Many business folk seek the one great idea that’ll transform the world and their bank accounts. They want to start a company or a product line to take them to the top or provide more stability. In our information age, however, ideas are everywhere; people able to push those ideas forward into beneficial, lasting change are harder to find. Leadership gurus (and brothers) Chip and Dan Heath seek to educate us about how to make our concepts “stick” around in the minds and lives of our listeners.
In an age where authoritarian tendencies are seemingly flourishing, the Heath brothers offer a refreshing look at persuasion. They do so by pulling examples from dozens of different fields – all with the common theme of making lasting change. Obviously, you need a good idea, but most good ideas don’t morph into results without good rhetoric. They show us how to identify those story lines and narrative hooks in our own lines. Thus, at the proper time, we can pull out the proper push to inspire, challenge, or springboard our audience to reach new heights.
I’ve appreciated both Chip Heath’s and Dan Heath’s writing in other domains, but I found this book not up to their usual standard. The examples are interesting, but the central, take-home message is weaker. The book dissected different ways people pitched ideas, but I finished the book without a lot of action items for my daily life and work. I guess you could say that the book itself didn’t have much “stickiness” for me. Don’t get me wrong: The concepts were good and sound, but it read more like a normal business book rather than reaching the high bar these two have set for themselves.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
By Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Narrated by Charles Kahlenberg
Copyright (c) 2006
Random House Audio
ASIN B000MGBNM6
Length: 8:37
Genre: Business, Marketing
www.amazon.com