Reviews

Made to stick, Chip Heath & Dan Heath

Inspiring and insightful book on why some ideas survive and others die. Here is a quick overview of the main principles and a link to the model.

Duct tape? A sticky idea in itself. Cover of Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath

Aspects of how to create sticky ideas and have SUCCESs are build around these six ideas:

Simple

Simplicity isn’t about dumbing down, it’s about prioritizing. (Southwest will be THE low-fare airline.) What’s the core of your message? Can you communicate it with an analogy or high-concept pitch?

Unexpected

To get attention, violate a schema. (The Nordie who ironed a shirt...) To hold attention, use curiosity gaps. (What are Saturn’s rings made of?) Before your message can stick, your audience has to want it.

Concrete

To be concrete, use sensory language. (Think Aesop’s fables.) Paint a mental picture. (“A man on the moon...”) Remember the Velcro theory of memory—try to hook into multiple types of memory.

Credible

Ideas can get credibility from outside (authorities or anti-authorities) or from within, using human-scale statistics or vivid details. Let people “try before they buy.” (Where’s the Beef?)

Emotional

People care about people, not numbers. (Remember Rokia.) Don’t forget the WIIFY (What’s In It For You). But identity appeals can often trump self-interest. (“Don’t Mess With Texas” spoke to Bubba’s identity.)

Stories

Stories drive action through simulation (what to do) and inspiration (the motivation to do it). Think Jared. Springboard stories (See Denning’s World Bank tale) help people see how an existing problem might change.