Make your idea sticky

What is the SUCCESS framework for making ideas sticky from the book Made to Stick, highlighting six principles: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories

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SUCCESS is a mnemonic for making your idea sticky, from the entertaining and informative book Made to Stick , by the Heath brothers. It outlines six principles that help ideas resonate, stay memorable, and inspire action: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories.

• Simple: Strip your idea down to its core, making it easy to understand and remember.

• Unexpected: Capture attention by surprising your audience or breaking their expectations.

• Concrete: Use vivid, tangible details to make your idea real and relatable.

• Credible: Build trust by including authority, data, or real-world examples.

• Emotional: Tap into emotions to make your message resonate on a deeper level.

• Stories: Use storytelling to create connection and drive engagement.

By applying these steps, you can communicate ideas that stick in the minds of your audience long after they’re shared.

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Examples of the principles of Made to Stick in action:

Published 18 Nov 2013

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Steel bars in concrete combine the tensile strength of steel with the compressive strength of concrete, creating a remarkably effective and widely used building method. The starter bars embedded in and protruding from the existing structure provide a strong and stable connection between a new addition and the existing building. The bars transfer loads and anchor the two together. Pillars of Hope are a conspicuous example of futureproofing. Other examples in buildings are electrics or plumbing, where you might leave capped-off pipes or electrical connection points in anticipation of future work. Laptops and desktop computers with empty expansion slots also use this approach, as does a first edition of software that includes an update manager. In software and agile development, I like the sentiment from the book Rework: "A kick-ass half is better than a half-assed whole." Have no parts of your product not yet working or "under construction" that are visible to users. 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