EWWW - It’s so Sticky!
Howdy, Bubba! Hey, if you're new around these parts, I just want to say how much I appreciate you dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!
Made to Stick, a new book out by the brothers Heath (I think they dodged a bullet here: that’s Chip and Dan, not Chip and Dale), is available now, and from the little I’ve read about it so far, it just might be one I’ll have to buy.
I’ve mentioned before that I rarely spend perfectly good money on business books. Aside from the fact that I’m too cheap intelligently frugal, I find most business books outlive their usefulness so quickly they’re not worth keeping around. But this one seems, at least at first blush, to have longer-lasting value than your average idea du jour.
The six principles of sticky ideas are actually pretty much common-sense, if you think about it. Here they are (from a book excerpt available here at the authors’ web site).
- Simplicity
- Unexpectedness
- Concreteness
- Credibility
- Emotions
- Stories
But as I read it, the following statement seemed to jump out from the page and poke me right in the eye (and man does it hurt!):
“Those are the six principles of successful ideas. To summarize, here’s our checklist for creating a successful idea: a Simple Unexpected Concrete Credentialed Emotional Story.” [emphasis mine]
OK, bearing in mind the Sherlock Holmes story I related in a recent post, does anyone out there notice something obvious here? (sound of crickets) Yes, you in the back – with your hand up.
You got it! How many beside the two of us are thinking six-word stories? I find it ironic (an old English word meaning made entirely of iron) that the summation of their book turns out to be a six-word sentence, and with the word stories in it, too! Ironic, huh? And now that I’ve gotten you guys thinking in six-word sentences, this should really click with you.
Principle One: Simplicity
Don’t panic, I won’t quote the whole thing, but here’s what I consider to be the nub of the gist:
“To strip an idea down to its core, we must be masters of exclusion. We must relentlessly prioritize. Saying something short is not the mission – sound bites are not the ideal. Proverbs are the ideal. We must create ideas that are both simple and profound.” [emphasis mine]
Ironically (see above), over the last week you guys have already written some examples of what might be a good proverb – a short, memorable statement that might, just might, be considered “sticky”. For example, Chili dinner leads to separate beds (submitted by Hi Kooky) seems to perfectly express (and from experience, no doubt) that essential core knowledge, and in a vivid way that’s easy to imagine. These are the essentials of a simple, sticky idea.
In the future, I’ll have much more to say on this subject (gotta wait for the book to arrive). For now, though, here’s a question only YOU can answer. What essential business (or otherwise) knowledge do you know that can be presented in the form of a proverb?
How about sharing them here and let’s see if everyone else agrees!
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
9 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
Hi Bob
Re your ’sticky’interprestations: for days I was waiting to see this particular tv-commercial again, which IMHO has that powerful message unrelated with the brand name (like your example of Nike) and it was finaly aired again (or I finaly watched commercials again) last night
“Let it Out”
(kleenex: http://www.letitout.com)
wonderful ad also
You’re welcome, Hi Kooky (love that name!)
Hi Bob-
Got your comment - thanks for the nod to “chili dinners” here too! I find the notion of “sticky ideas” very interesting. Good post.
“Will the reader/hearer “get” what you intended to say?”
Get wrapped, you mean
Hey, no problem! Actually, between us we just illustrated another issue, and that’s how the message is interpreted. Will the reader/hearer “get” what you intended to say?
Here’s something else (as if that wasn’t enough!) Are there other interpretations that make it just as powerful? (Nike’s “Just do it” comes to mind.) How many OTHER places have you seen that message that had nothing to do with athletic shoes? Definitely “sticky”!
Gee, it’s as hard as (cue the groans) writing six-word stories!
Ouch Bob! Mis-aligned the order of the words, stupid me!
Thought about WARPing the message, but to me that’s too ST related (but does indicate speed of course) or for the flooring trade (our trade) too negative - solid wood that warps is a big problem for us, so I think I ’stick’ with WRAP
Worthwile, Relevant, Anticipated, Personal.
Can’t believe I made that mistake!
Roger, it really did make my week! I’m looking forward to reading the book and finding out more details (the check’s in the mail). One of the things that made it click for me was to help me analyze why something as silly and inconsequential as a six-word story contest would generate so much interest! Knowing what makes things “stick” would be pretty useful for most bloggers, I think.
And speaking of titles, surely “Made to stick” rolls more easily off the tongue than “Messages That Stick”? But how much influence do writers have over the titles of their books, especially first books? Don’t some publishers do that? I always wondered…
Karin, I see what you mean. Of course, to someone as weird as I am, your acronym spells WARP, not WRAP. Actually, it sticks better in my mind as WARP, because it’s unexpected - the Heath brothers’ SECOND principle. (Sounds like a good future post for you - “Is your message WARPed?”)
I’ll have a post on that second principle soon, I hope.
See ya!
Hi Bob
Not sure if this one counts as a ‘proverb’ but recently I blogged about WRAPping your message: make it Worthwhile, Anticipated, Relevant and Personal.
You think this ‘acronym’ is sticky enough?
See:
http://www.thekissbusiness.co.uk/2006/11/shall_i_wrap_it.html
Seeing the Heath brothers’ six word acronym had to have made your day (week?).
I saw Chip Heath speak in early December, and he is a very good presenter. I got a copy of “Made to Stick” from him and found it useful and entertaining. I’m sure the book will be a big success. My only quibble is with the book’s title. Both in his lecture and his book, Chip talks about why certain “messages” stick and why other “messages” don’t. And so when I think about the book’s title, I always think “Messages that Stick” rather than the one he used.
Have fun!