The Back of the Napkin - A book for Entrepreneurs
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.
Shallie Bey
Smarter Small Business Blog
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Publisher's Weekly Review of The Back of the Napkin
"The premise behind Roam's book is simple: anybody with a pen and a scrap of paper can use visual thinking to work through complex business ideas. Management consultant and lecturer Roam begins with a "watershed moment": asked, at the last minute, to give a talk to top government officials, he sketched a diagram on a napkin. The clarity and power of that image allowed him to communicate directly with his audience. From this starting point, Roam has developed a remarkably comprehensive system of ideas. Everything in the book is broken down into steps, providing the reader with "tools and rules" to facilitate picture making. There are the four steps of visual thinking, the six ways of seeing and the "SQVID"- a clumsy acronym for a "full brain visual work out" designed to focus ideas. Roam occasionally overcomplicates; an extended case study takes up a full third of the book and contains an overload of images that belie the book's central message of simplicity. Nonetheless, for forward-thinking management types, there is enough content in these pages to drive many a brainstorming session. Illus."
-Publisher's Weekly
-Publisher's Weekly
The Back of the Napkin on Amazon
Get Your Copy Here
The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
Amazon Price: $16.98 (as of 12/15/2009) 
A quick Overview of The Back of the Napkin
The Back Of The Napkin by Dan Roam |Book Brief
In his book, The Back Of The Napkin, author Dan Roam asserts that that everyone is born with a talent for visual thinking, but that we — especially in the business world — are never encouraged to develop it. In this video, Roam shows us how anyone with a pen and a scrap of paper can exercise their imagination and work through any business problem by creating pictures.
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curated content from YouTube
"Make sure you watch this video of Dan Roam at Authors @Google"
My Review of YouTube Video: Dan Roam - Authors@Google
Dan Roam and Authors @Google, thank you for sharing this extraordinary presentation on The Back of the Napkin. I was recently involved in a training program called the 30 Day Challenge 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 it to be a perfect explanation of what I have tried to share with my clients over the years on how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and how to evaluate and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
The concept, as you express it in the book, of visual thinking being like a Swiss Army knife that you can carry with you anywhere to tackle problems as they come to you, will be revolutionary as it becomes more visible to entrepreneurs. As Global Entrepreneurship Week approaches as a world wide effort to encourage young people to embrace entrepreneurship as a tool to solve the challenges of the world, your contribution must be made visible and will become increasingly important.
Thank you for generously sharing in this video on The Back of the Napkin and making yourself accessible to global entrepreneurs.
Shallie Bey
Much to my surprise, I find it to be a perfect explanation of what I have tried to share with my clients over the years on how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and how to evaluate and implement entrepreneurial ideas.
The concept, as you express it in the book, of visual thinking being like a Swiss Army knife that you can carry with you anywhere to tackle problems as they come to you, will be revolutionary as it becomes more visible to entrepreneurs. As Global Entrepreneurship Week approaches as a world wide effort to encourage young people to embrace entrepreneurship as a tool to solve the challenges of the world, your contribution must be made visible and will become increasingly important.
Thank you for generously sharing in this video on The Back of the Napkin and making yourself accessible to global entrepreneurs.
Shallie Bey
Dan Roam Presents to Authors@Google
Authors@Google: Dan Roam
Dan Roam visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss his book "The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures." This event took place on May 27, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series. 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. Dan Roam is the founder and president of Digital Roam Inc., a management- consulting firm that helps business executives solve complex problems through visual thinking. He has brought his unique approach to clients such as General Electric, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo Bank, the U.S. Navy, HBO, News Corporation, and Sun Microsystems, among many others. He lectures around the country for clients and at business conferences.
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Dan Roam's Information about Dan Roam and The Back of the Napkin
This is information from official Dan Roam web sites.
- Back of the Napkin
- "Inspiring! It teaches you a new way of thinking in a few hours; what more could you ask from a book?" - Dan Heath,author of Made to Stick
"With style and wit, Dan Roam has provided a smart, practical primer on the power of visual thinking." Daniel H. Pink,author - Digital Roam - The Back of the Napkin blog
- Adventures in visual thinking: The Back of the Napkin blog
- Digital Roam. Inc.: Visual thinking for the business world
- Visual thinking is how we use our eyes (and our mind's eye) to look at a problem, see patterns and opportunities, imagine ways to manipulate those patterns to our advantage, and show those insights to others.
- Digital Roam: Napkin tools: now downloadable!
- Ever since The Back of the Napkin appeared, people have been asking me for download-friendly versions of the key visual thinking tools I introduce. So due to popular request, here they are; high-resolution PDF files for: The Visual Thinking Toolkit....
What Others Are Saying About Dan Roam and The Back of the Napkin
- The Napkin Sketch -- Graphic Expression -- Microsoft Sketches | Page 0,0 | Fast Company
- How Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and others are using the power of images to digest complex ideas.
- Dan's Back of a Napkin approach to visual thinking (and how I bought the book). « In Front Of Your Nose
- In Front Of Your Nose - Technology PR. And George Orwell. Mostly.
- 800-CEO-READ Excerpts: Excerpt from The Back of the Napkin
- 800-CEO-READ Excerpts
March 13, 2008 Excerpt from The Back of the Napkin. The excerpt below is from the introduction to The excerpt below is from The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. - Neuromarketing » Visual Selling - A REview of The Back of the Napkin
- Where Brain Science and Marketing Meet - » Visual Selling
Blog Posts on The Back of the Napkin
- Digital Roam: Napkin. Unfolded.
- Thanks to you, feedback on The Back of the Napkin came in from around the world over this past year and a half, and the most common theme was a request for more do-it-yourself exercises. I created Unfolding the Napkin around that ...
- Review: The Back of the Napkin: The eLearning Coach
- According to Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, our built-in visual thinking tools consist of our eyes, our mind's eye and a little eye-hand coordination. ...
- Have you checked out Dan Roam's book “On the Back of the Napkin ...
- I've just started reading Dan Roam's book ?On the Back of the Napkin? I'm really enjoying it. Roam helped Peets Coffee & Tea (among many others like Google) visually layout its vision and mission and grow to be what it is today. ...
- The Center for Graphic Facilitation: Dan Roam: 1st Public "Back of ...
- Register Here. https://www.regonline.com/thebackofthenapkin_march2010 Kabuki Hotel, San Francisco Attendees receive: Two full days of hands-on visual problem solving The Back of the Napkin Expanded Edition Unfolding the Napkin Workbook ...
Interesting Example of Visual Thinking In A Marketing Presentation By Consulting M.O.
This consulting company has produce a very interesting and informative presentation using visual thinking. It is a perfect example of the application of the principles taught The Back of the Napkin.
Ed Dale of 30 Day Challenge Makes Use of Visual Thinking In Presentation
Ed Dale explains how entrepreneurial marketing is a 'Symphony In Four Parts" beginning with market research. This is the introduction to the 30 Day Challenge.
Check Out My Other Information on Entrepreneurship
Here is a list of other things you may want to explore
Here's my favorite link:
Other Shallie Bey projects on entrepreneurship
Here are some other projects relating to entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial mind, entrepreneurial ideas and books for entrepreneurs.
- Smarter Small Business Blog
- This is my primary blog. Look here for current thinking on entrepreneurship.
- Global Entrepreneurship Week
- Global Entrepreneurship Week is the first ever effort by more than 70 countries to encourage young people to consider entrepreneurship as a means to solve the problems of the world. This directory shares information about Global Entrepreneurship Week. It also offers resources to entrepreneurs around the world who may not have direct access to Global Entrepreneurship Week events.
- Entrepreneurial Ideas
- This directory explores entrepreneurial ideas. It discusses how to find them, how to develop them, and how to implement them.
- Michael Gerber and the Book The E-Myth Revisited
- Michael Gerber is one of the giants in the world of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial ideas, and the entrepreneurial mindset.
- Smarter Small Business: Books for Entrepreneurs - The Back of the Napkin
- Here is my brief introduction to The Back of the Napkin and this lens.
How will you use visual thinking?
Now that you have seen the benefit of visual thinking, how will you be using it?
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Flickr Photos About The Back of the Napkin
Pictures can solve any problem: match what you draw to what you're trying to com...
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by shalliebey
Shallie Bey is the name. Some refer to me as "The Business Dream Weaver". I live in Arlington, Texas. I am a business coach who specializes in working... (more)
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