Made To Stick By Chip And Dan Heath
Why do some ideas take hold while others vanish instantly? The Heath brothers crack the code.
Every day, good ideas die because nobody remembers them. In Made to Stick, brothers Chip and Dan Heath set out to understand why urban legends spread effortlessly while important messages are forgotten in minutes.
Their answer is a six-part framework that anyone can use—whether you’re writing an ad, pitching a client or trying to get your team behind a new plan. The authors are refreshingly practical, too: every principle comes with before-and-after examples that show exactly how to improve a message.
Packed with memorable examples—from urban legends to public health campaigns—the book practises exactly what it preaches.
Pivotal takeaways
- Keep it simple. Find the core of your message and strip away everything else. If everything is important, nothing is.
- Surprise people. Break a pattern to grab attention, then open a gap in their knowledge to keep it.
- Be concrete. Abstract ideas slip away. Specific, tangible examples stick.
- Tell stories that feel credible and emotional. People act on what they feel and remember what they can picture. Stories do both.
Why it’s a must-read
At Pivotal, we’re constantly helping brands cut through the noise. The Heaths’ SUCCESs framework—simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, stories—is one of the most practical checklists we know for making a message land. Complicated messages rarely survive contact with a busy audience.
It also cures the “curse of knowledge”: the more you know about your own product, the harder it is to explain it simply. This book shows you how to see it through your customer’s eyes.
We’d recommend it to anyone who presents, pitches or writes for a living. Run your next piece of work through the framework and you’ll see the difference immediately.
Rating: ★★★★★
A brilliant, readable guide to making ideas unforgettable. Your next campaign will be better for it. The next time a great idea falls flat, reach for this book and work out which of the six principles was missing. Chances are, you’ll find the answer quickly.
Your step. What’s one message your business struggles to get across? Share it in the comments, and let’s make it stick.