by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Problem
Creating ideas that stick and influence others is a challenge in a world filled with information overload and distractions.
Promise
“Made to Stick” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath presents practical strategies for making ideas memorable, impactful, and persuasive.
Perspective
“By applying the principles in ‘Made to Stick’, I can communicate more effectively, creating ideas that are understood, remembered, and have a lasting impact.”
Précis
“Made to Stick” delves into the key elements that make an idea ‘sticky’ – memorable and influential. The Heath brothers propose the SUCCESs model, an acronym that stands for Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories.
The book is replete with examples, from urban legends to successful advertising campaigns, illustrating how these principles can be applied. It discusses how simplicity is the cornerstone of sticky ideas, the role of unexpectedness in grabbing attention, and the power of concreteness and credibility in making ideas more believable. The authors also highlight the emotional connection that motivates people to take action and the influence of storytelling in making ideas more engaging and memorable.
Playbook
- Aim for Simplicity: Simplify your idea to its core essence. For instance, the “Golden Rule” is a simple yet profound idea that guides moral conduct across cultures.
- Grab Attention with the Unexpected: Break patterns to grab people’s attention. For example, the famous “Don’t Mess with Texas” anti-litter campaign used unexpectedness to make the message stick.
- Be Concrete: Use specific details and vivid imagery to make your idea clear and understandable. Subway’s Jared Fogle campaign used his personal weight loss journey, a concrete story, to promote healthy eating.
- Establish Credibility: Use authoritative sources, statistics, or demonstrations to make your idea credible. In the “Scared Straight” program, ex-convicts talk directly to at-risk youth about the realities of prison life.
- Appeal to Emotions: Make people feel something to motivate them to take action. For example, the “Smoking is gross” campaign appealed to teenagers’ emotions about attractiveness and dating to discourage smoking.
- Tell Stories: Use narratives to make people care about your idea and to provide a simulation of how to act. The fable of the “Tortoise and the Hare” imparts a lasting lesson about the value of consistent effort.
Prompt
Reflect on an idea, message, or campaign that stuck with you. Why was it memorable? How did it incorporate the SUCCESs principles from “Made to Stick”?