The latest version of updates for our superpowers. Review of Dan Roem’s book “Draw to Win”

    Vision is your superpower. You already have all the necessary tools, you have the device from birth, and the software turned on as soon as you first opened the eyelids. Now you need to install updates.
    Thus ends Dan Roem's new book, “ Draw to Win: A Proven Way to Lead, Sell, Invent , and Train .” Her idea is that modern communication is mostly visual. And in order to communicate effectively, you need to know and use the laws of visual thinking.

    From the title it is clear that the book will be useful to everyone who directs, sells, educates. Although it can be addressed in general to everyone who thinks and shares ideas with other people: the process of human thinking and how to rely on it in any communication are described in detail.

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    Stop thinking about drawing as an art process. This is a thought process. If you want to get a better idea, draw it.

    About the style of presentation


    The author writes about deep, complex things very simply, illustrates everything with his drawings, uses stories from life, jokes, masterfully structures the material.

    If the center of his book “Visual Thinking” is the process of thinking (with all scientific and fundamental digressions), then this work focuses more on the practice of using drawings: what exactly needs to be drawn in order to inspire, sell, teach.

    176 pages of the book are read in a few hours, but the ideas are so good that then you return to re-read what you liked. Usually I make several bookmarks on the most useful parts of the text. But this book by the end of reading turned into a “daisy” - colored bookmark stickers sticking out in all directions.

    Small chapters are divided into semantic parts and focus on one problem. At the beginning of each - inspirational (and clarifying the meaning) quotes, and at the end - a summary of 3-5 key ideas and one main idea of ​​the chapter. This makes the book a convenient textbook - “refresh” the essence of the chapter in a few seconds.

    About how Russia helped the author to become who he is


    Dan Roem created a system of visual problem solving, which is used in business, politics, education, science. His “clients” include Microsoft, Intel and IBM, eBay and Google, Boeing, Lucas Film, Stanford University and the MIT School of Management, the Navy and the US Senate.

    But all of a sudden I found out that “Dan revealed the potential of images in solving business problems in the Soviet Union, where in 1990 he founded the first marketing communications company. He did not know the Russian language, but once he realized that his explanatory drawings perfectly overcome the language barrier. From that moment, Dan Roem improved his method and means of visual thinking, which he shares in his books .

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    About the structure and content of the book


    The contents of 10 chapters, they are divided into three logical parts: why it is important to draw, how to do it and what exactly to draw in each case.

    In the first two chapters - “Draw as if your life depends on it”, “The one who draws wins” - Roem proves that today visualization is indispensable for thinking and communication in any field.

    In addition to the “traditional” facts (90% of all information has arisen over the past two years (IBM), 90% of online data is visual (Cisco), 90% of entrepreneurs do not know how to use visualization in their business (Roem)) there are several stories of successful people (businessmen , actors, politicians) and research data. For instance:
    A recent study showed that US presidents who used images in their speeches were considered more charismatic than those who did not. “The discovery leads to the idea that a successful expression and description of a leader’s vision can be based on his ability to paint a verbal picture for followers of what can be achieved with their help.
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    The next three chapters focus on visualization principles. Chapter 3 is called “First draw a circle, then give it a name.” She is about the answer to the question " How to start drawing ." It may seem to some that the author pays a lot of attention to the passing moment. But this is only at first glance. One of the most useful ideas of the book is that “drawing is not an artistic process, but a mental one” and communicative. This is a way to show, evoke emotions, activate memory, convince.
    The biggest mistake in business visualization is to expect that you are able to quickly paint your whole idea as a finished picture. Over time, you will be able to set yourself such an excellent goal, but at the very beginning these are harmful unrealistic expectations. You will not go far and, most likely, will surrender sooner than you will be able to appreciate the power of images clearing consciousness.
    I was convinced of the veracity of this from my own experience while studying at the college with a degree in Teacher of Drawing and Fine Arts. Some classmates painted beautiful expressive paintings easily and naturally, with two brush strokes. It didn’t work out for me. I was ready to give up and never in my life look in the direction of a pencil and paints, but once I took part in a large (all-Russian) poster contest. I did not have expressed artistic abilities, but there was a great idea that I depicted as best I could with the help of several geometric shapes. One morning, they called me from the Union of Designers of Russia and asked where to transfer the winnings, because my poster won. An hour later, they called from a local radio and asked if I could give an interview on how I managed to draw such a poster.

    Thus, it is very difficult to start drawing (and not to quit later), therefore it is important that Dan Roem removes the “pictorial stupor”, which prevents many people from using their innate superpower.

    In chapters 4, “The look indicates the mind obeys” and 5, “Start with the question“ Who? ”Discusses the pattern of human vision and perception . Not an abstract hypothetical, but a scientifically based, natural neuropsychological chain. I already wrote about it in a previous review , here the emphasis is on the fact that
    ... vision is predictable. Understand this, and you will find an extremely effective way to constantly and predictably direct the views and consciousness of people, and with the help of the simplest pictures.
    We all look at objects, people, events, phenomena in the same order. And start with the perception of who or what is in front of our eyes? That is, from the hero. He is the first thing we perceive, and a separate chapter is dedicated to him.

    According to the writer, anything can be a hero, but “I learned a lesson that still helps me. People are interested in ideas and events, but other people are most interested in them .

    And one more, though not new, but most valuable thought - the most interesting for any person will be himself, his own needs, interests. If at the center of the presentation drawing is the “pain” of the listener (viewer, student, client), something all outstanding speakers are talking about, then consider that this person’s attention is entirely yours.

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    In the center of any adventure is a hero - a person (group) who is trying to improve life (his or others). If you are a leader, this hero can be you, your team, your brand, company, or - best of all - your client.

    By the way, the presentation of Dan Roema "The US health care system (4) napkins» ( " American health care on (4) napkins ») in 2009 was recognized as the best presentation of the year.

    Having depicted the hero (= viewer), you need to show his goal and lead to this goal according to one of seven classic plots / stories. Everyone talks about them, but the explanation in “Draw to win” seemed to me the most understandable and memorable. This is returning home, competing for a prize, fair revenge for the humiliation experienced, fighting with a dragon, working on your own transformation, conquering the summit and searching for true love. Good performance Roema on this subject was in 2014 at the conference «Talks at Google».

    In the next five chapters, the author describes which specific types of images and techniques best suit the intended purpose - management, sales, invention, training, and search for insights.

    For effective leadership through images, the most important thing is the goal. Bold but realistic, big but achievable. All famous leaders are distinguished by the fact that they can draw (in the literal sense or in the imagination of the audience) the most attractive image of the target. The sixth chapter of the book “To lead, draw a goal” is dedicated to this.

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    The emblem of the mission is a simple drawing, but when you look at it, even briefly, you remember where you aimed. The emblem turns out to be a non-verbal map of your direction and destination, a symbol that perfectly describes your idea, faith or brand without saying a word.
    Visual sales of goods or ideas are based on one principle of visualization. It is revealed in Chapter 7, “To Sell, Draw Together”:
    If during sales you try to convince someone to do something, the best way to prove your case is to show how it looks before the action and after the deal is done. This is the easiest, most direct and reliable way to motivate: if you and your customer can see the result, both of you will be much more inclined to believe that it is possible.
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    The following secret is in chapter 9, “To teach , draw a story”:
    This is the secret of learning, which I could not understand for a long time. Since the human brain is imprisoned for the desire to learn, learning is easier than it seems. It is enough to make the process clear, offer an achievable goal and a clear direction, and then clear the road.

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    To transfer knowledge, it is enough to outline a clear goal and draw a process that a student needs to master, step by step.

    And finally, in two chapters: the 8th “To invent, draw the world upside down” and the 10th “When you do not know what to do, draw”, the writer suggests using drawing to search for a new one . Visual thinking techniques (without focusing on convincing someone) help to recreate what is happening / problem / obsolete thing in a visual form.

    The interconnections and details seen in this way allow you to change, modernize, solve, and recreate the original objects in a new way.

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    Draw to think clearly


    Reading turned out to be very exciting and useful. And difficult ideas are so understandable that one wonders why he did not understand and did not use this before. The thing is that the text of the book itself is a proof of the work of the Roem system. He draws ideas and structures his thinking, and therefore his speech, formulations in such a way that any complex thought becomes clear.

    Drawing expands your awareness. Vision, more than any other feeling, helps us understand the world around us , says Dan Roem. And it's hard to argue with that.

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