#SUCCESs February 10

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There is not a typo I am spelling SUCCESs correctly.

I am following up on yesterday’s post on why Aesop Fables were so memorable. Those stories has a certain stickiness to them.

I am stealing an ACRONYM “SUCCESs” I discovered in a book I just finished reading called “Made To Stick” -Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath.

Leaders have all kinds of roles. They are parents, spouses, coaches, teachers, CEO’s, ministers, supervisors, foreman, sales managers, entrepreneurs, and on and on. One shared task almost every leader is faced with is how to make an idea stick with the team he is leading. Leaders also have to incorporate stories or messages that people remember. Repetition helps ideas stick but there is more than frequency that matters.

The Heath Brothers came up with a acronym SUCCESs that describes the 6 traits they believe make ideas stick. You noticed that I said 6 traits and SUCCESs is spelled with 7 letters. That is why the last s is not capitalized in the acronym.

Having a great idea is one part of transforming a team. The second part is making that idea stick. The book makes a lot of great points on how frustrating it can be that “Urban Legends” like the Kidney Heist can get traction but fantastic ideas to help a business grow 15% just die. The traits that make an idea stick are this:

Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Stories

Each trait requires practice and a brief summary might help but will not let you master it.

SIMPLE-Find the Core Message-Share the Core Message

UNEXPECTED -Get Attention thru Surprise & Hold Attention thru Interest

CONCRETE-Help people Understand and remember-Help people Coordinate

CREDIBLE-Help people believe-External Credibility-Internal Credibility-make statistics accessible-Sinatra test-Use testable Credentials

EMOTIONAL-Make People Care-Power of Association-Appeal to Self Interest-Appeal to Identity

STORIES-Get people to act-Stories as simulations-tell people how to act-Stories as inspiration (need to follow three plots) Challenge Plot-Connection Plot-Creativity Plot

SUCCESs helps people to:

Pay Attention because something is UNEXPECTED

Understand and Remember because something is CONCRETE

Believe and Agree-because something is CREDIBLE

Care because it touches them EMOTIONALLY

Act because of STORIES

In each of the steps above it has to be simple-that is SUCCESs

If you want something to stick up on your office wall here is a link to a pdf on SUCCESs