---
name: wondelai/made-to-stick
source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/wondelai-made-to-stick@1/SKILL.md
source_sha256: 465541e7bfd8
---

# Made to Stick Framework

A framework for crafting ideas and messages that are understood, remembered, and drive lasting action. Based on decades of research into why some ideas survive and others die.

## Core Principle

**The Curse of Knowledge is the single greatest barrier to effective communication.** Once we know something, we can't imagine not knowing it—which makes us bad at explaining our ideas to others. Sticky ideas aren't born, they're made: the SUCCESs framework provides six principles that make any idea more memorable and impactful.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** Score any messaging (copy, presentations, campaigns, onboarding) by running the [Quick Diagnostic](#quick-diagnostic): rate each of the six traits 1-10, then map the 6-60 total to a band (50-60 = 9-10, extremely sticky; 35-49 = 7-8, strong; 20-34 = 4-6, forgettable; below 20 = ≤3, won't stick). Always state the current score, which traits scored lowest, and the specific fix from the diagnostic's Fix column.

## The SUCCESs Framework

**S**imple · **U**nexpected · **C**oncrete · **C**redible · **E**motional · **S**tories

**Not a checklist—a toolkit.** Not every sticky idea uses all six, but the stickiest ideas tend to use most of them—don't force all six onto a message that only needs two.

### 1. Simple

**Core concept:** Find the core of the idea and share it compactly. Simple ≠ dumbed down—it means ruthless prioritization: "if you say three things, you say nothing."

**The Commander's Intent:** if everything else goes wrong, what ONE thing must we accomplish? For messaging: if people remember ONE thing about your product, what should it be? **The inverted pyramid:** lead with the most important thing; readers who stop anywhere still got the core.

**Techniques for simplicity:**

| Technique | How It Works | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Core message** | Strip to the essential | Southwest: "THE low-fare airline" |
| **Analogy** | Explain new via known | "It's like Uber for dog walking" |
| **Generative** | Core idea that generates behavior | "Names, names, names" (local newspaper motto) |

**Application to product messaging:**

| Before (Complex) | After (Simple) |
|-------------------|----------------|
| "AI-powered, cloud-native customer engagement platform with omnichannel capabilities" | "Talk to all your customers in one place" |
| "We leverage machine learning algorithms to optimize conversion funnels" | "We find why visitors don't buy and fix it" |
| "Enterprise-grade project management with Gantt charts, resource allocation..." | "The simplest way to manage projects" |

**The test:** Can you explain it to a smart 12-year-old? **Warning:** don't simplify into emptiness—"we make the world better" is simple but meaningless.

See [references/simple.md](references/simple.md) when you can't reduce a message to one core idea—it has the Commander's Intent exercise, the inverted-pyramid pattern, and five "find the core" drills.

### 2. Unexpected

**Core concept:** Get attention by breaking patterns (surprise); hold attention by creating curiosity gaps (interest). The surprise must connect to the core message—identify the counterintuitive implication and communicate that.

**Example surprises:**

| Category | Expected | Unexpected (Sticky) |
|----------|----------|---------------------|
| **Product launch** | "Introducing our new feature" | "We removed your favorite feature. Here's why." |
| **Statistics** | "Obesity is growing" | "A bag of movie popcorn has more fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, Big Mac and fries, and steak dinner — combined" |
| **Value prop** | "Save money on insurance" | "15 minutes could save you 15%" (specific, unexpected) |

**Creating curiosity gaps** — open a gap in knowledge, create the desire to fill it:

| Technique | How It Works | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Question** | Ask what they don't know | "What's the #1 reason startups fail?" |
| **Prediction** | Ask them to predict | "How many X do you think...?" |
| **Mystery** | Present a puzzle, delay the resolution | "Nordstrom once refunded a set of tires. They don't sell tires." |
| **Challenge** | Violate assumptions | "Everything you know about X is wrong" |

**Anti-pattern:** Gimmicky surprise without substance.

See [references/unexpected.md](references/unexpected.md) when a message reads as predictable—it has techniques for finding the counterintuitive angle and engineering curiosity gaps.

### 3. Concrete

**Core concept:** Use sensory language and specific details instead of abstract concepts. Abstraction kills memorability; the more concrete and specific the idea, the stickier it becomes.

**Abstract vs. Concrete:**

| Abstract | Concrete |
|----------|----------|
| "Improve customer experience" | "Customers get their order in 30 minutes, still hot" |
| "Increase engagement" | "Users open the app 8 times a day" |
| "Optimize efficiency" | "Reduce report generation from 4 hours to 10 minutes" |
| "World-class support" | "Call us and a human answers in under 60 seconds" |
| "Scalable solution" | "Handle 10,000 users on day one without code changes" |

**The Velcro theory of memory:** concrete ideas have more "hooks"—"bicycle" is easier to remember than "vehicle" because you can picture it.

**Techniques for concreteness:**

| Technique | How It Works | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Specific numbers** | Replace "a lot" with exact figures | "2,347 customers" not "thousands" |
| **Sensory language** | Engage senses | "Crispy, not crunchy" |
| **Concrete example** | Replace category with instance | "Like John, a 35-year-old teacher in Denver" |
| **Before/after** | Tangible transformation | "Before: 4 hours. After: 10 minutes." |

**Application:** features → outcomes; percentages → real numbers ("saves 40%" → "saves 16 hours/month"); categories → specific examples ("restaurants" → "pizza shops in Brooklyn"); demos > feature lists.

See [references/concrete.md](references/concrete.md) when a message stays abstract—it has sensory-language drills and the abstract-to-concrete conversion process.

### 4. Credible

**Core concept:** Help people believe your idea using external credibility (authorities, credentials) and internal credibility (vivid details, human-scale statistics, testable claims)—internal is more powerful.

**External credibility:**

| Source | How It Works | Example |
|--------|-------------|---------|
| **Authorities** | Expert endorsement | "Recommended by Harvard Business Review" |
| **Anti-authorities** | Real people with experience | "Here's what a customer with the same problem found" |
| **Credentials** | Verifiable achievements | "10 years experience, SOC 2 certified" |

**Internal credibility:**

| Technique | How It Works | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Vivid details** | Specificity implies truth | "On Tuesday at 3pm, in the conference room on the 4th floor..." |
| **Human-scale statistics** | Relate numbers to experience | Not "10TB of data" but "every book ever written, 100 times" |
| **The Sinatra Test** | One example so good it proves everything | "If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere" |
| **Testable credential** | Let them verify | "Try it free for 14 days" |

**The Sinatra Test:** one reference so impressive it handles all objections—"We secured the White House" (security), "We handle Super Bowl traffic" (scalability), "Used by Apple, Google, and Microsoft" (quality).

**Making statistics stick:** put them in a context people understand—not "37 grams of saturated fat" but "more saturated fat than a Big Mac, fries, and milkshake combined."

See [references/credible.md](references/credible.md) when a claim sounds unbelievable—it has authority types, the Sinatra Test, and methods for making statistics human-scale.

### 5. Emotional

**Core concept:** Make people feel something—people act on emotion, not analysis. Statistics numb; stories about individuals inspire action. Mother Teresa principle: "If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will."

**Emotional appeals:**

| Approach | How It Works | Example |
|----------|-------------|---------|
| **Individual focus** | One person's story > statistics | "Meet Sarah, who..." > "10,000 people affected" |
| **Self-interest** | "What's in it for me?" | WIIFM: features → personal benefits |
| **Identity** | "What would someone like me do?" | "Texans don't litter" (Don't Mess with Texas) |
| **Maslow's hierarchy** | Appeal to the right level | Security, belonging, esteem, self-actualization |

**The identity approach:** people decide based on identity, not calculation—frame your product as consistent with who they want to be:

| Identity Frame | Product | Message |
|---------------|---------|---------|
| "I'm an innovative leader" | SaaS tool | "For teams that move fast" |
| "I care about my health" | Food product | "Made with ingredients you can pronounce" |
| "I'm a serious professional" | B2B service | "The tool Fortune 500 CTOs rely on" |

**Avoid the "semantic stretch":** don't over-abstract the emotion—"Support the troops" beats "Support our national defense infrastructure."

See [references/emotional.md](references/emotional.md) when a message is all logic and no feeling—it has the individual-focus, identity, and self-interest appeal frameworks.

### 6. Stories

**Core concept:** Stories are flight simulators for the brain: they simulate experience, inspire action, stay memorable through narrative structure, and bypass resistance (people don't argue with stories).

**Three story plots that work:**

| Plot | Structure | When to Use | Example |
|------|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Challenge** | Protagonist overcomes obstacle | Inspire courage, perseverance | "We started in a garage..." |
| **Connection** | People bridging a gap | Inspire tolerance, teamwork | "A customer helped another customer..." |
| **Creativity** | Novel solution to problem | Inspire innovation, thinking | "We tried X, Y, Z... then discovered..." |

**Story structure for product messaging:** character (relatable customer) → problem (emotional) → journey (what they tried, concrete) → solution (how your product helped, specific) → outcome (measurable + emotional).

**Example:**
> "Sarah ran a 10-person design agency. Her team spent 4 hours every Friday compiling client reports from 5 different tools. She'd tried hiring an intern, building spreadsheets, even a custom tool. Nothing worked. Then she found [Product]. Now reports generate in 10 minutes. Last Friday, her team left at 3pm for the first time in years."

**Spotting stories in the wild:** support tickets (problems + resolutions), sales calls (objections + breakthroughs), user interviews (before/after moments), internal Slack (team wins).

See [references/stories.md](references/stories.md) when you need to build a narrative—it has the three story plots, the product-story structure, and methods for collecting real stories.

## The Curse of Knowledge

**How it manifests:** jargon your audience doesn't know; skipping context that seems "obvious"; assuming your audience sees what you see; over-abstracting because you know the specifics.

**Solutions:** test messaging with outsiders (not your team); use concrete language, not abstractions; tell stories, not bullet points; ask "would my mom understand this?"

See [references/curse-of-knowledge.md](references/curse-of-knowledge.md) when your own message reads clearly but lands flat on others—it has diagnosis and remedies for shared-context blind spots.

## Applying SUCCESs to Product

### Landing Pages
- **Simple:** one clear value proposition above the fold
- **Unexpected:** counterintuitive claim or statistic
- **Concrete:** specific outcome ("save 4 hours/week" not "save time")
- **Credible:** customer logos, specific testimonials
- **Emotional + Stories:** customer pain point and transformation narrative

### Product Demos
- **Simple:** show ONE core workflow, not every feature
- **Unexpected:** start with the "aha moment", not a tour
- **Concrete:** use real data, not "Lorem ipsum"
- **Credible:** show how [specific company] uses it
- **Emotional + Stories:** "Let me show you what happens when [customer] has this problem..."

### Onboarding
- **Simple:** one action per screen
- **Unexpected:** delight with a quick win early
- **Concrete:** show real results, not abstract promises
- **Credible:** "Join 5,000 teams already using..."
- **Emotional + Stories:** celebrate first success; "here's how [user] got started..."

See [references/applications.md](references/applications.md) when applying SUCCESs to a specific format—it has element-by-element tables, fill-in templates, and before/after examples for landing pages, demos, onboarding, presentations, email campaigns, internal comms, and documentation. See [references/case-studies.md](references/case-studies.md) for full worked teardowns (JFK's moonshot, the Subway diet, Don't Mess with Texas) when you want to see all six traits operating together in a famous message.

## Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Why It Fails | Fix |
|---------|-------------|------|
| **Burying the lead** | Core message lost in details | Commander's Intent: what's the ONE thing? |
| **Too abstract** | Nothing to remember | Replace every abstraction with a concrete example |
| **Feature listing** | No emotional connection | Tell customer stories, show transformations |
| **Jargon** | Curse of Knowledge | Test with outsiders |
| **Statistics without context** | Numbers don't stick | Make stats human-scale and relatable |

## Quick Diagnostic

The single scoring instrument. Score each trait 1-10, fix the lowest, then re-score:

| Trait | Question | If weak | Fix |
|-------|----------|---------|-----|
| **Simple** | Can I state the core in one sentence? | Too complex | Find the Commander's Intent |
| **Unexpected** | Would this surprise someone? | Predictable = forgettable | Find the counterintuitive angle |
| **Concrete** | Can I picture it happening? | Too abstract | Add specific, sensory details |
| **Credible** | Why should someone believe this? | No credibility | Add proof, examples, Sinatra Test |
| **Emotional** | Does it make me feel something? | Purely logical | Focus on one person, not statistics |
| **Stories** | Is there a story? | List of facts | Wrap in character + problem + resolution |

Sum the six scores and band per [Scoring](#scoring) above.

## Further Reading

For the complete framework and research:

- [*"Made to Stick"*](https://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/1400064287?tag=wondelai00-20) by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
- [*"Switch"*](https://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/0385528752?tag=wondelai00-20) by Chip Heath & Dan Heath (companion: how to make change stick)

## About the Authors

**Chip Heath** is a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and **Dan Heath** is a senior fellow at Duke University's CASE center. Together they have written four New York Times bestsellers; *Made to Stick* spent over two years on the list, and its SUCCESs framework is used by educators, marketers, nonprofits, and product teams worldwide.