What Makes an Idea to Stick?

December 12th, 2011

According to Chip and Dan Heath, co-authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, it takes 6 elements to make an idea sticky or last longer. For an idea to be sticky, it must be simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and have a moving or inspiring story.

1 Simple
For an idea to be simple it must be concise and clear. We run into simple ideas everyday in the form of tag lines, slogans, and newspaper leads that say it in one sentence.
In the military, commanders use what is known as Commander ‘s Intent (CI), in communicating complex instructions. A CI, is a simple statement that is unambiguous and yet clear enough.

2 Unexpected
If an idea does not get your audience ‘s attention, it will not stick. Thus, a key part of stickiness, is the element of surprise that grabs and keeps someone ‘s attention.
Without getting an audience’s attention, you have no chance of being remembered at all.

3 Concrete
Ideas can be made concrete through the use of metaphors. Metaphors help your audience to understand your ideas by association. Effective metaphors must be familiar and intriguing to your audience. This enables them to make the leap in understanding or in grasping a concept.

4 Credible
People will remember what is both credible and valuable. Thus, to strengthen the stickiness of your ideas, you must ensure they carry authoritative support for their veracity and authenticity. Credibility can be enhanced through the use of third party (independent) sources.

5 Emotional
For an audience to care about an idea, you must work at making it emotionally relatable by personalizing or individualizing it. It is important to understand the emotional needs of your audience in the context of Maslow ‘s Needs Hierarchy. For your ideas to stick, address needs that are relevant to a specific audience.

6 Stories
To get your audience to act, you have use stories because good stories inspire and motivate people. The beauty about stories is that they put knowledge into the context of everyday life. If your goal is to inspire, use challenge stories like David vs Goliath; such stories exemplify courage in the face of adversity.

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Word=Bond=Brand

December 8th, 2011

Several years ago, I earned your word is bond. A few weeks back I learned your word is your brand, thanks to Daymond John, FUBU entrepreneur on the The Shark Tank.

I just finished reading Daymond ‘s book. It captures John ‘s ideas about branding – we are all brands from the time we are born. In his case, he has gone from birth to the boardroom. What about you?

One thing stood out for me- Mr. John kept his word to a friend, even when he was uncomfortable. To me, that was the measure of a man! I want to be like that. Stick to your word at the risk of missing a fine opportunity.

John was approached to appear on the Shark Tank. One catch. He could not appear on any other concurrent Tv program. Prior to that, he had already started agreed to do appearances for Khloe Kadashian on the Kadashians show.

Though it was not a cash cow appearance, he was not going to back on his word. He did not. This begs the question, how did he end up on the the Shark Tank eventually? Quick answer. It took extra negotiations and Khloe ‘s blessing.

For someone who grew up near the epicenter of capitalism ‘s HQ, I respect Mr. John. It is easy to fall for the trappings of wealth and fame. Can it last? Is that what it is all about?

Lesson from Daymond John is simple: word=bond=brand.

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