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.
‘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):
- Simple: “Put the shower curtain INSIDE the tub" is about as simple as a message it gets.
- Unexpected: Although Hilton was founder of a hotel chain, the TV audience was probably expecting something far more profound (and perhaps less self-serving).
- Concrete: Putting the curtain inside the tub is a very tangible message.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Posted by: Alex | June 18, 2007 at 06:30 AM
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
Posted by: Pat McGee | June 18, 2007 at 05:12 AM