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

• The simple cover and concept shields a deeply powerful tool

  
  By A2QEZU2SHYBHM5 on 2008-04-01
  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!
  
  

• Needs more drawings, less chatter

  
  By A24X40I5XYS6FY on 2008-07-20
  I also wanted to like this book. And, to be fair, I didn't read the entire book. I just couldn't. It goes on and on about how important visual thinking is. Okay, okay, I get it. Now what? Well, the author then--as others have pointed out--paradoxically proceeds to bore us with chatter about how to proceed with using drawing and visual thinking instead of sticking to his guns and using more drawings! ATTENTION KINDLE USERS: The Kindle version's drawings of this book are barely perceptible; it's quite a chore to squint and figure out what they are supposed to be. Adjusting the font size of the text does nothing for the illustrations.
  
  

• Readit, Draw, and Solve a problem

  
  By A3QLEQU90I7X0D on 2008-03-16
  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?
  
  
  
  
  

• Refreshing

  
  By A1S8AJIUIO6M9K on 2008-06-17
  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)
  
  
  
  

• a big disappointment

  
  By A1N8C14R3UWBXL on 2008-07-17
  i was really disappointed with this book. i tend to be a visual guy, and had a high level of expectancy about how fun this book would be to read, and how helpful it would be. but i was bored -- crazy bored. i could barely finish it.
  
  there are some good ideas in the book, to be sure. but i found it horribly paradoxical that a book about using drawings would be so pickin' linear. there were three steps for this, and 6 rules for that. i felt like i was reading a john maxwell leadership book! the cute little drawings on every page even got really old. tons of repeated info, and `no duh' stuff also.
  
  sorry, not a helpful book.
  
  
• poor kindle conversion...
  By A2N1NDNCZHWBC8 on 2008-07-15
  This review refers ONLY to the kindle version.
  
  The way that the kindle converts the text to an e-format forces the images at a fixed size -- a size that too small to be able to see details.
  
  You can resize the text, but not the pictures.
  
  Obviously, this was more than a little annoying in a book that is all about using pictures to convey information.
  
  Also, there were several places in the book where there was a caption for a picture but just a blank space where the picture (presumably) was supposed to appear.
  
  
• Disappointed
  By A3BSBUQPMZJVTL on 2008-04-09
  I was really looking forward to reading this book and using it as a resource for helping me solve many of my everyday business issues. I very disappointed. The book does describe a very simplistic view. However, the process lacks any depth to be useful in my work.
  
  
• One of the Top Communication Books this Decade!
  By A306B5M98YNHV4 on 2008-04-12
  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.
  
  
• All sizzle, no steak
  By A367P3SUOQAQ65 on 2008-08-27
  Dan Roam's "Back of the Napkin" is an important first step in teaching business people how to compose problems visually. However, it's definitely a rookie effort, heavy on sizzle but light on steak.
  
  Roam spends nearly half the book explaining how our minds process information. Okay, fine. Kind of like a book on how to build a house explaining what is a hammer, a saw, a drill. Then Roam proposes some different ways to draw the different ways the brain processes information. Kind of like showing that a hammer is good for nailing wood together, a saw is good for dividing wood in half, and a drill is good for drywall and screws. The reader cannot wait to see how this will all fit together - "This is going to be good!". Finally, Roam throws out an example of how to pull it all together to solve a problem.
  
  Unfortunately, the example is overly-easy, explores many blind alleys, and finally arrives at a solution that is fundamentally flawed. Roam's case study shows flat sales for a proprietary software company for two years. Roam's analysis shows $78 million in proprietary software will be purchased next year vs. $48 million in open source. The solution - convert their software into open source. Huh? Leave a $78 million industry to a single competitor to compete with two other open-source vendors for a $48 million industry? What kind of solution is that? Will you fire all your developers and hire open source developers? Will you force your existing customers to move to open source too, or just abandon them?
  
  In the end, after many chapters of "wait till you see this" type posturing, Dan Roam never delivers the goods. I don't doubt Roam's sincerity, and hope he will continue to iterate on his models until he comes back with something that actually works.
  
  
  
• From Bar Room to Boardroom
  By A1VB5QVL8YSBB5 on 2008-04-07
  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.
  
  
  
  
• Ron Klein
  By A1A3VDYP8QD1RA on 2008-05-05
  An excellent book. Sometimes the best means of conveying ideas is via a written narrative and other times it is oral. This book does an excellent job of not only providing very good counsel as to how to present ideas with illustrations but also to develop solutions to complex problems. I expected a simple book but discovered one with much more helpful, substantive, practical guidance. In fact, I've added this as one of the 12 business books our company book club discusses this year.
  
  
• more like back of the table napkin
  By A25GZFYENO0M7F on 2008-10-12
  for a book that pleads complex business problems can be condensed to a simple diagram, this book is wordy, overly complex and, frankly, kind of boring. This whole book could have easily been condensed into a a couple of chapters, and I found myself skipping whole parts that were simplistic and, again, not enough intrigue to get through the chapter. Ironically, the imagery throughout the book is distracting. Also, the author is constantly trying to convince us the value in using images to communicate, but I think that we can assume that if you are buying this book you have already drank the kool-aid of his message. Too much preaching to the choir.
  
  The good parts of the book are when the author talks about specific business problems he helped to solve. Those kept me interested.
  
  The main point of the book is a good one -- use simple images to communicate -- and learn how to distill information to get your message across. However the author would have been well served to take his own advice and shrink the this table napkin to a cocktail napkin.
  
  
• Excellent!
  By A16PNUW6URJ1YK on 2008-04-15
  I'm quite a visual guy but that book make you create concepts in a snap!
  Really efficient and far away from being a hard lecture.
  If you have diffculties to express the working problems you have, this book is the one to have!
  
  
• Excellent read!
  By A6Y8G4A9DM7VK on 2008-03-24
  Very good read for leaders in any consulting engagement or changing corporate environment. If you are looking to "break the mold", then read this!
  
  
• Death of PowerPoint
  By A6BWAN4CU8AV2 on 2008-06-02
  If enough people read and use this book I have hope that 100 slide PowerPoint decks will be a thing of the past.
  
  
• Proposal: Business Book of the year 2008 !!
  By AOOZR8IN9NYTA on 2008-07-12
  Executive summary: This book opens up a completely new marcet for career minded people. See details below .
  
  ---
  
  Dan Roam is visually summarizing in four sections how to step through problem solving tasks.
  
  Part I is a general introduction into problem solving.
  Part II is about discovering the ideas.
  Part III is developing the ideas to a business plan and
  Part IV is about how to showcase your presentation and sell the idea.
  
  
  What makes this book different is the fact that Dan is using visual clues to solve the problems.
  
  In all parts of the book he is vigorously running through each of the below questions
  
  Who/What ...
  How many ...
  Where ...
  When ...
  How ...
  Why ...
  
  and emphasizes the importance and the impact of the answers to it.
  
  He is using the "Look,see, imagine and show" steps to explain whats is actually happening when a problem is analyzed, defined, a solution prepared and it must be "sold" to the upper management to get the go ahead.
  
  
  I can easily see how this book opens up a completely new marcet f.e. for
  instructors and junior business consultants.
  
  Instructors for teaching those people that want to understand what they have missed so far and junior consultants because it visually combines their analytical skills, selective filtering skills and presentational skills and makes them explicitely aware of them and how to apply them.
  
  
  It is interesting to see how Dan is able in Part III to "simplify" and demystify the open source <--> closed source issue any software company is facing.
  
  That alone must be worth the book for any software company.
  
  What Dan is really show casing is what good analysts already call their own:
  
  - analytical skills
  - context sensitive expertise
  - selective filtering skills
  - experience
  
  Explicitly visualizing the problem solving steps in slow motion is a powerful weapon that will give you an edge over your competition.
  
  
  I suggest you read the book three times.
  
  First to get an overview.
  Second to let it sink in and
  Third to finetune.
  
  Its one of those books that will give you new aspects everytime you read it.
  
  
  
  
  
• Simple, fun and effective
  By A3H04JX5DJNU9H on 2008-03-24
  With a densely populated landscape of business books out there, it's nice to see something truly unique. "Solving problems and selling ideas with pictures", reads the apt subtitle of this napkin-shaped, unassuming book that may finally be what you've been looking for.
  
  Dan Roam has written a fun and frank book about ideating through business ideas using visual methods. Dan focuses on the communication aspect of problem solving, using simple yet surprisingly impactful techniques for expressing ideas in ways that ensure everybody "gets it".
  
  In the first two parts of The Back of the Napkin, we are re-introduced to elements of drawings, charts and graphs. While elemental, building from a basic foundation of shapes and defining the process of visual thinking allows each of us to see that we can and do think this way, and no, you don't have to draw well to pull it off!
  
  The second part of this book focus on the "tools and rules for good visual thinking". Experienced visual communicators and newcomers alike will appreciate the lighthearted approach to this topic, while fans of Edward Tufte will surely appreciate some similarities of perspective.
  
  The Back of the Napkin really kicks into high gear in the third and fourth parts, Developing and Selling Ideas. We've all seen a group of professionals get stuck going in circles when presented with a visual style that in no way fits the type of problem being discussed. In Developing Ideas, we see what types of pictures are best for various problem types. In the past, I've used the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods to pick an appropriate model, but like the rest of this book, Dan describes in simple terms how to solve a "How Much" problem, a "Where" and "Why" problem and so on.
  
  The Back of the Napkin shows us that simple drawings, be they on a napkin or a boardroom white board, may very well be the most succinct, efficient and accessible way to solve problems and sell ideas. You'll be solving the right problem, with the right visual tools, with everyone "on the same page".
  
  
  
• Don't be fooled -- this is a serious book!
  By A3GC985EGF0MI9 on 2008-03-26
  Don't be fooled by the cartoon-like cover, Mr. Roam presents a well thought out system for "visual thinking" that doesn't exist elsewhere, or is at least hard to find.
  
  This is one of those books that should be a standard part of every business travel's carry-on luggage because like any new language it takes work to master, but I believe that it will not only lead to more effective communications, it will also lead to clearer thinking by anyone dealing with complex problems involving managing and coordinating people to accomplish important goals.
  
  Be a hero - buy several, keep one for yourself and give the others to friends and colleagues. They'll not only thank you, but you'll be able to improve your own visual thinking and communications skills because you'll be developing your new skills with colleagues on real problems. That's what my firm is doing - we're expecting over 100 copies to present to clients and business partners!
  
  
• An excellent investment in yourself!
  By APEUYUOR21TO9 on 2008-04-03
  So much of our problem solving effort (personal and professional) is spent finding perfectly reasonable answers...to the wrong questions. After nearly 20 years in both corporate management and strategy consulting, I firmly believe the most powerful tool in any room isn't the computer, the projector or the telephone; it's the white board! A small amount of time visualizing a problem (on a whiteboard or on the back of a napkin) always pays dividends in making sure you're asking the right questions before diving into the solution.
  
  Whether you adopt the author's exact methods or not, this book gives you CONFIDENCE to more consistently use a powerful tool that your brain already understands. Equally important, it invites USEFUL collaboration (even among the most jaded collaborators) since everybody else in the room intuitively knows how to do this too.
  
  Regardless of the types of problems you have to tackle, getting better at simple visualization is a great investment in your own skills.
  
  
• Refreshing read for the creatively challenged
  By A1G9YGDP5SHNEK on 2008-05-03
  This book helps you to get out of your logic box and think creatively. I enjoyed reading every page. Author is truthful about his real experiences with briefing executives. This book encapsulates a lot of important principles and techniques that have been around for at least 20 or so years. The cool thing is it is easy to read and doesn't take very long to read, and the reader can get a lot out of applying the visual principles highlighted in the book.
  
  
• Good For Visual Thinkers; Even Better for Non Visual
  By A1X97XSFS3JM8T on 2008-05-15
  Roam does a good job presenting an easily digestible piece that encourages anyway who *thinks* they don't have what it takes to present with pictures. As an user experience designer, I'm drawn (pun intended) to the parts in which he gives examples of making your stories/presentations less daunting to your audiences by trimming off the info-fat. Tips like this help us designers create better experiences.
  Definitely recommended.
  
  
• great little "how to"
  By A34P2LJ01MOWOK on 2008-05-20
  For someone like me, who is non-artistic, this little gem points out the way to overcome that obstacle. It offers a nice, clear path to visual communication with just the "basics". Very worthwhile.
  
  
• Excellent and Important...
  By on 2008-06-10
  This is the first book I've found with a well thought out framework for presenting complex information. It also makes a strong case for throwing away the Powerpoint slides and picking up the dry erase pen. I'm pushing this one to anyone in my company who will listen.
  
  
• Great encouragement to present ideas graphically and simply
  By A3CRPH68DTQC11 on 2008-06-11
  I think this is a great book for a few reasons. Firstly it is very easy to read; at the start the author proposes a simple test to determine what your visual thinking preference is. Based on this suggestions are made on what area of the book to skip and what to start with.
  
  For me the core of the book was the Visual Thinking Codex. Understanding this one page opens up the toolbox to present ideas and solve problems visually. With this codex you can fairly easily move to creating your visuals. The last section of the book works through a case study using this Codex which I found very useful.
  
  Bottom line this is an easily understandable and applicable book. For me the real value was the one page with the Codex, the rest either set it up or explained it. With this mind set it is easy to skim through and extract a valuable tool set.
  
  Thanks for reminding me how powerful visuals can be and how they can perfectly summarize many pages of data.
  
  
• I wish I had this book 10 years ago
  By A1ENVODM4CILF7 on 2008-06-27
  Dan Roam's The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, is a wonderful instructional manual that teaches you the power of visual thinking in four lessons - introduction to visual thinking, discovering ideas, developing ideas, and selling ideas.
  
  Dan explains how you don't have to be a "visual person" to take advantage of the power of visual thinking. He lays out a specific four step process of visual thinking that anyone can follow. I can't draw to save my life, but I'm already benefiting from following the process and using my crude sketches to capture and work through ideas.
  
  This is a practical book that provides you with a set of frameworks for solving the different types of problems you will run into in business. Roam also provides simple to follow rules to help you decide which framework to use to solve your particular type of problem and communicate your ideas to your particular audience.
  
  The last section of the book presents an MBA school style lesson. The author presents a walk-through of a complete case study. He demonstrates all the tools outlined in the book and you get to see how one progresses from one tool to the next to first help define the problem, then explore solutions, and then present those solutions to the key decision makers.
  
  In the last chapter, the author walks his talk by demonstrating how to create a picture to describe your new visual thinking toolkit to your colleagues. Using a simple sketch of a Swiss Army knife, he summarizes the 3 basic visual thinking tools, the 4 steps of the visual thinking process, the 5 questions that help us open our mind's eye, and the 6 ways that we see.
  
  Be sure to check out his creative acknowledgements section in the back of the book. This was the longest I've ever spent looking at an author's acknowledgements.
  
  I highly recommend this book. It won't take you long to read, and your problem solving skills will increase so dramatically, you'll wish you read it 10 years ago.
  
  
• The Back of the Napkin Is A Book For Entrepreneurs
  By ABQ9KC2YGSOR7 on 2008-10-16
  When Dan Roam wrote The Back of the Napkin, he probably never thought he was writing a book for entrepreneurs. But that is exactly what he did. The book is about discovering ideas, developing ideas, and selling ideas. That is the entrepreneurship process. That is the way to develop entrepreneurial ideas and the foundation of the entrepreneurial mindset.
  
  I was recently involved in a training program that used this visual thinking process to design marketing programs for Internet entrepreneurs. I was super impressed with how clear they made the process and went looking for the book.
  
  Much to my surprise, I find The Back of the Napkin to be a perfect explanation of what I have discussed with friends and colleagues over the years on how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and how to evaluate and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
  
  A key goal of the book, as Dan Roam expresses it in the book, is to help people think of visual thinking as being like a Swiss Army knife that you can carry with you anywhere to tackle problems as they come to you. This concept will be revolutionary as it becomes more visible to entrepreneurs. Global Entrepreneurship Week is one example of a newfound world-wide effort to encourage young people to embrace entrepreneurship as a tool to solve the challenges of the world. The Back of the Napkin equips people, young and old, to take up that challenge.
  
  
  
• Excellent Book...
  By AR1JQ65FXF0T on 2008-11-01
  This book is a quick study for those who want practical skills that can be applied either at work or school. Roam skillfully uses examples from practical case studies to illustrate his techniques (which are scientifically based). I found the application and retention of his tools very easy and useful.
  
  I read the entire book in about a week, a few pages each night before going to bed (of course, with a napkin and pen on the nightstand to practice with).
  
  
• Great book for Process Modelers...
  By A2UN6NP1CO7BQG on 2008-11-10
  Business diagrams are too often complex, difficult to understand and even harder to explain. The Back of the Napkin contains instruction and useful examples of how to get your message across simply and effectively.
  
  As a Business Process and Management Reporting Consultant, I have been recommending this book this year to the business modelers that I train. Business people love to "show their stuff" by displaying complicated process models and business diagrams, sometimes spending as long as an hour explaining what it means.
  
  BIG MISTAKE!!! If you can't get people to understand your model or picture in the first glance or two, your point will lose impact and you could miss getting your message across.
  
  Almost every page contains simple diagrams to bring each and every point across to the reader. I would have given this book 5 stars, except the author tried to create a methodology and acronym SQVID that missed the mark by being too complex. Also, the "how to" example could have been better - and given the author an opportunity to really showcase his methodology's effectiveness.
  
  Read this book - and after you finish, read "Make it Stick." These two books together will help you become more effective with business communications.
  
  
  
• Visual Thinking for Business
  By A20MESE7T90FGL on 2008-03-24
  Are you looking for more effective communication methods? Do you need to explain complex ideas to your team or employees? Dan Roam does a great job of making the use of visuals for communication easy for everybody. In this book, his structured approach provides frustrated engineers and business people an easy entry into the world of visual thinking. Best of all, Dan practices what he preaches in the book by a consistent, and effective use of visuals throughout. If you're in business and need to improve your communication, this is a great start and an easy read. It's certainly not your typical business book. If this is the book that gets us started, I can't wait for the intermediate and advanced sequels.
  
  
• Very Worthwhile
  By A1BS8HC3TQ5WFH on 2008-03-31
  Roam does a solid job of walking you through the visual learning using "the back of the napkin" as a useful metaphor. Many of us have used "the back of a napkin" to make a point. Roam examines the efficiency of communication using diagrams, drawings, illustrations and other visual aids. Worth reading and even more - worth practicing!
  
  

• Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)
• slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
• Indexed
• Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (Book & DVD)
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die