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Issue 1 > Made to stick: the six principles of powerful ideas.

Made to stick: the six principles of powerful ideas.

Chip & Dan Heath explore 'Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas?'

In an adapted extract from their book 'Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die', Chip Heath and Dan Heath explain how 'sticky' messages of all kinds draw their power from the same six traits and show how we can apply these rules to making our own messages 'stick'.

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—businessmen, educators, politicians, journalists and others—struggle to make their ideas 'stick'.

A friend of a friend of ours is a frequent business traveler. Let's call him Dave. Dave was recently in Atlantic City for an important meeting with clients. Afterwards, he had some time to kill before his flight, so he went to a local bar for a drink.

He'd just finished one drink when an attractive woman approached and asked if she could buy him another. He was surprised but flattered. Sure, he said. The woman walked to the bar and brought back two more drinks—one for herself and one for him. He thanked her and took a sip… and that was the last thing he remembered.

Rather, that was the last thing he remembered until he woke up, disoriented, lying in a hotel bathtub, his body submerged in ice. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out where he was and how he got there. Then he spotted the note: 'Don't move. Call 911.'

A cell phone rested on a small table beside the bathtub. He picked it up and called 911, his fingers numb and clumsy from the ice. The operator seemed oddly familiar with his situation. She said 'Sir, I want you to reach behind you, slowly and carefully. Is there a tube protruding from your lower back?'

Anxious, he felt around behind him. Sure enough, there was a tube. The operator said 'Sir, don't panic, but one of your kidneys has been harvested. There's a ring of organ thieves operating in this city, and they got to you. Paramedics are on their way. Don't move until they arrive.'

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MAGAZINE > issues > 1 > Made to stick: the six principles of powerful ideas.