Paris Hilton’s Great Grandfather and the Heath Brothers

In my opinion, the best management book published in recent years is Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. It is written by my Stanford colleague Chip Heath and his brother Dan Heath. Made to Stick is a compelling read, it is based on rigorous research, and is extremely useful for anyone in any line of work who needs to craft message that people will remember, spread, and will shape their behavior. The book not only has been on numerous bestseller lists since being released in January, it is fast becoming a standard text in management classes of all kinds, especially in marketing. I predict that it will become much like Robert Cialdini’s classic Influence, which has become a standard text in many psychology and marketing classes. Influence uses evidence-based principles about the tools of persuasion and does so in an engaging and useful way. I have been using Influence for years in my organizational behavior classes, and when former students talk to me about these class, they often say something like “I don’t remember much about the class, but I still use that Cialdini book.”   

This may sound like a weird connection, but all the news about Paris Hilton’s jail sentence reminded me of one of may favorite examples of the kind of message that “sticks.”

Paris's great-grandfather was Conrad Hilton, founder of the worldwide hotel chain. There is a quote attributed to Hilton that is one of the most “sticky” stories I know, and to this day, I think of every time I stay in a hotel that has shower curtains in the bathtub. The version of this story that I have heard most often goes something like this:

‘When Conrad Hilton appeared on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show years ago, Johnny asked him if there was anything he wanted to say to the millions of people in the TV audience. Hilton looked into the camera and said:  "Yes, please remember to put the shower curtain INSIDE the tub.”’

Frankly, I am not entirely sure if this is a true story,and if it is true, he may have said it elsewhere (Wikipedia claims that Hilton said it on his deathbed). But – as Chip and Dan show us by using urban myths –  ideas that stick have six characteristics that can all be seen in this little story (whether a story is true or not):

1. Simple: “Put the shower curtain INSIDE the tub" is about as simple as a message it gets.
2. Unexpected: Although Hilton was founder of a hotel chain, the TV audience was probably expecting something far more profound (and perhaps less self-serving).
3. Concrete: Putting the curtain inside the tub is a very tangible message.
4. Credible: Hilton was credible because he built a huge hotel chain, partly by applying simple ideas like this one persistently, and at the time, Johnny Carson was host of one the highest-rated TV talk show hosts.
5. Emotional. This story is, at least to me, pretty funny, and in some version I’ve heard, people talk about Johnny Carson and  he audience just cracking-up.
6. Story. One of the main points of the Heath’s book is that a message packaged in a good story is more memorable, more likely to be passed from one person to others, and more likely to affect action. Indeed, when I put the curtain inside the tub, I hear the entire story in my head, and although I never actually saw the show, I still see Conrad Hilton telling the story and Johnny      Carson laughing his trademark laugh in my mind’s eye.

The ideas in Made to Stick aren’t just useful for analyzing past stories, Chip and Dan use these six SUCCES (one "S" shy of the word "success")  principles to teach executives and students how to best craft new messages and stories too.  In fact, Just a few weeks weeks ago I watched Chip do a masterful job of leading an exercise with Stanford d.school students, helping them craft messages about spreading the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use far less energy than conventional bulbs.   

Finally, there is an interesting twist – and challenge – discussed in Made to Stick: The statistics show that people remember stories, not statistics. This has some pretty weird implications if you want valid ideas to spread and stick, including research-based management practices. Sure, the first step is to select practices and ideas that are valid or at least that seem to be supported by the strongest logic or evidence. (I am not sure, for example, that we need to run controlled studies to show that the more customers who put the curtain in the tub during showers, the less costs will be generated for a big hotel chain – it is pretty obvious.)

BUT the second step – which too many researchers and policy-makers miss – is that you need to craft valid messages and stories in ways that will stick and spread. Unfortunately, having a better idea isn’t enough; good ideas don’t stick without a great salespeople to spread craft and spread the news. For example, Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison would not have become among the most famous innovators in American history on the basis of technology ability alone:  It is no accident that they are two of the most compelling storytellers and salespeople in business history. 

The power of “sticky stories” creates a major challenge for managers, consultants, and researchers who want to spread evidence-based practices, and stop the spread of nonsense and half-truths. Those ideas that spread and stick aren’t necessarily the best, but instead, those sold by the best stories and story tellers – a troubling implication of the Heath brothers’ brilliant book.

Comments

[Alex]

I was VERY surprised that "Made to Stick" was overlooked as a 2007 Quill Nominee. Especially given it;s cross-over appeal and universal teachings to non-business readers.

[Pat McGee]

He said it on the Ed Sullivan show, not Johnny Carson. At least I remember reading that in his autobiography. Which I found when I stayed in a Hilton years ago. Much more interesting than the Gideon.

Pat