Made to Stick
(www.madetostick.com)




I just picked up a copy of a book called Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath. Has anyone out there read it? Here's an excerpt from the jacket:

Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that “stick” and explain sure-fire methods for making ideas stickier, such as violating schemas, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating “curiosity gaps.”

The book warns against something the authors call the Curse of Knowledge. Here's how the authors explain the Curse of Knowledge in an interview they did on Guy Kawasaki's blog:

And that brings us to the villain of our book: The Curse of Knowledge. Lots of research in economics and psychology shows that when we know something, it becomes hard for us to imagine not knowing it. As a result, we become lousy communicators. Think of a lawyer who can’t give you a straight, comprehensible answer to a legal question. His vast knowledge and experience renders him unable to fathom how little you know. So when he talks to you, he talks in abstractions that you can’t follow. And we’re all like the lawyer in our own domain of expertise.

I haven't read that far into the book yet, but I know that in the area of evangelism and in how we do church, this Curse of Knowledge thing has a ring of truth to it. I'm all for any tool that can help us better communicate the good news to people who haven't yet heard it or clarify it to people who have heard it but don't yet understand it. I could definitely use help in better communicating some of my ideas, like clearly communicating what we're all about here at eleven72, and why we do what we do.

If you've read the book, please let us know what you thought. If you have any good book recommendations, please let us know what they are. And I'll go ahead and read the book and let you know if it sticks :).