One of the very best reads for anyone looking to make a positive impact. Very well done.

I used Made to Stick in a call center to help illustrate points about customer satisfaction. The specific area I was working on was reducing transfers and this book helped me clarify the actions needed from the reps to take care of our customers.

I had read the excerpts in Fast Company and was intrigued yet not convinced so I checked it out from my local library. Once I read it, I was convinced. Even with the tough economic times we are facing, buying Made to Stick is a wise investment in your professional library.

I would be surprised to hear of anyone not finding this book enjoyable - it is made up of the same humor and well-researched examples that have made bestsellers out of its brethren, "Blink" and "The Tipping Point." The duo of Chip and Dan Heath actually lifted the idea of "stickiness" from the pages of Gladwell's "The Tipping Point." Here we are given the tricks of the communication trade: Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotional, Stories. The authors give us a chapter on each of these elements, demonstrating how and why they are effective. Like its predecessors, much of this book's strength lies in the myriad examples and successes used by companies, advertisers, and average people trying to make a difference.

The Heath brothers do provide a nice add in the form of "case studies," in which they give real world examples for practice. We are given two approaches to help demonstrate how the application of the six stickiness guides can improve communication. Alright, I am making this book sound a little boring and it is certainly not boring. If you have ever wondered why those Subway commercials are so catchy or how "don't mess with Texas" became so popular or how you could put together a better pitch for your idea, I would suggest giving this book a try. If you liked Gladwell, you'll like these guys. I found this book engaging and surprisingly participatory. I may never look at commercials the same way again and the next time I catch myself singing the "five dollar footlong" jingle, I will definitely think about this book.

While this book has some great stuff in it, there isn't that much - you could cover the entire contents of the book over one cup of coffee in Starbucks. Buy a used copy for $2.95 + shipping.

Well, I appreciated the evidence this book provided about the power of stories and details, but sorry Chip and Dale, I think you are speaking about fast media ideas and not the kind that matter to me.

It may be true that slogans like, "nice guys finish last" catch on for reasons other than that they are accurate, and it may be that stories are more effective than distilled oration, and it may even be true that appealing to emotions is more effective that facts, but if all these things are true, it is one more reason to give up on trying to say anything important at all.

Important ideas benefit from stories, concrete details, and simplicity, that is true, but some of the greatest ideas are interesting because they are not simple or concrete. Maybe the most important ideas are about mystery, logic, connections, and those perceptions and ways of seeing that are out front of the crowd, just on the horizon of realization. Slogans like, "nice guys finish last," and other ideas people like to use to justify their aggression or competitive nature, may make the ideas memorable, but is "sticking" the most important thing when the idea is only half baked?

Instead, I think this book is about solipsism. The art of persuasion. This really has nothing to do with real ideas which are often notoriously hard to remember because they are new, beyond our current way of thinking, revolutionary, without equals.

All the other stuff is an interesting study of human shortcomings, our inability to think abstractly, our inability to focus on a line of reasoning, our tenancy to rely on irrational ways of knowing over analysis and careful observation.

In essence the book is about justifying a culture of quick influence, easy selling, advertising, and the instant answer. It is a white flag in the battle for clear perception.

Where are the ideas that grab us, that transform our worlds. I didn't see many in this book, nor an analysis of how those ideas are so effective. I'm thinking of relativity, the wheel, monotheism, cooking, municipal sewers, sports jackets -- I don't know, anything that has stood the test of time. There are millions of ideas like these that have changed our lives and imprinted themselves on our psyche. I don't think they did so just because they are simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and told with stories. These can help a good idea along, but equally important glues are beauty, fit, innovation, artistry, brilliance, clarity, solutions, synthesis, robustness, comprehensiveness, etc.

To the authors I might suggest that you simplified your subject but left out the best bits.