Business Bits - Book Recommendation

Monday, May 17, 2010

Topic: Made to Stick

I began reading business books years ago....but I admit, it was only to help me fall asleep.

My husband was in business school & had piles of businessy books laying around. I was teaching & sewing only as a hobby,  But I did work a crazy amount of hours at my school & with all the stress needed help falling asleep. Looking at these masses of boring jargon-filled texts, I thought, hmm- these will surely do the trick.

But they didn't. They kept me awake....I read text by text and even some of his case studies.

Now with Quiltish up & going...I've gone back to rereading them....but with a new purpose in mind. One book that always stood out  is Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath. 

It's smart & insightful -exploring "why some ideas survive & others die."  Answers the question of why some things "stick" and some don't.  I found it an interesting analysis of the human thought process & just as important to a business owner as it would be to a teacher, mom, speaker, blogger, principal, or anyone really who hopes to convey a message (which is just about everyone, isn't it?)

The core model of the book is based on the acronym of SUCCESs ....In order to stick ideas need to have the qualities of:
  • Simplicity - get to the core
  • Unexpectedness - grab attention
  • Concreteness - make it memorable
  • Credibility - believable?
  • Emotional - make people feel it
  • Stories - sharing more than just stats & one liners
The Heath Brothers have loads of resources on their site, including the very first chapter of the book & stuff for teachers & job interviews...as well as tips small business owners can snag & apply!










4 comments :

Pili said...

Looks like a great book for everyone to read, business owner or not!

Live a Colorful Life said...

I'm taking an online course along these very lines. I have spent a lot of time writing my "about me" page and it has a long ways to go, but the instructor is very focused on stories as a way of branding yourself and your products.

Sal said...

Allisa
I love your business bits and rush home from school every monday to read it. Thanks so much for posting all this great information - so useful to a beginner like me. Keep up the great work.
Sal x

Jennifer Jacobs said...

To help you fall asleep?! LOL!