Made To Stick

In some senses I feel like a Johnny Come Lately having just finished reading "Made To Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and learned a lot. If you have not read the book yet I highly recommend it.

This post and several others will reference the book and share with you some of the insights the brothers expressed and that I thought were particularly relevant to business stories.

Here is the first nugget. About 3/4 of the way through they write about an experiment conducted to gauge people's responses to pleas for donation. The results proved Mother Theresa was right "If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will."

The lesson for non-profits or anyone seeking donations is to remember what Mother Theresa said. If you ask for a group in need or a large problem responses are lower than if you tell a story about one person who needs help. The conclusion the brothers make "When it comes to our hearts, one individual trumps the masses."

Researchers surmised that "If people felt overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, their small donations might have seemed meaningless." Please keep that in mind as you write appeal letters, prepare phone scripts or prepare oral presentations. Keep the problem manageable and people will be more likely to donate.

It kind of feels like it is going against logic. Shouldn't we let others know about the magnitude of the problem? Well based on this research the answer is no. We relate one to one not one to many so keep that in mind when you prepare your communications.