Jason Taylor

My wife is an amazing baker.  She could start her own bakery and make millions.    This would cause a few problems, not the least of which is that I’d need to buy larger size pants.  My favorite thing is Anna’s carrot cake.   It’s heavenly. 

My wife has learned how to make her carrot cake “stick;”  the smell, the taste, the expectation of the cream cheese frosting…oh my.  I can’t help but share with others how good her carrot cake is.   And once they’ve had a piece, it’s all over.   I recently ran into an old co-worker I’d not seen in 2 years.   The first thing out of her mouth was, “It’s been too long since I’ve had your wife’s carrot cake.”  

She didn’t even say hi. 

Anna has successfully done what authors Dan and Chip Heath write about in their book Made to Stick.   She’s found a way to take a message, in this case – yummy carrot cake – and make it so memorable and sticky in the mind of her audience that they are compelled to talk about it, share it with others and in this case even use it as a metaphor in a blog post.     

Wouldn’t it be great if your vision or purpose statement was that sticky?  Is it possible to communicate a message in a way that creates much greater reception and influence by simply applying a few key properties to every message? 

Dan and Chip Heath believe it is.    And so do I.  

Below are my key learnings from the book.  To read the actual introduction of the book click here.

THOUGHTS FROM BOOK

Pg 8 - Definition of Stickyness “when your ideas are understood and remembered, and have a lasting impact – they change your audience’s opinions or behavior
Pp 16-18 – The Six Principles of Sticky Ideas (SUCCESs)

1. Simplicity
2. Unexpectedness
3. Concreteness
4. Crediblity
5. Emotions
6. Story

Pg 20 – Beware: The Curse of Knowledge.   This has immediate impact for anybody that has a message they want to communicate.  Curse of Knowledge – when I as the message sender assume that you know what I know. 

SIMPLICTY

• Find the CORE of an idea.  
• Two great questions as you schedule a day or a week:
  • If I do nothing else during tomorrow’s ___________ (meeting, day, seminar, etc), I must ____________.
  • The single, most important thing that I must accomplish tomorrow is _________________.
• Finding the CORE requires “Forced Prioritization.”   This is a great concept.   When we decide what is most important we are forced to prioritize around that.  It sounds simple and easy but in reality this is tough for leaders to be clear on. 

 “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”  Antoine de Saint-Exupery

• Simple = CORE + Compact   The message has to have both variables to be simple.    They will not work if one is left out.  Another way of putting it is that ideas need to be compact enough to be sticky and meaningful enough to make a difference….otherwise it probably doesn’t need to be said.

UNEXPECTED

• To get someone’s attention you have to find a way to break the pattern.
• To make our communication 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?

CONCRETE

• Big takeaway for me was the idea that a message will not grow if it is ambiguous.    It must have skin, bones and flesh; it has to have feet on the ground. 

Concreteness makes the abstract accessible.

• The Velcro Theory of Memory: Our brains function in much the same way as Velcro.   The more hooks an idea has, the better it will cling to memory.  
• Pg 111 A powerful and moving story that illustrates the power of CONCRETE titled Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes.

CREDIBLE

• Vivid details boost credibility
• Statistics will, and should, almost always be used to illustrate a relationship.  It’s more important for people to remember the relationship than the number.

EMOTIONAL

• The most basic way to make people care is to form an association between something they don’t yet care about and something they do care about.
• Pg. 203 To get people to care about our ideas, we have to get them to take off their analytical hats.   We create empathy for specific individuals.  We show how our ideas are associated with things that people already care about.  We appeal to their self-interest, but we also appeal to their identities—not only to the people they are right now but also to the people they would like to be.

STORIES

• Story provides simulation (knowledge) and inspiration (motivation to ACT) 

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THE BOOK

“If you’re a great spotter (of ideas, creativity and the principles from the book), you’ll always trump a great creator.   Why?  Because the world will always produce more great ideas than any single individual, even the most creative one.”

HOW TO APPLY THIS TO YOUR VISION MESSAGE.

1. Write out in detail the current situation behind the message.  What is the reason for the message or the aim of the message?
2. Write out what the existing message to the end user is currently.  What is the current message being communicated? 
3. Then create and write out a second message trying to use the SUCCESS principles from the book.
4. As a team create a scorecard (see below)
5. As a team evaluate which message has more points, based on the SUCCESS principles.  The more points, the better the chance the message will stick.

Scorecard (how do the 2 messages compare based on the following criterea?)

Checklist                     Message 1                    Message 2

Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Story

NEXT ACTION:

1. Read the book.  This post does only a cursory overview of some great writing and illustrations.   One of the best parts of the book is that it’s written in a way that helps it stick, the whole book is an example of what they are writing on.
2. Also, at the end of the book is a bulleted list of all the key concepts and core messages from the book for quick reference.
3. Subscribe to the Author’s blog on their website: www.madetostick.com

What other great books or ideas have you learned for making vision sticky?  (Yes, Making Vision Stick by Andy Stanley would be a GREAT example. )

Img Ginnerobot

I love to read.   I love it.   I have been a voracious reader since I was a child, but only in the last several years have I been intentional about reading and keeping track of what I read, how I read and the application of the knowledge I get.  Since 2004 I’ve tracked and catalogued every book I’ve read.   This year I had a more specific goal of reading books that span across all the main areas of my life plan.  

• Faith
• Marriage
• Friends and Family
• Health
• Finances
• Self-Development
• Career and Service
• Administration/Miscellaneous

(I’m going to do a post soon that breaks out how I’m using those accounts above in organizing my hard files, email inbox, pretty much everything.)

In the past, I’ve tended to get in a rut and flip from business and leadership to fiction and then back.   It’s been a good exercise to spread out my reading this year across genre’s.  My wife was got her Master’s in English and I’ve begun to sense that my reading has been way to limited in terms of scope. 

This year I had a goal to get through 36 books.  I’m going to fall a bit short but don’t feel too bad about it.  I’m reading through the Old Testament once, the New Testament twice and I spent the first few months of the year studying hard for my Personal Training Certification test.   

I was reviewing and reflecting on books I’ve read over the past 5 years that have really impacted me.   I’m almost tempted to turn this into a top ten authors because to be honest, if you see a book listed below, I’ve read everything by that author too.  

To make my list of 10 a book had to be a STRONG YES in the following areas:

• Impacted my life significantly and immediately.  
• I easily applied it to my life and it stuck.
• I found myself unable to contain my excitement about the read and was compelled to share it with people.
• I’ve reread it at least once.

So without further delay – here’s my list as of today:

1. Love is the Killer Ap by Tim Sanders
2. Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller
3. Searching for God Knows What by Don Miller
4. Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
5. The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
6. Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
7. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki
8. Enduring Patagonia by Gregory Crouch
9. Tribes by Seth Godin 
10. Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath / Becoming a Coaching Leader by Daniel Harkavy (both of these made my list but I’ve not reread them)

I’m curious – if you applied the criteria to what you read, what books would make your top 10?   Do you find yourself reading a specific genre more than others?  What tips and tricks have you learned to keep reading over the years?   

Img (Chocolate Geek)

Just finished a second read through of Making Vision Stick by Andy Stanley. (the picture is a copy of my notes in the front of the book, something I learned from Tim Sanders)  Andy is the lead teaching pastor at Northpoint Church in Atlanta. I’ve never been to the church but can’t help but see the great influence of their ministry across all sorts of platforms from worship, to books to conferences, resources and tweets by their staff. Very cool stuff.

The book was a timely read for me. It’s one that was easy to digest and had great reminders of key vision points especially as it relates to leadership.

Here were the highlights for me:

• Vision doesn’t stick without constant care and attention
• The passage of time is hard on vision
• Complexity distracts leaders from their vision
• Vision is about what could be and should be; life is about right now
• When it comes to making your vision stick the most important thing to remember: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE
• 5 keys to making vision sticky
  • State it simply
  • Cast it convincingly
  • Repeat it regularly
  • Celebrate it systematically
  • Embrace it personally
• It’s better to have an incomplete vision that is memorable than a complete one that is forgettable
• What’s celebrated gets repeated
• Embody the vision of an organization personally – then people know it’s not a just a job
• You want people who choose to follow you to end their journey with more respect for you than when they began
• The questions you ask communicate what is of value to you
• We pray for what we are most burdened by
• Vision requires daily commitment, daily action

Of those thoughts, any stick out to you as memorable?   What could you do today that would be specific and measurable that would increase the stickiness of your vision?

It’s amazing what I learn when I run.    I went for a run during lunch today.   Hot, hot, hot!   I’m getting set for the Wild West Relay this weekend and wanted to get a few more miles in this week just to keep the legs fresh.    All my senses were engaged today, or at least I thought they were.   I was trucking along through the middle of Albuquerque in the middle of lunch traffic as best as one possibly can:  Sight – I could see, watch and take in the road and traffic.   Hearing – I was listening to the sounds of cars on the road, taking it all in so as to be constantly aware of what was going on around me.   Touch – I could definately feel the road, the heat and the cushion of my Saucony’s underfoot as I pattered along my route…   Taste –   When it’s 95 degrees, you can pretty much taste the heat and the salt from the sweat running down your face… BUT…I’d not been aware of Smell – until coming around the corner by the golf course I was hit with a wall; a smell so strong and pungent it caught me totally off guard.  The smell of sun-baked steer manure is strong enough to cause momentary gagging.   

I was able to push through but the lingering scent could be made out for most of the rest of my run.   I was reflecting on this as I continued down the path and thinking about a correlation between my experience in that moment and life and business.  

I think the reason God gave us only 5 senses is because he knew that was about the limit of our ability to take in stimulus, process it and maintain it’s momentum.   Who knows what would have happened to us if there wer 6 or 7 senses…  I believe that most of us can do a decent  job of juggling 3-5 things at one time.  I’m not talking about multi-tasking but the ability to keep 3-5 key values, tasks, goals or strategies balanced and tracking all the time.   In coaching we recommend individuals track 3-5 core values, a short vision statement and the same goes for churches, businesses and organizations.  Most effective lists include 5 or fewer items because more than that becomes overwhelmingly difficult to attain to.

The problem is that it’s still hard to keep two eyes and 1 brain on 5 things at one time and if you let down your guard for just a moment, letting one slide can almost cause a complete standstill.   Add to that how busy we are and throw in a couple of hard days at the office and you can begin to imagine how quickly we might let something slip.    It’s a lot of work to balance 5 core values or master tasks.    We have to create systems of accounability that will provide backstops in case we get distracted or loose site. 

The sudden awareness of smell today didn’t kill me but it slowed my momentum and had I been racing and unprepared – it would have had an effect on the outcome.    This weekend as I go to race with 11 other people, I’m going to be mindful of all 5 senses and making sure to have all of them engaged. 

Here are a couple of suggestions on how to maintain some balance with the 3-5 core “things” you might be spinning currently:

1. Have a plan for life and business and review it at least weekly, if not daily.
2. Regularly go over your plan with key stakeholders in your life, and go over there plan for life and business with them as well.
3. Look for holes or gaps in the plan and when, not if, when you find them, create and implement simple systems that will become backs.

I’d be interested to know what your 3-5 “things” are.   Share additional suggestions or thoughts as you think of them.

Image (Peti)

I go through phases, seasons, where I read voraciously and then I’ll take two months off and then slowly the urge will come back on and I read like a fiend again.

I’m gearing up for a reading season and here’s what’s on my Top 5 to read list.

Emotional Intelligence

Coaching 101

Born to Run

Making Vision Stick

Flickering Pixels

What’s on your Top 5 to read list?

This is one of my favorite expressions.    We use it all the time in our business in Albuquerque and from time to time here at work.  It’s a pretty simple metaphor, when you watch children playing together they are able to live and create and imagine some of the most incredible stuff.   There’s a freedom and exuberance in their play that is refreshing.

In life, this gets more complicated but no less important a goal of interpersonal relationships.   Can’t we all play nice in the sandbox?

I’m reading through the book of Romans in the New Testament of the Bible right now.   For me, it’s one of the hardest books to read, it’s the most confusing in terms of content and causes me the most question and wrestling.   It’s just a very weighty book.  I’ve been pushing through and emerged in chapter 12 this morning with a small epiphany.   Paul is trying to get the early church to play nice in the sandbox. Even 2000 years ago, the church needed to hear that message.
Something in Paul’s message unfortunately isn’t sticky enough to actually change our behavior, actions and opinions.    It might be that it’s just a really complicated deep delivery, or that it’s argued using vernacular and examples that had more connection then.   There has got to be an analogy or a metaphor or a story, a way of explaining what it means to live with unity and oneness in Christ in a way that will actually change how we act?   Maybe it has to start with a sandbox.  What do you think?

If given the opportunity to talk to all the church leaders in America for 10 minutes, what would you put before them to get them to play nice in the sandbox?

By the way, just so you know, my worst injuries always came in the sandbox.   My middle brother bashed me on the head with a trowel and sent me to the hospital for stitches, so you do have to have people willing to play nice too.