Made to Stick
Every once in a great while a book comes along like Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Taking the idea of stickiness from Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, they’ve put together a fascinating take on why some ideas stick. The short story is that it comes down to six key qualities:
- Simple: Core + Compact. Like a proverb. Short, but meaningful.
- Unexpected: The twist in the story makes it memorable.
- Concrete: As opposed to abstract.
- Credible: Must be believable.
- Emotional: Not just data.
- Story: Providing inspiration and simulation.
Made to Stick pulls you in right from the first page. Very interesting collection of stories to back up their findings. Much like The Tipping Point or Freakonomics, this one really flows. But keep a pen by your side. You’ll be marking it up as you go.
The best part is that it’s more than an analysis of why some ideas stick. They’ve also included a helpful workshop approach tucked inside each chapter. After all, the idea for most of us will be to learn how to make our own ideas more sticky!
You can pick up more info at madetostick.com. And you can preorder your copy on Amazon!
