Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Sticky Book and Sticky Ways

I am a recently converted enthusiast of Made to Stick, and I firmly believe that its principles can be useful in any profession or academic discipline in which the communication of ideas is vital. Chip Heath and Dan Heath explain ¿why some ideas survive and others die¿ and present six principles that define successful communication ¿ whether one is communicating an idea to impart information, persuade, call to action, or make a lasting impression. They use a simple acronym to convey their central thesis: SUCCESs in communicating ideas is defined by Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, and Stories. One of the great strengths of the book is its structure. The Brothers Heath craft the book according to the very theories they are presenting. Their method of communicating about stickiness is itself sticky. The table of contents gives the chapter titles with sound bites for each listed beneath, followed by an introduction, which previews the principles of SUCCESs in conveying ideas. The core chapters ¿ one for each of the six ingredients of stickiness ¿ give further explanation of SUCCESs, with idea ¿clinics¿ at the end of each chapter. Throughout the book, meaningful case studies and practical examples are used to exemplify failure and success in communicating. The epilogue further reinforces the six principles and provides a ¿sticky checklist,¿ and the reference guide at the end includes a simple outline of the book with catchphrases for each principle ¿ a good place to go if you need a quick refresher of the six principles. On the whole, the structure of the book makes it easy for the reader to grasp the main thesis, realize the significance of stickiness, and begin to put their methods into use. The principles of SUCCESs directly apply to my profession in the areas of teaching, preaching, mentoring, and managing. As a pastor, I am challenged to make transcendent ideas accessible and meaningful for my congregation, and Made to Stick has helped give me a framework for how I communicate. I would advocate this book to any teacher or speaker looking for fresh ways of imparting lasting ideas. Furthermore, I would recommend this book as a textbook for introductory communication classes. The sticky ways of the Brothers Heath translate to a sticky book on a sticky subject. You will remember these principles, and your own teaching and speaking and writing will be transformed as you employ these methods.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Excellent Read

This is an interesting well written book. There are great examples of marketing that make you really think. It is amusing but factual. I couldn't put the book down. It has helped me think about my company and what I do in a completely different way

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Authors practice what they preach

Chip and Dan Heath did a great job of creating a well-organized framework for understanding, recognizing and creating ideas that stick. It's a quick read immediately applicable.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book stuck with me!

I found the notion of sticky stories very compelling. It has continued to resonate with me as I've recently read Malcolm Gladwell's books... which I think do exactly what Made to Stick recommends.

If you need to create a memorable/compelling pitch for anything, read this book first!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A very compelling theme; Very well written

The single most practical and useful book i ever read on this subject.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A job well done

As a small business owner, it's critical my message get across to my targeted audience. The Heath's provide valid points to current and aspiring entrepreneurs who desire to increase their business prospects, influence potential customers and clients, and gain an advantage over their competitors. The helpful summary section at the end of the book provides a quick reference when needed. If you are having trouble getting YOUR word out, this book would be of great benefit to you.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of the Best Business Books I've Read

As an executive and career coach, I keep up to date with business trends and books on leadership and development. This book is hands down the one I recommend most to clients who are trying to become more impactful, make better presentations and to present themselves better in an ever more competitive world. The concepts and anecdotes used really drive the points home.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Much better than the cover!

Wonderful stories. Surprising research results. Simple and prescriptive. It will forever change the way I think about presentations. Just a plesure to read

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A must read for business owners

As business owners, what we say and how we frame the message is critically important to building a brand. This book is particularly helpful to those involved in any area of marketing. For business consultants & trainers like me, it's particilarly helpful when designing workshop, articles & speeches. But it's also relevant to internal company communication. Many business owners wonder why employees "don't get it" and why they have to repeat themselves with regard to copmany values or key initiatives. Following the Heath brother's specific recommendations will improve all company communication, internal & external.

Darcie Harris
CEO, EWF International
www.ewfinternational.com

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very Helpful

As an entrepreneur, and an "idea" man, I found this book extremely helpful! I recommend this to anyone out there who tends to have good ideas. This book will help you figure out if your ideas are worth pursuing, and then it will tell you how to go about making them happen successfully! Another book I highly recommend is POP!: Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything by Sam Horn. This book is great for learning how to do exactly what the title says, create perfect pitches, titles, and taglines for anything. These two books have helped me get my business off the ground with a running start!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Important Stuff...

As a corporate director of human resources, I am continually engaged in sharing data with the field and also with my superiors.

The techniques and tips in this book have been successfully deployed in my recent presentations. The improved feedback and real world observations prove that I am doing a better job at communicating our ideas.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that is engaged in a dynamic field such as human resources where the guide posts seem to move each week.

When you have to get it right - EEOC, ADA, FMLA, etc., you want to ensure it sticks. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A must read for leaders

I develop leaders at a University and I'm always looking for the best books dealing with how to be an effective leader. This book was so good that I'm going to use it as the main textbook for a class I'm teaching in the fall. If what we say as leaders is forgotten, then we just wasted everybody's time therefore, it's of great importance that we ensure our message will stick in the minds of the people we hope to lead. Malcolm Gladwell talk about this in The Tipping Point, but it was probably the weakest chapter of his book. Thankfully Made to Stick was able to expand on the Stickiness Factor and did a much better job of illustrating it than Gladwell did. I strongly disagree with the reviews stating how hard this book was to finish. I didn't find it draggin on, in fact, I had a hard time putting the book down. It was very easy to read and had many references to studies much like The Tipping Point, Blink, or Freakonomics. What made this book better than those is that this book had idea clinics where you could actually practice what they were talking about. These clinics made this book much more applicabale then the others that I mentioned earlier. If you're want to make sure that what you say doesn't go in one ear and out the other, this is the best book you can find.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Must-Read for Educators

This book is an elegant masterpiece of simple and crucial insights -- and it's a joy to read. I had assumed that it would be relevant to marketers and their ilk, but I'm amazed how relevant it is to me 'as a university professor'. I will use the book to improve my lectures, my conference presentations, my grad student advising, my scholarly articles, etc. Anybody involved in education will benefit from reading this outstanding book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Stick this one on the top of your reading list!

This will be the best business book I¿ll read all year. I know that already. And if you need to communicate with other people (who doesn¿t?), it may be one of your top picks also. Made to Stick has the telling subtitle, Why some ideas survive and others die. The main thesis is this: there are ways to package your ideas that allow them to stick in the minds of your audience. Building on a key concept (¿stickiness¿) from Malcolm Gladwell¿s seminal book, The Tipping Point, authors Chip and Dan Heath uncover the anatomy of ideas that embed themselves into the minds and hearts of people. The book is clearly written, very approachable, and filled with memorable examples that, of course, exemplify the main intent of the book. The principles outlined are nothing earth-shatteringly new, but they are presented in such a way as to provide a practical call to arms for more skillful and creative expression. According to the authors, communication that sticks needs to maximize simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotional connection, and the use of stories. When you think of some of the world¿s best communicators, you see these practices all over their preserved productions. This is a passion of mine ¿ distilling down to the core idea and expressing it well, whether in writing, public speaking, teaching, or any other format. I see this skill as the key success factor in creating good branding ¿ but I think the principle applies equally to training, copywriting, and even parenting. I recommend this book highly to anyone who seeks to communicate more effectively.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Enduring Concepts For Good Business Communication

As a writer and speaker, I love stories. I love to tell them, to write them, and I love to read them. I also like to read about stories, what makes them work, how they excite our imagination, how we use them to enrich our communications. Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die is about all that and more.

Good salespeople, advertisers, marketers, PR professionals, even managers wanting to motivate their employees and entrepreneurs needing to excite their investors can make good use of the techniques described in this book. The authors achieved their goal, "...to help you make your ideas...understood and remembered, and have a lasting impact...." In other words, they help you make your ideas "stick."

As the author of several books about persuasion in business myself, I took away several great points:

"Belief counts for a lot, but belief isn't enough. For people to take action, they have to care."

"We appeal to their self-interest, but we also appeal to their identities--not only to the people they are right now but also to the people they would like to be."

"One of the worst things about knowing a lot, or having access to a lot of information, is that we're tempted to share it all."

Chip and Dan Heath dissect everything from urban legends to ad campaigns to explain what makes a message resonate in the audience's mind. In the process, they not only show the reader how to use successful strategies, they do it in an entertaining fashion that makes the book a pleasure to read.

Highly Recommended

Made to Stick is a great book to read and applies to almost any occupation. The authors do a fantastic job of making their own ideas "stick" to the audience. The book uses exciting real life stories and amusing anecdotes to aid the thesis of the book. Like batman and robin, Chip and Dan Heath come together to form an unstoppable tag-team duo. They are both very credible, having graduated from prestigious universities. They now work as professors and also consultants for very large corporations. Having completed numerous hours of research in the realm of sticky ideas provides confidence to any reader. As a college student studying business, I have already found good use of this book when doing presentations and other class projects.

-Landon Oklahoma State University Student Spring '11

Fascinating read. Highly recommended

Great book. The SUCCESs methodology is spot on. It becomes clear why most think you have to tell someone five times for them to remember. Make it 10! The problem is the way we are tyring to communicate it. This books makes it clear. Very clear how to make ideas stick and create effective communications.

Sticks with me

A guidebook for creative communications. It was an easy read full of helpful examples.

A treat

I have learned much from this fun and information and well thought out book. A interesting read for anyone and an enlightening read for those interested in how some concepts flop and others soar.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

While this book had a lot of examples that involved management in a business environment, there were also plenty of examples that were taken from an academic setting and basically any other place you could think of where someone in a position of leadership needs to get things done. The main idea of the book is that we need to keep our minds open and be able to "think out of the box" by trying things that may seem to contradict common sense. This book is for anyone who is curious as to why some ideas become successful and others do not and tends to have a lot of ideas that can be put to use specifically in a business environment.

There were quite a few things I liked about this book. The clinics provided a different way to help the concepts sink in and the fact that there were cross-references was also helpful, but what I think really made this book stand out from the rest was the outline which is sort of like a "Cliffs Notes" version of the whole book; it's easier to find something later on if you want to use it as a reference book.