May 18, 2011

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Why isn’t your idea easily grasped and spreading like wild fire? Why isn’t everyone “on board” and working vigorously to implement it? You’ve written the proposal, sent the emails, and even given the PowerPoint presentation – so what’s wrong? Why haven’t minds or behavior changed?

In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath explore and analyze dozens of great campaigns where ideas did spread rapidly and were effective in driving change. From military strategies to the work of Mother Theresa, from the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton to the “Jared” marketing campaign of Subway sandwiches, the Heath brothers deduce six principles for shaping and communicating ideas so that they are “sticky” – so that they spread easily and change minds and behavior.

The six principles are conveyed using clear and interesting examples, such as those listed above. To bring home the major points, the book also contains several “clinics” – review exercises of scenarios that require improvement, complete with their suggested answers.

Everyone should read this book. Not only will it likely improve your writing and communication style, it’s helpful in thinking strategically about that next marketing campaign, proposal, or organizational change. No matter what your idea is, the lessons from this book will greatly help to shape and package it for maximum impact.

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Why the photo of “Don’t Mess with Texas?” .. because the now widely famous slogan that has expanded in meaning and interpretation started as an anti-littering campaign in the 1980s. Just one of the neat little stories in the book.

Photo credit: brionv

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
April 11, 2011

Two great examples of innovation using Twitter

Innovation is in the hands of everyone now. While CIOs, CMOs and other leaders dream up all sorts of ideas, programs, training, and infrastructure enhancements to unleash new potential in their organizations, sometimes people simply take matters into their own hands.

Twitter is free, easy and fast becoming ubiquitous in many environments. Savvy folks are taking notice – and taking action. Here are two examples, one from each coast of the United States, of two people taking initiative to innovate on the platform.

Clothing in Burlington, MA

Dave Angiulo is the Assistant Men’s Sportswear Manager at Nordstrom Burlington. He goes the extra mile to help his customers – and invites them to connect on Twitter (@NordstromDave), if that’s convenient for them. Once you’ve made a connection to Dave, he can send you direct messages with timely information about the products you like and even photos as new items arrive. If you’re a customer of Dave’s, you can essentially shop on Twitter.

He’s done this for many people in the Boston area, and a couple have written blog posts about the experience. So, he’s not only got happy customers, he has created stories for them. Stories that they like to spread, which helps Dave gain more customers.

Here are some links, if you’re interested to see the stories for yourself:

I Bought A Shirt On Twitter

Awesome example of how one Nordstrom employee is delivering superior service

Beer in Seattle, WA

Selling beer at a baseball game looks like a lot of work. Carrying heavy coolers up and down the aisles, being attentive to requests near and far, and keeping well-stocked, that job requires some hustle to be successful.

Kevin Zelko has hustle. And also ingenuity. He’s using Twitter (@msbeervendor) to be more efficient, and also to provide superior service. He’ll take your beer order at Safeco field this season (provided you’re sitting in one of the sections he serves – 105 to 129) via Twitter. This allows him to collect a few orders and plan an efficient path. It also saves the fan any worry about looking away from the action on the field to track down and get the attention of a beer vendor. And, they get more personalized service. Kevin can establish a relationship with regulars, build his personal brand, and his move adds some excitement to the whole transaction just because it’s so novel.

No committee needed

It’s interesting what people come up with when technology is set free, and people innovate on their own. Both Dave and Kevin have a lot to gain personally – more sales. But they can also serve as great examples to others in their organizations and beyond.

Photo credit: Stepan Mazurov

Filed Under: Social media Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment
December 3, 2010

Data informs, but stories reveal strategy and motivate action

once upon a time...You can gather all sorts of data to make a business case for change. But spreadsheets and charts serve more to inform than to motivate. And summarizing the data into a PowerPoint presentation won’t help much. In fact, it may hurt (“death by PowerPoint” can work both ways).

Better to tell a story. Whether it’s a senior executive that you want to pitch or a staff worker who needs to change her process, give them the ability to be part of a good story. Why? Because a good story not only informs, it reveals strategy and motivates people to action.

Answer the “why” questions

Telling a good story forces you out of the weeds of analytics and into a high-level thinking mode. Good stories aren’t bogged down in details – they’re simple and follow an arc that naturally answers all the “why” questions. These are the questions that look at things from an emotional, rather than analytical, perspective. And it’s emotions that motivate change. The words emotion and motivation even share the common Latin root of movere, to move. Contrast that with “analysis paralysis.”

Why is the company is making this change, why is it important to do it now, why are you helping, and why do you need the person to whom you’re talking to help also. This story provides context and meaning. It can get people to feel that they are an important part of a good story, which allows them to have a better personal story to tell. And as the story spreads, the strategy and the motivation can (hopefully) spread too.

Save the planet

People don’t recycle a plastic container to help reduce the gross tonnage of pastic waste in the continental United States by 0.00001% – they recycle that container to help save the planet. That’s a better story. It gets to the heart of the strategy, is more motivating, and leads to action (and to more storytelling).

Filed Under: Communication, Leadership Tagged With: , , , 2 Comments
November 16, 2010

Stories sell, jargon doesn’t

I was in a vendor presentation recently. They were pitching technology directly to senior management. There was already pretty strong interest in the solution before the meeting started, and now the vendor had a chance to speak directly to the business people who would make the purchasing decision. And then it happened.

Techie talk.

So, I jumped in to help turn the presentation into a conversation. Responding to a series of simple, clarifying questions, the vendor began to describe ways that people would actually use – and benefit from – this new technology. They began to tell stories. And these stories turned the conversation into a collaboration, with senior management jumping right in.

The discussion became about specific scenarios in the organization. How certain processes are now and how they would work differently (and better) with this new technology in place. Specific questions (about features, not technologies) arose and were answered in the flow of the conversation. Eventually, everyone had a pretty complete picture of the before and after scenarios etched in their minds.

The moral

If you’re a vendor, try to approach your next pitch meeting as a conversation instead of a presentation. A story where the potential client is the protagonist is more compelling. And your value proposition is much more easily understood.

If you’re a CIO, insist on a story. Don’t fall into the technical talk trap. Show off your business acumen, not your technical know how. Ask questions that simplify and clarify the conversation.

I’m not sure it’s always possible to drive the conversation in this way (whether you’re the vendor or the customer), but it seems to be worth the effort. How can you tell if it worked? Well, in this particular case, I considered it a win because not a single PowerPoint slide saw the light of day.

Photo credit:  jonny goldstein

Filed Under: Communication Tagged With: , , , 4 Comments