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Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
by
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The instant classic about why some ideas thrive, why others die, and how to improve your idea's chances--essential reading in the "fake news" era.
Mark Twain once observed, "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on." His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories cir ...more
Mark Twain once observed, "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on." His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories cir ...more
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Hardcover, 291 pages
Published
January 2nd 2007
by Random House
(first published December 18th 2006)
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Start your review of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
from my blog, thesunrising.com
Summary: When marketing anything, keep these six concepts in mind if you want your message to shtick: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories; yes, my friends, that spells SUCCESs. If it sounds like too much work, these two concepts also work: Free, Sex (noooo, that’s not in the book…but it works I tell you!).
Recommended? Si. It’s a quick, fun read full of interesting anecdotes and examples that make the book’s message more *concrete* (a-hem). If ...more
Summary: When marketing anything, keep these six concepts in mind if you want your message to shtick: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories; yes, my friends, that spells SUCCESs. If it sounds like too much work, these two concepts also work: Free, Sex (noooo, that’s not in the book…but it works I tell you!).
Recommended? Si. It’s a quick, fun read full of interesting anecdotes and examples that make the book’s message more *concrete* (a-hem). If ...more
I came upon this book in a convoluted fashion. It was nearly recommended to me in a round about sort of way by Richard, a GoodReads friend, when he pointed to a review of Blink by someone else on GoodReads who is some sort of expert in the field (although, I have to admit I’m still not totally sure which field that is). The expert felt Gladwell was a little too simplistic. I enjoyed Gladwell’s books very much and so was keen to see what made them seem too simplistic to someone ‘in the field’ and
...more
Perhaps it was because this book came highly recommended from a reliable source, but I was greatly disappointed. This book was a redundant snooze. The ultimate test, I suppose, is whether the ideas from this book do, in fact, stick. It suffices to say that "enjoyability" is NOT on the list of what makes an idea stick.
It's quite clear that the authors are doing their utmost to follow their own advice. That this makes the book almost unreadably repetitive is possibly an argument against the book' ...more
It's quite clear that the authors are doing their utmost to follow their own advice. That this makes the book almost unreadably repetitive is possibly an argument against the book' ...more
I needed a book for marketing, I just googled 'Top 10 marketing books' and opened the first link. I searched all the books here in Goodreads, read the reviews, and chose this book.
I downloaded it on my Kindle, opened the book and on the first page I saw
"To Dad, for driving an old tan Chevette
while putting us through college.
To Mom, for making us breakfast
every day for eighteen years. Each."
a must-read book
everything about the book just sticks!!!
all you need and more can be found in the book. ...more
I downloaded it on my Kindle, opened the book and on the first page I saw
"To Dad, for driving an old tan Chevette
while putting us through college.
To Mom, for making us breakfast
every day for eighteen years. Each."
a must-read book
everything about the book just sticks!!!
all you need and more can be found in the book. ...more
Great book on how to make the core message you want to deliver remembered. How to formulate it so that it 'sticks' in the minds of the listeners.
The core idea is that: in order for a message to be 'sticky' it has to combine these 6 characteristics: 1) Simple 2) Unexpected 3)Credible 4) Concrete 5)emotional 6)Story
SUCCES(without the extra 'S' spelling success)
The authors tell very engaging stories on each of their success factors.I think this is a great book for consultants. One of their main jo ...more
The core idea is that: in order for a message to be 'sticky' it has to combine these 6 characteristics: 1) Simple 2) Unexpected 3)Credible 4) Concrete 5)emotional 6)Story
SUCCES(without the extra 'S' spelling success)
The authors tell very engaging stories on each of their success factors.I think this is a great book for consultants. One of their main jo ...more
Update #2: Yep. Still recommending it. I
Update #1, at the halfway point: five stars already.
I want to read this book twice, at least. This will directly change how I write, present, think, create and make things. I know I need to keep experimenting to make my communication more memorable, more meaningful, and I'll be playing with many of the techniques described here.
A few key points that I want to experiment with in my own work:
"If you've asked somebody to remember three things, you've asked ...more
Update #1, at the halfway point: five stars already.
I want to read this book twice, at least. This will directly change how I write, present, think, create and make things. I know I need to keep experimenting to make my communication more memorable, more meaningful, and I'll be playing with many of the techniques described here.
A few key points that I want to experiment with in my own work:
"If you've asked somebody to remember three things, you've asked ...more
The book "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Chow, is about how to make your ideas memorable; be it promoting a product / project, being a professional, forwarding a company's strategy or lessons to students. Everything revolves around the SUCCESS methodology. For an idea to stick, for it to be useful and lasting, it's got to make the audience:
Pay attention - Unexpected
Understand and remember it - Concrete
Agree/Believe - Credible
Care - Emotional
Be a ...more
Pay attention - Unexpected
Understand and remember it - Concrete
Agree/Believe - Credible
Care - Emotional
Be a ...more
I don’t know why I’m surprised at my 5star rating. I was recommended this book by multiple people, including the professionals of Goodreads. The final nail on the coffin was when my Dad just handed me this book saying, “You know for a Doctor, you should really read this book!”
Way to go Dad! That’s what did it. He throws in that ‘doctor’-word in there and I’m eating from the palm of his hand.
But on a serious note, this book was enlightening to me on so many levels. Not only did I resonate with ...more
Way to go Dad! That’s what did it. He throws in that ‘doctor’-word in there and I’m eating from the palm of his hand.
But on a serious note, this book was enlightening to me on so many levels. Not only did I resonate with ...more
Some business books are written to promote consulting gigs. This is one such book. You can usually tell when the summary chapter just takes the table of contents and re-arranges it a little. I picked this up because one of the authors is the founder of an innovative website used extensively by my kids---Thinkwell.com.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this book. The ideas are coherent, presented well, and made relatively easy to digest (following the their own enunciated principle of the "p ...more
There is nothing inherently wrong with this book. The ideas are coherent, presented well, and made relatively easy to digest (following the their own enunciated principle of the "p ...more
Useful communications' theory book, especially if you're interested in exploring getting thoughts across whether in teaching, work presentations, advertising or just chatting with friends.
If you want a deeper review then I recommend you check out Trevor's review; he's my go-to for sociology recommendations. The Curse of Knowledge is a big problem, when you know too much that you can no longer explain it simply--I actually think it's the stage just before assimilating a concept because once it is ...more
If you want a deeper review then I recommend you check out Trevor's review; he's my go-to for sociology recommendations. The Curse of Knowledge is a big problem, when you know too much that you can no longer explain it simply--I actually think it's the stage just before assimilating a concept because once it is ...more
This was pretty good. Made to Stick was concrete, useful, understandable and to the point.
The authors did a good job of structuring their material by setting up their formula for "sticky ideas" and then dedicating a chapter to each ingredient. They finished by having a chapter dedicated to symptoms/problems and antidotes/ways to solve them. And these were very close to real life, the troubles/questions that a lot of their readers surely have, so it's definitely helpful.
I appreciated that Chip & ...more
The authors did a good job of structuring their material by setting up their formula for "sticky ideas" and then dedicating a chapter to each ingredient. They finished by having a chapter dedicated to symptoms/problems and antidotes/ways to solve them. And these were very close to real life, the troubles/questions that a lot of their readers surely have, so it's definitely helpful.
I appreciated that Chip & ...more
When I have enough money to buy books again, I'm planning to build a marketing and communications library. It will consist of three books: "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell, "Influence" by Robert Cialdini, and this book, which is maybe the one of the three that knocked me on my butt most often as I was reading it.
The (adorable!) Heath brothers (check out their nerdy-preppy hottitude on the back cover!) are Chip, a Stanford business professor, and Dan, an education and new media consultant ...more
The (adorable!) Heath brothers (check out their nerdy-preppy hottitude on the back cover!) are Chip, a Stanford business professor, and Dan, an education and new media consultant ...more
*Stickiness Level: Average*
Not sure on the lasting impact of this book on me, it seemed like a lot of common sense and natural intuition.
Maybe I’ve read too much Godin and Gary Vee, or maybe this 12 year old book is a little dated. Either way it’s hard to pinpoint why memes, trends, and some things become popular over others.
This book is a perfectly acceptable attempt to understand why some things stick more than others, but hindsight is always 20/20.
If Chip had followed more of his own advice ...more
Not sure on the lasting impact of this book on me, it seemed like a lot of common sense and natural intuition.
Maybe I’ve read too much Godin and Gary Vee, or maybe this 12 year old book is a little dated. Either way it’s hard to pinpoint why memes, trends, and some things become popular over others.
This book is a perfectly acceptable attempt to understand why some things stick more than others, but hindsight is always 20/20.
If Chip had followed more of his own advice ...more
Let's assume that since I get invited back to keynote at the same conferences, I'm a more-than-decent speaker. And, that since a couple of the books I've written are bestsellers, I must make them interesting to readers. Why mention this? Because my copy of Made to Stick is filled with sticky notes that are covered with ideas for upcoming speeches and writings. This book motivates application of the ideas it contains.
Yes, I've used several of the core techniques described in the book for years-- ...more
Yes, I've used several of the core techniques described in the book for years-- ...more
It's useful but too repetitive and thus could be shorter. Some examples just made went over my head, like the sport ones or outdated tech like Palm Pilot. What's that anyway?
Having said that, I can't wait to start practicing some of the learning. So glad I don't have to rely on statistics so much. I hate memorizing them! Storytelling sounds much better. ...more
Having said that, I can't wait to start practicing some of the learning. So glad I don't have to rely on statistics so much. I hate memorizing them! Storytelling sounds much better. ...more
This is gonna sound weird, but for all their talk about making ideas interesting and unforgettable, this book was so uninteresting and forgettable. I mean, some of the stories were interesting and I did learn a few tidbits, but I don't think the book passes their own metric of stickiness.
...more
Remember the subway advertisement? The guy who lost over 200 pounds eating only the vegetarian sub?
What about proverbs like “A bird in hand is worth two in a bush” or what comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “Sour Grapes”?
What about John F. Kennedy’s Man on the Moon vision?
Why is it we remember Urban legends like the Kentucky Fried Rat, Coco Cola dissolving tooth, Kidney thieves or the fact that you can see the Great Wall of China from space?
Welcome to a book that is the cross breed betw ...more
What about proverbs like “A bird in hand is worth two in a bush” or what comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “Sour Grapes”?
What about John F. Kennedy’s Man on the Moon vision?
Why is it we remember Urban legends like the Kentucky Fried Rat, Coco Cola dissolving tooth, Kidney thieves or the fact that you can see the Great Wall of China from space?
Welcome to a book that is the cross breed betw ...more
Really great book, especially if you communicate for a living. The 6 principles that make an idea stick ( 1.) Simplicity, 2.) Unexpectedness, 3.) Concreteness, 4.) Credibility, 5.) Emotions, 6.) Stories ) make up the simple acronym, SUCCESS. This book elaborates on these principles while at the same time adhering to them. If you're a public speaker, teacher, pastor, manager, or even a parent trying to teach ideas to your children then I think you will find this book beneficial.
...more
Apr 27, 2014
Chad Warner
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Chad by:
Daniel Pink
An informative and entertaining guide to making ideas “sticky” (interesting and memorable). It presents six principles and explains them with plenty of specific examples and comparisons of “sticky” and “non-sticky” ideas. Its lessons are applicable whether your ideas will be used in marketing and advertising a business or in spreading the mission of a nonprofit.
One of the themes of the book is overcoming the “curse of knowledge,” which is when you’re so familiar with your mission/product/service ...more
One of the themes of the book is overcoming the “curse of knowledge,” which is when you’re so familiar with your mission/product/service ...more
If you are a business person, teacher, or just someone trying to get your idea across, this is a great book to read!
Written by brothers Chip and Dan Heath, one a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford, the other an education consultant and former researcher at Harvard Business School. They look at the key aspects of what makes some ideas and stories stick in people's minds. They boil things down to 6 key principles of simplicity that make things stick in people's memories.
Some of the c ...more
Written by brothers Chip and Dan Heath, one a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford, the other an education consultant and former researcher at Harvard Business School. They look at the key aspects of what makes some ideas and stories stick in people's minds. They boil things down to 6 key principles of simplicity that make things stick in people's memories.
Some of the c ...more
Mar 30, 2008
Douglas Knupp
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Anyone whi is in the business of communicating ideas in a way that they will be remembered
MADE TO STICK – Chip and Dan Heath
SUCCES
Simple – Unexpected – Concrete – Contextual – Emotional – Stories
Step-by-directions, how to achieve stickiness
“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. A clever observer will note that this sentence can be compacted into the acronym SUCCESs. This is sheer coincidence, of course. (Okay, we admit, SUCCESs is a little corny. W ...more
SUCCES
Simple – Unexpected – Concrete – Contextual – Emotional – Stories
Step-by-directions, how to achieve stickiness
“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. A clever observer will note that this sentence can be compacted into the acronym SUCCESs. This is sheer coincidence, of course. (Okay, we admit, SUCCESs is a little corny. W ...more
Recommended for teachers, managers, presenters, really anyone who needs to communicate information to other people, one of my few complaints about this book is that there are so many helpful and well-presented communication tactics that much of the content runs the risk of being overshadowed by the truly stellar, memorable stretches of the book. Through powerful anecdotes (uber intentionally) and very approachable technical explanations, Heath and Heath do an amazing job giving concrete examples
...more
My dad read this book a few years ago, and because it's in English he thought I'd like it … so he gave it to me for my birthday. It's not a book I would have picked up on my own.
I don't regret reading it, it was interesting, though a bit long. I think that's my main problem with this book: it's about sticky ideas being simple and yet this book was long for what it was. I don't necessarily think we needed to read about so many examples, just a few would have been enough.
Like I said, it was good, ...more
I don't regret reading it, it was interesting, though a bit long. I think that's my main problem with this book: it's about sticky ideas being simple and yet this book was long for what it was. I don't necessarily think we needed to read about so many examples, just a few would have been enough.
Like I said, it was good, ...more
The basic concept outlined in this book is helpful and I loved the very beginning with its surprising twist. After a couple of chapters however I think the books looses a bit of spicyness.
Other than sounding like the monologue of a priest enamoured with his own religion at times, the points were well-presented and the takeaways do stick.
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 o ...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 o ...more
As a marketer and a game developer I have always wondered about how to make people care about my idea. How can I make someone to buy my product and listen to my proposals. This book has helped me a lot in shaping my thoughts, towards making ideas stick. End result is that I have hundreds of working examples from this book as well as Edward De Bonu's book "Think before its too late" to make things work.
So whenever you are going to work on an idea, just think about SUCCESs.
S: Is your idea simple? ...more
So whenever you are going to work on an idea, just think about SUCCESs.
S: Is your idea simple? ...more
I'm a big fan of their book Switch, but haven't read this one until now. As I read it--a book ostensibly about how ideas get passed on--what resonated the most to me was how much it's a book about being a writer. The code they cracked, the secret sauce if you will, is very applicable to writing novels. I kept seeing things that I use in my own books. And the authors do a great job of weaving anecdotes and stories that are so interesting. This book isn't just for authors. It's for anyone who want
...more
The book is about stickiness of ideas and points out to 6 principless that can help an idea to be sticky. I think that the writer uses to many pages to explain those 6 principless. I think that the whole book can be summarized in 2 pages .... but then it wouldnt be a book :)
Jan 21, 2018
Koen Van den Eeckhout
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction
One of the most useful, practical 'management'/communication books I have read in a long time! Lots of entertaining anecdotes and clear examples.
...more
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Readers also enjoyed
Chip Heath is the professor of Organizational Behavior in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
He received his B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University and his Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford.
He co-wrote a book titled Switch How to Change Things When Change Is Hard with his brother Dan Heath.
...more
He received his B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University and his Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford.
He co-wrote a book titled Switch How to Change Things When Change Is Hard with his brother Dan Heath.
...more
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“The most basic way to get someone's attention is this: Break a pattern.”
—
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“Stephen Covey, in his book The 8th Habit, decribes a poll of 23,000 employees drawn from a number of companies and industries. He reports the poll's findings:
* Only 37 percent said they have a clear understanding of what their organization is trying to achieve and why
* Only one in five was enthusiastic about their team's and their organization's goals
* Only one in five said they had a clear "line of sight" between their tasks and their team's and organization's goals
* Only 15 percent felt that their organization fully enables them to execute key goals
* Only 20 percent fully trusted the organization they work for
Then, Covey superimposes a very human metaphor over the statistics. He says, "If, say, a soccer team had these same scores, only 4 of the 11 players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only 2 of the 11 would care. Only 2 of the 11 would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but 2 players would, in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent.”
—
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More quotes…
* Only 37 percent said they have a clear understanding of what their organization is trying to achieve and why
* Only one in five was enthusiastic about their team's and their organization's goals
* Only one in five said they had a clear "line of sight" between their tasks and their team's and organization's goals
* Only 15 percent felt that their organization fully enables them to execute key goals
* Only 20 percent fully trusted the organization they work for
Then, Covey superimposes a very human metaphor over the statistics. He says, "If, say, a soccer team had these same scores, only 4 of the 11 players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only 2 of the 11 would care. Only 2 of the 11 would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but 2 players would, in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent.”
