The Back of the Napkin Challenge

One of my favorite how-to books is The Back of the Napkin - Problem Solving and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam. If you haven’t read the book, go get it. It is a must read for anyone who must explain concepts and that’s just about everyone.

To force myself to really dig into the book and learn the visual thinking methodology, I have laid out a challenge for myself, which I call The Back of the Napkin Challenge.

I’m not sure where this challenge will take me, but, it will be interesting to see what develops. Consider taking the challenge with me.

Back of the Napkin Challenge
Apply the visual thinking methods as taught in the book to successfully launch a new project, product, or service within 30 days. I will document and share my progress and at the end evaluate my results.

Challenge Stages
Stage 1 - Learn the Methodology
Stage 2 - Use the Methodology to define the new project
Stage 3 - Launch or implement the new project
Stage 4 - Evaluate the success

Visual Thinking
I use hand-drawn charts, graphs, and pictures to clarify concepts when I am working on any project. In fact, you can gauge the success of my projects by the volume and elaborateness of sketches and notes I make.

I have always worked with sketches and the way I work serves me well. I have never put much thought into how I define concepts until I read The Back of the Napkin. It became clear that I would create more success working within a better defined framework.

I’m excited to find out if applying the visual thinking methodology presented in the book will bring measurable results. I’ll keep you posted!

The Back of the Napkin Challenge - First Update

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Tagged as: challenge, personal development, problem solving, visual thinking