Intro: The Anti-Gladwell Brothers
Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point) told us why ideas spread. Chip and Dan Heath — a professor + education consultant duo — tell us how to make ideas spread.
Their book Made to Stick (2007) is basically a recipe for making messages unforgettable. Whether you’re pitching a startup, teaching a class, or trying to convince your roommate to finally do the dishes, the Heath brothers ask:
👉 Why do some ideas survive for decades (urban legends, proverbs, marketing slogans)… while others die five minutes after the PowerPoint ends?
Answer: stickiness. Ideas that “stick” share common traits. And the Heath brothers boiled them down into a tidy acronym: SUCCESs.
Part 1: The SUCCESs Framework
No, it’s not a typo. The “s” at the end just makes it look like success. Clever.
Here’s the framework:
- Simplicity
- Unexpectedness
- Concreteness
- Credibility
- Emotions
- Stories
Let’s break them down.
1. Simplicity: Strip to the Core
Sticky ideas aren’t cluttered. They’re stripped to their essence.
- Proverbs survive centuries because they’re short and sharp: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
- Southwest Airlines’ strategy boils down to: “We are THE low-cost airline.” Everything else follows from that.
The trick isn’t dumbing down. It’s prioritizing. Find the core. Kill the fluff.
Modern analogy: If your startup pitch sounds like it was written by ChatGPT on Red Bull, nobody remembers it. If you say: “We’re the Uber for dog walkers,” people get it.
2. Unexpectedness: Break the Pattern
Humans tune out the predictable. To grab attention, break expectations.
- Urban legends often start normal, then twist: “A woman goes on a date, everything’s fine… until she finds out he was a serial killer.”
- Ad campaigns that shock or surprise (“Think Different”).
But surprise isn’t enough. You need to create curiosity gaps. Tease the question, then answer it.
Example: Journalists use headlines like “Why Everything You Know About Exercise Is Wrong.” That itch demands scratching.
3. Concreteness: Say “Velcro,” Not “Synergy”
Abstract ideas don’t stick. Concrete ones do.
- Compare: “Improve communication across teams.” vs. “Every engineer should sit next to a salesperson for one week.”
- JFK didn’t say: “We aim to demonstrate space leadership.” He said: “We will put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade.”
Concrete = mental Velcro. It gives the brain something to grab.
This is why urban legends thrive: razor blades in Halloween candy is a vivid image. “Food safety issues” is not.
4. Credibility: Show, Don’t Tell
People believe details, not generalities.
- Authority helps (experts, stats, institutions).
- But vivid specifics can be even more persuasive. (“This burger has 37 grams of fat” hits harder than “this is unhealthy.”)
- The “Sinatra Test”: “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” One example can prove the point.
Modern twist: Reviews, testimonials, and screenshots often beat polished ads.
5. Emotions: Make Them Care
Facts don’t motivate action. Feelings do.
- People donate more to help a single named child than to a million faceless refugees.
- “Don’t mess with Texas” worked because it triggered local pride, not just anti-littering logic.
Sticky ideas hit the heart, not just the head.
Pro-tip: Don’t just ask people to care about numbers. Make them care about people, identity, pride, fear, or hope.
6. Stories: Package for Humans
Stories are simulation machines. We imagine ourselves in them, which makes lessons stick.
- Jared Fogle’s Subway diet story did more for Subway than any nutritional chart.
- Business success stories inspire way more than bullet-point memos.
We’re wired for stories. Heroes, villains, struggles — they all encode lessons in memory.
Part 2: Case Studies That Prove It
The Heath brothers don’t just theorize. They sprinkle Made to Stick with examples:
- The Kidney Heist Urban Legend: Why everyone remembers the story of a guy waking up in a bathtub full of ice (SUCCESs: concrete, emotional, story).
- The “Don’t Mess With Texas” Campaign: How a simple, emotional slogan cut littering dramatically.
- JFK’s Moon Speech: Concrete vision → unforgettable.
- Subway & Jared: A single story became a billion-dollar campaign.
You start seeing SUCCESs everywhere once you know it.
Part 3: Why This Still Matters in 2025
Today’s world is noisier than ever. Thousands of ads, posts, videos fight for attention daily. If your idea isn’t sticky, it dies.
The SUCCESs model is basically the OG virality framework before algorithms. Look around:
- TikTok trends = simplicity + unexpectedness + stories.
- Memes = concreteness + emotion + sharability.
- Political slogans = sticky soundbites (“Build Back Better,” “Make America Great Again”).
If you want to be remembered in 2025, you’re still playing by the Heath brothers’ rules.
Part 4: Criticisms & Caveats
Some critics argue the SUCCESs model is too neat. Real-world virality is messy, and not every sticky idea is good (hello, conspiracy theories).
But the point isn’t moral judgment. It’s mechanics. Whether you’re curing cancer or selling NFTs, the brain sticks to SUCCESs-shaped ideas.
Part 5: How to Use This Yourself
- Simplicity: Find the core message. One sentence.
- Unexpectedness: Break expectations. Startle, then resolve.
- Concreteness: Use sensory detail, not jargon.
- Credibility: Back it with specifics or trusted sources.
- Emotions: Make people feel something, not just think.
- Stories: Wrap lessons in narrative.
Test your message: if it fails on most SUCCESs principles, it won’t stick.
Part 6: The Philosophy Underneath
Beneath the marketing hacks, Made to Stick is about clarity and humanity.
Humans aren’t robots who store facts. We’re storytelling animals who remember vivid, emotional, concrete messages.
So the secret isn’t to scream louder. It’s to speak in the language the brain loves.
TL;DR (For the Overstimulated)
Sticky ideas = SUCCESs:
- Simple → core message.
- Unexpected → surprise & curiosity.
- Concrete → vivid, sensory.
- Credible → authority or details.
- Emotional → make them care.
- Stories → wrap in narrative.
Or, meme version:
You: “Our mission is to leverage synergies.”
Heath brothers: “Nah, say ‘We’re the Uber for burritos.’”