made-to-stick

# Made to Stick Framework A framework for crafting ideas and messages that are understood, remembered, and have lasting impact. 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. This makes us bad at explaining our ideas to others. **The foundation:** 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.** When reviewing or creating messaging (copy, presentations, campaigns, onboarding), rate 0-10 based on SUCCESs principles. A 10/10 means the message is simple, surprising, concrete, credible, emotional, and wrapped in a story; lower scores indicate forgettable communication. Always provide current score and improvements to reach 10/10. ## The SUCCESs Framework Six principles that make ideas stick: ``` S - Simple U - Unexpected C - Concrete C - Credible E - Emotional S - Stories ``` **Not a checklist — a toolkit.** Not every sticky idea uses all six. But the stickiest ideas tend to use most of them. ### 1. Simple **Core concept:** Find the core of the idea and share it compactly. **Simple ≠ dumbed down.** Simple means finding the essential core and expressing it in a compact way. It means ruthless prioritization. **The Commander's Intent:** - Military term: If everything goes ...