Book of the Month

"Where's the beef?"

"So easy even a caveman could do it." 

What is it about these phrases and accompanying images from Wendy's and Geico commercials that make them so memorable?

In Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Dan Heath explain brilliantly why such "sticky" ideas escape the dustbin of history and provide a framework that enables us to communicate more effectively.

"Regardless of your level of 'natural creativity' . a little focused effort can make almost any idea stickier [and] more likely to make a difference," they write.

Six core concepts underlie the creation of sticky ideas that last. They also form a sticky acronym: SUCCESs. Ideas must be simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and tell stories.

Simple, as in Southwest Airlines' mission to be known as the low-fare airline.

Unexpected, they write, "because surprise makes us pay attention and think."

Concrete. As an example, we can easily and vividly describe a watermelon, which has plenty of hooks in our memory, but we might have trouble defining the concept of "truth."

Credible, which is the secret behind "where's the beef." Simple observation showed that Wendy's burger was big.

Emotional. For instance, an Army chef in Iraq, driven by the mission that he is in charge of morale, runs a gourmet mess hall that creates an oasis in the desert for troops.

Stories: Think Jared and his Subway diet that burned off 245 pounds. A franchise owner found Jared and fought for the sticky idea versus the corporate alternative: "7 under 6," meaning seven sandwiches have less than six fat grams. No contest.

If you want to create sticky ideas that can make a positive difference for your organization, Made to Stick can help make it possible.

-Newt Barrett, CEO of Succeeding Today. Contact him at newt@succeedingtoday.com.