Made to stick
by Chip Heath, Dan Heath, ʻAlizah Raʻanan · first published 1998
81% recommend19% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Practical guide to making ideas clear, concrete, and memorable, built around the SUCCESs framework and lively stories. Useful for marketers, founders, presenters, and anyone who must explain ideas to others.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Mark Twain once observed, "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on." His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus public-health scares circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas--business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, and others--struggle to make their ideas "stick." Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the br
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1. "The Wisdom of Crowds" by James Surowiecki 2. "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely 3. "The Search" by John Battelle 4. "Made to Stick" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath 5. "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell That should cover your trip. I've listened to all of them and really liked all of them. "Blink" by Gladwell is also good, but…
on “Ask YC: Road trip. Which audio books would you recommend?” ↗…Spin Selling by Neil Rackham b. 50 ScientificallyWays to Be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, Robert B. Cialdini c. Three Steps to Yes by Gene Bedell; -Only print, no audio d. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath & Dan Heath e. How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
on “Being a Developer Makes You Valuable. Learning How to Market Makes You Dangerous” ↗…type of survivorship bias and sampling bias. Whenever, I see a straigh-forward "explanation", alarm goes off inside mind- 'this is too simplistic, and thus oversimplified, and not entirely correct'. 3. Made to Stick by Cheap Heath and Dan Heath: this book explains why some ideas stick and why some don't. From this book, you also learn how to make ideas stick. You start to see the world in a different way. 4. Godel,…
on “Ask HN: Life Changing Books?” ↗…buy SEO books, they're all terrible and rehash what you see on most blogs) Word of Mouth Marketing http://wordofmouthbook.com/ (sometimes great marketing has nothing to do with what you do on the web) Made to Stick http://www.madetostick.com/ (just a great read on how you should shape your copy and ideas so they have maximum sticking power)
on “Ask YC: What books on marketing do you recomend?” ↗I'd recommend to the book Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath here, despite it being more geared towards marketers, than website launches. Derek Sivers has a nice set of notes on it over at http://sivers.org/book/MadeToStick
on “Ask HN: Jump starting techniques for a new site?” ↗In one of my favorite startup books, Made to Stick (http://amzn.to/ccF7X7), the authors describe the genius of Southwest airlines, which has been, by a long shot, the most successful airline company ever (with something like 37 consecutive years of profit).…
on “Communicating a Vision” ↗I found the Lean Startup by Eric Ries to be useful in helping me focus my efforts. Also, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip and Dan Heath. This helped create more effective and compelling content. It's very high-level though.
on “Ask HN: Blogs/Books with an impact on a small business' success?” ↗…making by people will make a lot more sense after this. 2. Influence - Robert Cialdani. Less theory and more pragmatic advice on how to influence people. 3. Drive - Daniel Pink, Switch - Chip Heath, Made to Stick - Chip Heath, Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely. Books on specific sub-categories. More pop-psych. Information density is less, but easier to read. 4. Poor Charlie's Almanac - Charlie Munger. Best…
on “Ask HN: What skills would you invest in learning?” ↗(Speculative) Fiction: "The City and The Stars" by Arthur C. Clarke Nonfiction: "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The best book on how to communicate. The best part: the book is written in a way that its content sticks to your memory for a very…
on “Books that have affected you and your life the most” ↗…Thinking by Barbara Minto - huge help with improving my written communication at my job. The Coaching Habit by Michael Stanier - short book but huge help when your transitioning to managing people. Made to Stick by Dan Heath - was a huge help in planning how I would teach elementary students last month about programming. The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch - aside from application of Pareto principle, I took…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗…through consumers' irrationality bubble. Naturally, to be able to make this claim, you've got to make something that consumers want and that is also easy to use. For a great book on this topic, check out Made To Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.
on “The Endowment Effect” ↗Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/140...
on “Best Books For a Startup?” ↗Latest books: _Made to Stick_, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, about what makes some ideas memorable and others forgettable. Urban legends, for example, propagate quickly on a vast scale despite having no marketing budget. _Mathematical…
on “Ask YC: What is/are your favorite book(s)?” ↗Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/073...
on “Ask YC: Road trip. Which audio books would you recommend?” ↗The piece was about as concrete as a corporate mission statement, and just as prosaic. Someone should send him a copy of "Made To Stick: Why some ideas survive and others die" - Chip & Dan Heath.
on “Plan B” ↗