Visual tools are an increasing must in the executive toolbox – particularly when you think of all those terrible ppt-decks and never-read-business-plans full of text and numbers.

Let me briefly share some of the literature I have been looking into the last few days:

• The Back of the Napkin (Dan Roam). Dan has created a great and practical book on how to use images and sketches in business. The book contains a couple of very interesting concepts and processes that helps you apply visuals to your particular business problems. To get a good preview you can check out the book’s website which features some attractive animations to explain key concepts. Verdict: Very useful book!
• Marks and Meaning, version zero (Dave Gray). Dave, a friend of mine, is founder and chairman of XPLANE, the leading visual thinking company. He is currently working on a book on visual thinking and has put a pre-release version (“version zero”) up for sales on the web. I could almost blindly recommend this book, though I have only ordered the book this evening after a chat with Dave on the Web. By buying the pre-release you will have a chance to comment the book and influence the final version – interesting approach. You can follow Dave’s thinking on his communication nation blog and a whole bundle of digital presences.
• PresentationZen (Garr Reynolds). Garr tackles one of the most important and imaginable issues in the boardroom: making powerpoint presentations interesting and attractive. A must for every frequent user of powerpoint. Check out Garr’s lecture at Google’s headquarters to get a freeby of his work. As real digital citizen Garr’s thinking can be followed on his website and blog. Verdict: A good resource for ppt-artists.
• Beyond Bullet Points (Cliff Atkinson). In his extremely useful book Cliff shows how you can use storyboarding to make sticky powerpoint presentations. As a resident of LA he gets his inspiration from Hollywood’s film industry. This book is quite likely to make you change the way you design your ppt-decks. The approach and process outlined is very intuitive and very practical. Verdict: A must if you want to bring some storytelling to your ppt-presentations.
• The Storyboard Design Course (Giuseppe Cristiano). A really nice book on storyboard design. This is a professional tool for storyboard designers in the film, advertising and computer games industry. It is an introduction to storyboarding going all the way to camera angles etc. Verdict: You’ll have to do the translation for applying it in business yourself (e.g. powerpoint). If you are a movie fan it is a must.

I also bought a couple of books on design (e.g. Universal Principles of Design, Lidwell & Holden & Butler) and Innovation (e.g. The New Age of Innovation – Prahalad & Krishnan, The Game Changer – A.G. Lafley & Ram Charan). More on that later. I guess you’re not really interesested in the children’s books I bought for my 5-year old son

Anyways, my wallet is about 400.- USD lighter…