The Back of the Napkin (Expanded Edition

The frameworks defined in the book are very simple, detailed, interesting and beautifully explained. If you want to develop a structured mindset for comprehensive evaluation of a problem and then pitch it. Go for it !!

It's a great creative reference book for someone getting into consulting, specially at initial stages of consulting career.

A book for professionals

Worthless ….

Very very basis. Even school kids know this

I paid 1350 but the book shows 1099 as price.

Me encanto el estilo de redacción del autor. El autor tiene una forma divertida de explicar su metodología y aplica muy bien los concepción con los gráficos. Las anécdotas son divertidas y aplicables. He comprado ya los tres libros porque me encanta la propuesta del autor.

To much blablabla...It did not reach my expectations. The core message is good but it takes forever to get to the point. The book is far from cut nicely, something I didn't care about, since I go for content.

I really liked the way this book is structured and the contents. If you can remember just one tool - the swiss army knife of visual thinking, then you basiclly remember the whole book, which makes it worth reading, innovative and entertaining.

If money or portability are your primary considerations, then get a used copy of the first edition, as it communicates the central ideas in an almost identical fashion and is easier to carry around. However, if a few more dollars and a slightly-bigger book don't bother you, consider buying this new edition, as it's subtly-revised diagrams and improved explanation of key brain science concepts make it easier to understand on the first read. For more detail on the differences between this and the previous edition, read on... Both books are hardcovers and much of the content (including, sadly, the Resources listed in the Appendix) is the same. However, there are a number of important differences between these editions: SIZE At 8.2 x 8 x 1.3 inches, it is bigger than the first edition, which clocked in at 7.1 x 7.1 x 1 inches. While this does allow for the pictures to be bigger and slightly easier to see, it also means a larger, oddly-shaped book to carry around. This only matters if, like me, you like to schlepp your favorite books around and carry them on the bus. PAGES & TEXT Includes more pages at 304 pages, rather than the previous edition's 278, making it a mere 0.2 pounds heavier. 10 of those additional 26 pages are the new "Appendix A: The Ten (and a Half) Commandments of Visual Thinking." This is a very useful set of 11 rules of thumb to keep in mind when applying Roam's visual thinking technique. Most, if not all, of these rules are mentioned elsewhere in the book, so don't let this appendix be your only reason for purchasing the newest edition. In addition, these 11 rules are summarized nicely in a slideshow elsewhere on the internet ([...]/visual_think_map/the-10-12-commandments-of-visual-thinking-the-lost-chapter-from-the-back-of-the-napkin). Nonetheless, it is helpful to have them laid out, visually, in one place. Another 8 pages are the new Foreword, which explains Roam's experience of visually attempting to sell the idea for this book to the publishers at Penguin. While interesting and a good example, it is also not a reason to buy this edition. COLOR & PICTURES Instead of just black text/pictures, red is now used to highlight chapter headings and subheadings, as well as help readers distinguish between parts of Roam's originally-all-black illustrations and diagrams. This is astonishingly helpful - as it is much easier to understand his diagrams at first glance. Given the table on page 66 (identical to that on page 72 in the first edition), it is no surprise that a small change in color makes it easier for our eyes to distinguish among the parts of his diagrams. In addition, he has added some additional sketches in the book to better visually explain some of his concepts. I was particularly impressed by his improvements to chapters 4 and 5 on how to look better and see sharper. Both his pictures and his text in this section have been revised to provide more clarity for potentially-confusing sections that are partially dependent on communicating a few key brain science concepts. His diagrams illustrating the 6 ways of seeing/showing are also a bit clearer than in the first edition. OUTLINE OF BOOK CONCEPTS For an outline of the major concepts in the book, see my blog post ([...]/blog/review-back-of-the-napkin-solving-problems-and-selling-ideas-with-pictures-expanded-edition-2009) for more details.

Great book, I keep on buying it, giving it to my staff, then having to buy it again. Great communication skill set if you are drawing or even putting diagrams in PowerPoint.