YOUR BUSINESS
Made to Stick
Read this book!
Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath. Why some ideas Survive and Others Die
More information is coming at us than ever before. Customers and employees all have their minds on what is important to them, with very little room or motivation for new information to "go in".
As a business leader you need to make sure that your ideas and communications are breaking through. You need your customers to understand what you are talking about to act on it, and your employees to understand what they should be doing.
And neither have much inclination to listen.
Typical communications like "provide best customer service in the industry" or "increase shareholder value" are not Sticky. And not effective.
Help is on the way...
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
This book does an excellent job dissecting what makes some ideas "sticky", and gives very specific tools to help you transform your ideas into sticky communications.
The authors comment ... "The Bird in the Hand proverb is an astoundingly sticky idea. It has survived more than 2500 years. It has spread across continents, cultures and languages. Keep in mind that nobody funded a Bird in the Hand advertising campaign. The idea sells itself." That's sticky.
You get hit right up from with the challenge that:
A sticky communication is one that the listener should be able to re-tell to someone else -- after hearing it for the FIRST time!
OK, check out your website, your marketing materials, or your last employee communication. Ask someone to read it one time, "close the book", pick up the phone and tell someone else about it.
Did your communication pass the test? It's a tall order.
OK, so here's my dilemma. I love this book and want to review it. One of the things that makes it great is that it is loaded with concrete examples. But if I cite the examples I'd be re-writing the book.
And If explain the examples, I am doing exactly what the book advocates not doing - being abstract! So here is my somewhat un-sticky review of Made to Stick.
Since big part of my business is communication, I am always looking for ways to improve it. I will confess that not all my communications pass this sticky test, but this book has inspired much improvement.
Not only does this book do a good job of dissecting what makes an idea sticky, it also gives very, specific and concrete ideas for how to do it.
The authors use this acronym of "SUCCESS" (which they admit is a bit cheesy) to create a framework for what makes ideas sticky.
- Simplicity.
- Unexpected
- Concrete
- Credible
- Emotional
- Story
YOUR PEOPLE
Give your people a reason to care
OK, so not all of our ideas in business will qualify for the "stickiness hall of fame". Do your best, but at some time you will need to deliver a strategy, a change of plan, or some other direction to your organization, which is not in itself a sticky idea.
Getting your people to care should be your top priority.
YOUR PUBLICITY
Fight the Bull:
Why do some business people substitute "sounding smart" for actually doing things?
You have been in meetings with these people.
You probably get emails from them too - long ones.
How you communicate is one of biggest measures of how you are perceived and what you are known for. I can tell you that being straightforward increases both your effectiveness and your credibility.
YOUR LIFE
The low-carb Margarita
OK. Now we're talking!
This part of the column, the "Your Life" part, is always about the things that make life more enjoyable, and offers ideas for coping with being over-busy and overwhelmed.
Yes, it's the low-carb margarita....
I am a big time margarita fan, and I make a killer "real" margarita with only the finest tequila and other ingredients.... But alas, margaritas are full of sugar which I generally avoid.
So my quest was how to incorporate the margarita back into life, but without the sugar.
Here is my invention which in my opinion gets you 75% there. I apologize to my readers outside the US that this recipe is US centric in that the main ingredient I haven't found outside the US.
Here you go:
About Patty
Patty Azzarello was the youngest general manager at HP ever at the age of 33. She ran a $1B software business at the age of 35 and was a CEO for the first time at the age of 38. Patty is known for her personal leadership qualities, her straightforward and practical manner, and her genuine interest in making a real connection with people to help them to advance their career and business, and to find ways to enjoy their life more.
Patty Azzarello is the CEO of Azzarello Group, www.AzzarelloGroup.com a unique services organization focused on helping business leaders actually get done what they want to do, and get a bigger payoff from their hard work. Azzarello Group delivers practical, experience-based tools to business leaders, through products and services including articles, e-books, mentoring programs, executive coaching, public speaking, small business retreats, and business execution workshops.
