disappointment with this book. Maybe I was expecting too much as I heard quite a buzz around it but, until further proof of the applicability of the proposed frameworks I’ll remain a faithful follower of brainstorming.
December 29, 2012
I sat last week with an 18 page strategy document I’d created knowing I would be the only person who would actually read it (and only because I forced myself to). The first time I read the original version of this book, it was an ebook. I got the concepts, they stuck and it made a lot of sense.
This time around I bought a paper copy in the morning and spent five hours reading through it with my strategy document beside me. The result was a series of decks that broke down the primary concepts in diagrams and charts that make a lot more sense and are easier to digest than written words. Then I was able to summarize the entire strategy on one page.
If you want to focus more on acceptance of your ideas over conveyance of detailed depth, this is the book to use. Powerful, but simple enough to read, understand and use immediately.
This time around I bought a paper copy in the morning and spent five hours reading through it with my strategy document beside me. The result was a series of decks that broke down the primary concepts in diagrams and charts that make a lot more sense and are easier to digest than written words. Then I was able to summarize the entire strategy on one page.
If you want to focus more on acceptance of your ideas over conveyance of detailed depth, this is the book to use. Powerful, but simple enough to read, understand and use immediately.
January 22, 2025
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The Back of the Napkin is an interesting, informative, and easy-to-digest overview of how to tackle problem-solving through pictures. It goes beyond how to simply present information in a visual format and breaks down how to think through problems and situations in a visual manner, which ultimately ends up with an impactful graphic and an easy-to-explain solution.
Three tools: Eye, Mind's Eye, Hands
Four steps: Looking, Seeing, Imagining, Showing
Five spectrums: SQVID - Simple vs Intricate, Qualitative vs Quantitative, Vision vs Execution, Individual vs Group(comparison), Delta (change) vs Status Quo
Six Questions: What, How Much, Where, When, How, Why
I also enjoyed that practical exercises were leading me through the material - not just getting the theory but practicing and learning hands-on in a small fashion was very useful.
If you do a lot of problem-solving and a lot of presentations/solutions-pitching, this is a handy book to add to your library.
The Back of the Napkin is an interesting, informative, and easy-to-digest overview of how to tackle problem-solving through pictures. It goes beyond how to simply present information in a visual format and breaks down how to think through problems and situations in a visual manner, which ultimately ends up with an impactful graphic and an easy-to-explain solution.
Three tools: Eye, Mind's Eye, Hands
Four steps: Looking, Seeing, Imagining, Showing
Five spectrums: SQVID - Simple vs Intricate, Qualitative vs Quantitative, Vision vs Execution, Individual vs Group(comparison), Delta (change) vs Status Quo
Six Questions: What, How Much, Where, When, How, Why
I also enjoyed that practical exercises were leading me through the material - not just getting the theory but practicing and learning hands-on in a small fashion was very useful.
If you do a lot of problem-solving and a lot of presentations/solutions-pitching, this is a handy book to add to your library.
April 4, 2016
Очень полезный скилл - донесение сложной информации простым способом. С этим часто сталкиваются учителя. Но тут автор больше обращается к тем кто продает и решает управленческие задачи. Соответственно все примеры которые автор использует связаны с этим.
Для простого донесения информации слушателю/зрителю автор предлагает использовать простые рисунки, для рисования которых не требуется быть Рембрантом. Но для того чтобы нарисовать все в упрощенном виде, надо вначале самому разобраться с большим и сложным материалом. Поэтому автор использует следующий подход: посмотрел, увидел, представил, показал.
В книге часто используется картинки и схемы, так что если вам станет скучно от примеров о методах развития софтвеерного рынка, можно посмотреть схему и пролистнуть дальше.
Сам стараюсь активно использовать простые скетчи и схемы во время уроков и эта книга помогла мне посмотреть на мои методы немного с другого угла.
В общем рекомендую к прочтению. Особенно если вы преподаете преподаете предмет естественно-научного цикла. Гуманитариям может не так актуально.
Для простого донесения информации слушателю/зрителю автор предлагает использовать простые рисунки, для рисования которых не требуется быть Рембрантом. Но для того чтобы нарисовать все в упрощенном виде, надо вначале самому разобраться с большим и сложным материалом. Поэтому автор использует следующий подход: посмотрел, увидел, представил, показал.
В книге часто используется картинки и схемы, так что если вам станет скучно от примеров о методах развития софтвеерного рынка, можно посмотреть схему и пролистнуть дальше.
Сам стараюсь активно использовать простые скетчи и схемы во время уроков и эта книга помогла мне посмотреть на мои методы немного с другого угла.
В общем рекомендую к прочтению. Особенно если вы преподаете преподаете предмет естественно-научного цикла. Гуманитариям может не так актуально.
August 11, 2008
This was an fantastic book and it should be required reading for anybody in business.
The subject is all about visual thinking (a very Lean concept) but it also provides a great framework for critical thinking. Mixing the two will provide outstanding results.
Immediate benefit I see from this book: SHORTER MEETINGS!
By making things visual, it will be easier to direct conversations to the issue SEEN in front of them (not just "stick to what I am talking about"). With visual thinking, you can have hard-to-grasp concepts represented in a way that (hopefully) keeps you from having to discuss the same concept multiple times. I am all about getting rid of waste in our life!
Dan Roam's book provides great instructions and each idea builds on itself. I like that his site http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/ offers downloads of the CODEX (trust me this makes more sense after you read the book)!
The subject is all about visual thinking (a very Lean concept) but it also provides a great framework for critical thinking. Mixing the two will provide outstanding results.
Immediate benefit I see from this book: SHORTER MEETINGS!
By making things visual, it will be easier to direct conversations to the issue SEEN in front of them (not just "stick to what I am talking about"). With visual thinking, you can have hard-to-grasp concepts represented in a way that (hopefully) keeps you from having to discuss the same concept multiple times. I am all about getting rid of waste in our life!
Dan Roam's book provides great instructions and each idea builds on itself. I like that his site http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/ offers downloads of the CODEX (trust me this makes more sense after you read the book)!
August 8, 2008
Given how much time I spend at a whiteboard, I've often contemplated how to more effectively use that tool. A really well drawn diagram, particularly if it's accompanied by both a good analogy and a good example ends up hitting nearly all of the learning styles in a given room.
The Back of the Napkin was recommended to me as a really good book for how to improve whiteboard diagrams. That recommendation wasn't ill-founded. This approach gives a nicely structured system for how to diagram most common business situations. By focusing on the who/what/when/where/how much types of questions, you clarify your own thinking as well as ending up with things that are fairly easy to draw out.
Fortunately, if you're concerned about your ability to draw, this book should help to alleviate some of those worries. That's because nearly everything he shows could be drawn by a typical elementary school child. So, "I can't draw" is not a reason to avoid drawing in this kind of context.
The Back of the Napkin was recommended to me as a really good book for how to improve whiteboard diagrams. That recommendation wasn't ill-founded. This approach gives a nicely structured system for how to diagram most common business situations. By focusing on the who/what/when/where/how much types of questions, you clarify your own thinking as well as ending up with things that are fairly easy to draw out.
Fortunately, if you're concerned about your ability to draw, this book should help to alleviate some of those worries. That's because nearly everything he shows could be drawn by a typical elementary school child. So, "I can't draw" is not a reason to avoid drawing in this kind of context.
April 16, 2015
على ظهر المنديل، لمؤلفه دان روم
(مترجم)، الناشر مكتبة جرير.
الكتاب يدعو إلى تحسين الجانب الإبداعي والتأمل
والتفكير في حل المشاكل وترويج الأفكار بواسطة الصور والتحدث عنها.
ليس الهدف استبدال الكلمات بالصور بل تعلم اسلوب التفكير البصري الذي هو في الواقع عملية نفعلها جميعا طوال اليوم بدون أن ندركها، وكما قيل "صورة واحدة تساوي ألف كلمة".
الكتاب لا يخلو من رسومات يدوية بسيطة ومعبرة فكل ما تحتاجه في التفكير البصري عبارة عن أدوات وهي العينان واليدان والخيال، أما الطرق التي نرى بها ما حولنا هي (من/ما، كم، أين، متى، كيف، لماذا).
للتفكير البصري خطوات مبتدئة بالنظرة الأولية وبعدها الرؤية كمدخلات بصرية تتمثل في جمع واختيار البيانات، ثم التخيل كخطوة لبدء معالجة ما أدركناه، وأخيرا العرض وهو تجسيد أفكارنا بصريا وعرض ما تخيلناه.
غير مهم أن تكون الصور مرسومة بإتقان بل يكفي قابليتها للشرح والتفسير وأن تحمل رسالة واضحة تتضمن معنى قوي وفكرة ملهمة.
خلاصة الكتاب تجدها في الفصل الأخير والملحق المرفق الذي قد يغنيك عن قراءة الفصول الأخرى ذات التفصيل الممل ولكن فكرة الكتاب رائعة سهلة الممارسة.
(مترجم)، الناشر مكتبة جرير.
الكتاب يدعو إلى تحسين الجانب الإبداعي والتأمل
والتفكير في حل المشاكل وترويج الأفكار بواسطة الصور والتحدث عنها.
ليس الهدف استبدال الكلمات بالصور بل تعلم اسلوب التفكير البصري الذي هو في الواقع عملية نفعلها جميعا طوال اليوم بدون أن ندركها، وكما قيل "صورة واحدة تساوي ألف كلمة".
الكتاب لا يخلو من رسومات يدوية بسيطة ومعبرة فكل ما تحتاجه في التفكير البصري عبارة عن أدوات وهي العينان واليدان والخيال، أما الطرق التي نرى بها ما حولنا هي (من/ما، كم، أين، متى، كيف، لماذا).
للتفكير البصري خطوات مبتدئة بالنظرة الأولية وبعدها الرؤية كمدخلات بصرية تتمثل في جمع واختيار البيانات، ثم التخيل كخطوة لبدء معالجة ما أدركناه، وأخيرا العرض وهو تجسيد أفكارنا بصريا وعرض ما تخيلناه.
غير مهم أن تكون الصور مرسومة بإتقان بل يكفي قابليتها للشرح والتفسير وأن تحمل رسالة واضحة تتضمن معنى قوي وفكرة ملهمة.
خلاصة الكتاب تجدها في الفصل الأخير والملحق المرفق الذي قد يغنيك عن قراءة الفصول الأخرى ذات التفصيل الممل ولكن فكرة الكتاب رائعة سهلة الممارسة.
July 30, 2011
A great read for those who are more visual in our communication with others. This book does attempt to give a guide of sorts of how one can communicate his or her ideas effectively. The ideas given are fresh, and I do find them directly applicable to those who are either more suited to these kind of communication media, or for those who wants to add a little zing to their presentation. But one aspect that I do find this book lacking is the seemingly technical details that it is trying to force onto the readers. Arguably, it does get a little weird trying to look at the tabulated template of sorts, but nonetheless, this book, I feel, would be able to give her readers a certain degree of confidence, and knowledge on how to communicate more visually, and more importantly, more effectively.
September 28, 2009
Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas by Dan Roam is an easy read that helps us think about ways that pictures can help us solve problems. It might be helpful for those of us who like to use visual activities as inquiry tools. Since I'm a visual thinker who often turns to pictures to think things out, this helped me reflect on ways I can further refine my methods. I can imagine it would be helpful for those who don't turn to pictures first, to see how they can be a great way to help illuminate problems and come up with solutions--especially when done collaboratively with others.
September 21, 2010
This is a great book that teaches you how to frame problems and communicate them better visually.
The author goes beyond the "here's the top 3 things to do" lists that I'm accustomed to in most business productivity books. He pulls in various research which breaks down how we process and communicate information which will be a refresh for some and completely new to others.
I highly recommended this book for anyone who has to use their brain for a living...which would include everyone. :)
The author goes beyond the "here's the top 3 things to do" lists that I'm accustomed to in most business productivity books. He pulls in various research which breaks down how we process and communicate information which will be a refresh for some and completely new to others.
I highly recommended this book for anyone who has to use their brain for a living...which would include everyone. :)
September 9, 2018
This is an OK book and can be read very quickly if you know how to speed read. I recommend it to people who need to develop high level consultancy skills. It helps you learn how to collect info, structure your thoughts and present business info in a visual form. As I’ve been working as a consultant for many years, the book didn’t give me any new insights and that’s why I gave it 3 stars.
December 9, 2015
This is for me the most inspiring book about visual thinking so far. Dan Roam doesn't only explain why we all should solve problems with pictures. He even explains how to do it in an engaging and, of course, visual way.
January 22, 2012
I read The Back of the Napkin (Expanded Edition) on my Amazon Kindle Basic. While I love to read books on my Kindle, I would have to say that charts and most pictures are basically lost when using the Kindle. That being said, I have to say I enjoyed the book.
This book takes the reader on a little journey. Dan Roam shows us how he came up with the concept of using simple, basic, pictures drawn by hand to illustrate the concepts he was wishing to convey to his audiences.
Our author gives us several examples of how to illustrate problems and offers some interesting anecdotes to help make his point.
I think that The Back of the Napkin would be worthwhile reading, but I suggest reading it in the print version rather than on a book reader.
Book Review Policy
My policy on book reviews is to give you my honest opinion of the book. From time to time publishers will give me a copy of their book for free for the purpose of me reading the book and writing a review. The publishers understand when they give me the book that I am under no obligation to write a positive review.
If you will look at all my reviews, you will see that there have been occasions when I have written a negative review after having been given a book.
I often provide links to books on Amazon.com where you can purchase books and help support the continued operation of this blog. However, I strongly encourage you to check out your local library. Many libraries now offer electronic borrowing for free.
I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
I obtained this book through the Wharton County Library. whartonco.lib.tx.us
This book takes the reader on a little journey. Dan Roam shows us how he came up with the concept of using simple, basic, pictures drawn by hand to illustrate the concepts he was wishing to convey to his audiences.
Our author gives us several examples of how to illustrate problems and offers some interesting anecdotes to help make his point.
I think that The Back of the Napkin would be worthwhile reading, but I suggest reading it in the print version rather than on a book reader.
Book Review Policy
My policy on book reviews is to give you my honest opinion of the book. From time to time publishers will give me a copy of their book for free for the purpose of me reading the book and writing a review. The publishers understand when they give me the book that I am under no obligation to write a positive review.
If you will look at all my reviews, you will see that there have been occasions when I have written a negative review after having been given a book.
I often provide links to books on Amazon.com where you can purchase books and help support the continued operation of this blog. However, I strongly encourage you to check out your local library. Many libraries now offer electronic borrowing for free.
I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
I obtained this book through the Wharton County Library. whartonco.lib.tx.us
April 17, 2019
I didn't actually finished the book.
The book contains details of the framework that I think comes naturally to me. I have that ability to break things down and explain and the book concentrates on that a lot. So, if you have problem with that the book might help.
I expected that the book would show a lot of drawing strategies and examples. There are not that many.
The only thing I liked was the story in the beginning of the book.
The book contains details of the framework that I think comes naturally to me. I have that ability to break things down and explain and the book concentrates on that a lot. So, if you have problem with that the book might help.
I expected that the book would show a lot of drawing strategies and examples. There are not that many.
The only thing I liked was the story in the beginning of the book.
December 26, 2009
The concept of this book is teaching everyone -- not just artistic types -- to use images effectively for presentations and persuasion. I love the concept, and there were some awesome, quotable sections (I especially liked the difference between LOOKING and SEEING).
I think it's extremely difficult to cover this topic thoroughly and effectively in a book format. I would love to attend a live seminar by the author, as seeing him present the concepts in real time would give me a much better handle on it.
But reading about it -- not so much. I got lost about halfway through. The concepts presented were too complicated to understand without a great deal of effort (which I simply don't have!) and I couldn't stick with it. I gave up and just flipped through the back half of the book.
I think it's extremely difficult to cover this topic thoroughly and effectively in a book format. I would love to attend a live seminar by the author, as seeing him present the concepts in real time would give me a much better handle on it.
But reading about it -- not so much. I got lost about halfway through. The concepts presented were too complicated to understand without a great deal of effort (which I simply don't have!) and I couldn't stick with it. I gave up and just flipped through the back half of the book.
August 30, 2018
I thought this book could be organized in a better manner for easier understanding. However the central points of the book are better presented in workshop form than just simply reading about it for optimal retention.
Lots to think about. I have been the person with a great visual to present and not known where to begin to explain it effectively. I have also killed myself and other through bullet points where a chart might have been better. We need to use our god-given gifts of drawing. Heck, cave men did it to record history and communicate messages.
Lots to think about. I have been the person with a great visual to present and not known where to begin to explain it effectively. I have also killed myself and other through bullet points where a chart might have been better. We need to use our god-given gifts of drawing. Heck, cave men did it to record history and communicate messages.
Read
October 14, 2014Had to read this for work so in this goes into my book count hahahah. While I think the concept is fantastic but the way it's presented (ironically) is bloated, very theoretical with hardly any practical examples or how-tos and far from simple. Still it's a good concept and I've been employing some of the techniques at work. I've been told Unfolding the Napkin (the workshop version of this book) is a far better read if you want to implement Visual Thinking in your work.
May 13, 2019
A business seminar in book form. It contains a couple ideas worth remembering, but it's pretty sparse on information. Good news is there's a lot of diagrams, making it easy to skim.
One piece I liked, was "The four cardinal rules for better looking":
1. Collect all the information you can
2. Lay it all out where you can look at it at once
3. Organize and find patterns
4. Cut out everything that's not important
One piece I liked, was "The four cardinal rules for better looking":
1. Collect all the information you can
2. Lay it all out where you can look at it at once
3. Organize and find patterns
4. Cut out everything that's not important
December 2, 2009
Another business book that starts with a great idea in the first pages and then proceeds to beat it to death for the last 250+ pages. I thought it was going to be a useful resource on how to use visual thinking and drawing to attack problems, but it was actually not very helpful or informative.
August 11, 2010
Dan Roam introduces interesting concepts, with scientifically inferred backing and shows how they can be applied. He gives a good guide to visual thinking process we go through naturally.
It will give a toolkit I will pull on when (visually) thinking through problems.
It will give a toolkit I will pull on when (visually) thinking through problems.
April 12, 2011
About halfway through this. Definitely pick up if you have business ideas that need a boost in clarity/definition. This helps identify all the key pieces to making solid products and gives your imagination a kick in the butt.
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