Business Lessons from sucessful entrepreneurs and business leaders: LunchLearning.com

Reading time: 2 - 4 minutes

Video Time: 34 minutes 55 seconds

In this video Chip Heath the co-author of Made to Stick talks about what makes a sticky idea. Don’t worry, the video isn’t about pouring honey and feathers over people (college pranks can be so wrong sometimes), it’s about making ideas more memorable or stickier in the minds of individuals.

So how do you make an idea sticky? The answer, keep it simple. Chip explains how simple ideas make for the stickiest ideas. Simple doesn’t mean dumbed down, it means straight to the point with the use of concrete language. Keeping it simple is at the heart of a sticky idea and you will notice that throughout the video.

Chip also warns against the curse of knowledge. The curse of knowledge is the idea that experts of a field have a hard time explaining ideas in simple terms to those who know little about the topic. Chips example, asking someone in IT to explain what’s wrong with a broken computer. I know from personal experience that computer questions can often lead to more questions and even a couple of aspirin.

The third major component of making an idea sticky is to make it unexpected. It doesn’t need to be shocking like “100 dead babies” it just needs to capture the attention or imagination of whoever hears it. One of Chip’s example was JFK’s speech about sending a man to the moon. The idea was simple and unexpected and with the aid of concrete language JFK was able to motivate a nation to go boldly where no man has gone before.

So what do sticky ideas mean to us in the business world? From a marketing point of view it can mean creating memorable ads or pitching marketing plans that have employers or investors dreaming about the possibilities of your product. Creating and utilizing sticky ideas can turn a good, but bland powerpoint presentation to a sensationalized marketing event. As you watch the video try and pick up some more of Chip’s ideas on making an idea sticky and use them in your own marketing strategies. Enjoy!

(Note: To watch the entire video click on the Watch Full Program button on the lower right hand side of the video.)

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Reading time: 2 - 4 minutes

Video Time: 41 minutes 49 seconds

Successful marketing is a furious, elusive beast that has billions of dollars poured into it every year, only to elude the grasp of those seeking it. Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author of the most popular ebook to date, Unleashing the Ideavirus, attacks marketing from a slightly different angle. Rather than viewing marketing as a push for the adoption of specific elements or products, Godin emphasizes that success will be determined by those who manage to shape the consciousness of the market.

The first example that Godin opens with is a prime example of achieving this phenomenon. Mechanically sliced bread, oft considered the greatest invention ever, was first prototyped in 1912. It wasn’t until 1930 that sliced bread became a nation-wide staple under the intensive marketing efforts of Wonder Bread. Until then, there wasn’t a perceived need for pre-sliced bread when it took mere moments to slice. Wonder Bread made the public feel that the inconvenience of unsliced bread was dramatic and secured its dominance while other companies, that produced sliced bread, have descended into obscurity.

Instead, many companies subscribe to what Godin refers to as the TV-Industrial Complex. It is an endless cycle of buying ads to achieve recognition to sell products to… buy more ads. The critical flaw with this plan is that the playing field has changed and that it no longer works. Two major changes have resulted in this marketing revolution: people have less time and more choices. They now have less time to receive the messages from standard advertising and there are now more options than ever. The end result is that things are ignored.

Difference, distinction, uniqueness or remarkableness all increase visibility beyond the static that drowns out the typical commercial. Success requires the ability to transcend above the noise and, once there, confer a message that resonates with the recipient and shapes their behavior.

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