The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures (original 2009; edition 2008)

by Dan Roam

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1,357	24	13,807	(3.73)	2
This original book provides a whole new way of looking at business problems and ideas. Dan Roam demonstrates how thinking with pictures can help you discover and develop new ideas, solve problems in unexpected ways, and dramatically improve your ability to share your insights with others. Used properly, a simple drawing on a humble napkin is more powerful than Excel or PowerPoint. It can help us crystallise ideas, think outside of the box, and communicate in a way that other people simply ""get"". Drawing on 20 years of visual problem solving combined with recent discoveries in vision science,… (more)

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Member:	tonystevenson
Title:	The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
Authors:	Dan Roam
Info:	Portfolio Hardcover (2008), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 278 pages
Collections:	Your library
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The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam (2009)

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A great premise and there is useful content but somehow none of it stuck after I read it. I look at the book again and feel that the author doodled himself into a bit of a corner and the outcome does not capture real world applications.

If the text were expanded to include a broader reference of examples of illustrated communication and if the author were to go through some real convincing examples the whole would stand up.

The real issue is that not all problems can be broken down into a pretty picture. (

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yates9 | Feb 28, 2024 |

Roam does a fantastic job of outlining how our visual minds work - he even includes the research in an appendix to the main text so you can check the science. The last portion of the book is a walkthrough of a case study, and that really helped me understand his process as well. I've already started to implement some of the things he talks about and it's helped my thinking process and communication with others while we work to solve problems. Definitely a good read if you do similar work. (

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ohheybrian | Dec 29, 2023 |

Downloadable resources (the key diagrams to visual thinking as the author presents it) from this book are available from the author, http://www.danroam.com/napkin-tools-no/ (

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elam11 | May 30, 2020 |

Okay, but not revolutionary (

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John_Danenbarger | Sep 2, 2019 |

If you know anything at all about design, project management, presentations, or have ever ventured outside the box to solve a vexing problem, this book will be an extremely fast and not terribly informative read. I imagine some might be wowed...I have someone in mind to recommend it to...but the gimmick lost its appeal quickly. He should have used fewer napkins. (

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Razinha | May 23, 2017 |

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▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Axiom Business Book Award (Communication Skills/Networking, Gold – 2009)

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2009

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Epigraph

Dedication

For Isabelle.
You saw this book coming long before I did,
and you saw it through every way.
Now that's love.

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Grandin, Temple

Health, Dan

Pink, Daniel H.

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▾Book descriptions

This original book provides a whole new way of looking at business problems and ideas. Dan Roam demonstrates how thinking with pictures can help you discover and develop new ideas, solve problems in unexpected ways, and dramatically improve your ability to share your insights with others. Used properly, a simple drawing on a humble napkin is more powerful than Excel or PowerPoint. It can help us crystallise ideas, think outside of the box, and communicate in a way that other people simply ""get"". Drawing on 20 years of visual problem solving combined with recent discoveries in vision science,

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The Back of the Napkin proves that thinking with pictures can help you discover and develop new ideas, solve problems in unexpected ways, and dramatically improve your ability to share your insights. This book will help you literally see the world in a new way.

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