Books › The Back of the Napkin
The Back of the Napkin
288 pages
An energizing toolkit that strips away corporate complexity to reveal the power of simple, visual problem-solving.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like a sudden moment of clarity in a crowded, confusing boardroom. It carries a brisk, energizing pace, stripping away the intimidation of complex spreadsheets and endless slide decks to focus on the raw power of visual thinking. The tone is deeply encouraging, assuring readers that they already possess the innate tools needed to clarify and sell their biggest ideas, even if they can barely draw a stick figure. It creates an optimistic, clear-headed atmosphere where insurmountable business challenges are broken down into simple, manageable sketches. This is a highly practical experience designed to delight professionals, managers, and creative thinkers who crave a more intuitive, impactful way to communicate and solve problems.
- Mood
- optimistic
- clear-headed
- energizing
- Tone
- encouraging
- practical
- persuasive
- accessible
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- visual thinking · simplifying complexity · creative problem solving · effective communication
- The writing
- Direct, engaging, and highly actionable, breaking down cognitive science into everyday business applications.
- The arc
- Moves from the frustration of complex corporate communication to the empowering clarity of visual problem-solving.
- Who it's for
- Professionals and thinkers who want to cut through jargon and communicate their ideas with immediate, undeniable clarity.
About the book
A bold new way to tackle tough business problems—even if you draw like a second graderWhen 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.
Description from Open Library.
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