Dan Roam, The Back of the Napkin

I like napkins. I spend time in coffee shops and inevitably end up showing ideas and sharing models on napkins. The subtitle of the first version of Do More Great Work was “napkin-size solutions to stop the busywork”. So I was delighted to speak to Dan Roam, author of the deservedly popular book The Back of a Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. Dan Roam – who’s just released a workbook version called Unfolding the Napkin – has done a masterful job at explaining just how to make your ideas – your Great Work ideas – powerful, focused and useful.

In this interview Dan Roam and I get into:

• Why we must abandon our “endless bullet points and endless paragraphs” if we want our ideas to stick
• Why simplicity isn’t a goal in and of itself – but clarity is
• How drawing a circle – and another and another – can help untangle any problem (Dan explains just how)
• And why we need to stop the meeting madness!

You can follow Dan at Digital Roam and on his blog.

Listen to my interview with Dan Roam

0:16    Michael introduces Dan Roam
0:23    Dan Roam’s book The Back of a Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures.
6:47    Dan’s new workbook Unfolding the Napkin
7:05    Why simplicity isn’t a goal in and of itself – but clarity is
10:06   Why we must abandon our “endless bullet points and endless paragraphs” if we want our ideas to stick
12:40   How drawing a circle – and another and another – can help untangle any problem (Dan explains just how)
15:50   Why we need to stop the meeting madness!
21:36   The benefit of a little playfulness
26:00   How to find out more about Dan Roam
26:27   Michael closes the interview

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