Home > Work > Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
81 " This is the Curse of Knowledge. Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has “cursed” us. "
― Chip Heath , Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
82 " dogged focus "
83 " Curse of Knowledge. Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our "
84 " When we use statistics, the less we rely on the actual numbers the better. The numbers inform us about the underlying relationship, but there are better ways to illustrate the underlying relationship than the numbers themselves. "
85 " contexts. To make our communications more effective, we need to shift our thinking from “What information do I need to convey?” to “What questions do I want my audience to ask? "
86 " Contrast the “maximize shareholder value” idea with John F. Kennedy’s famous 1961 call to “put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade.” Simple? Yes. Unexpected? Yes. Concrete? Amazingly so. Credible? The goal seemed like science fiction, but the source was credible. Emotional? Yes. Story? In miniature. Had John F. Kennedy been a CEO, he would have said, “Our mission is to become the international leader in the space industry through maximum team-centered innovation and strategically targeted aerospace initiatives. "
87 " it can be the honesty and trustworthiness of our sources, not their status, that allows them to act as authorities. Sometimes "
88 " the Aha! experience is much more satisfying when it is preceded by the Huh? experience. "
89 " The simple act of committing to an answer makes the students more engaged and more curious about the outcome. "
90 " Prioritization rescues people from the quicksand of decision angst, and that’s why finding the core is so valuable. "
91 " 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 her and one for him. He thanked her and took a sip. And that was the last thing he remembered. "
92 " When your finance professor starts using the word “dude,” you must eliminate the word from your vocabulary. "
93 " Loewenstein argues that gaps cause pain. "
94 " It’s easy to lose awareness that we’re talking like an expert. We start to suffer from the Curse of Knowledge, like the tappers in the “tappers and listeners” game. It can feel unnatural to speak concretely about subject matter we’ve known intimately for years. But if we’re willing to make the effort we’ll see the rewards: Our audience will understand what we’re saying and remember it. The moral of this story is not to “dumb things down.” The manufacturing people faced complex problems and they needed smart answers. Rather, the moral of the story is to find a “universal language,” one that everyone speaks fluently. Inevitably, that universal language will be concrete. "
95 " acronym "
96 " Concreteness is an indispensable component of sticky ideas. "
97 " companies often emphasize features when they should be emphasizing benefits. "
98 " people don’t buy quarter-inch drill bits. They buy quarter-inch holes so they can hang their children’s pictures. "
99 " The linkages between emotion and behavior can be more subtle, though. For instance, a secondary effect of being angry, which was recently discovered by researchers, is that we become more certain of our judgments. When we’re angry, we know we’re right, as anyone who has been in a relationship can attest. "
100 " Which of these animals is more likely to kill you? A SHARK A DEER ANSWER: The deer is more likely to kill you. In fact, it’s 300 times more likely to kill you (via a collision with your car). "