Is Your Big Idea Sticky?

Our new pastors and church planters networks both met today in Grand Rapids. Our district team is blessed with some of the most effective leaders in our denomination!

Today we talked about a few concepts from Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Heath and Heath argue that for an idea to stick it must have several ingredients of SUCCES. They use the example of JFK’s idea to “put a man on the moon in a decade” which had all six of those ingredients:

1. Simple A single, clear mission.

2. Unexpected A man on the moon? It seemed like science fiction at the time.

3. Concrete Success was defined so clearly—no one could quibble about man, moon, or decade.

4. Credible This was the President of the U.S. talking.

5. Emotional It appealed to the aspirations and pioneering instincts of an entire nation.

6. Story An astronaut overcomes great obstacles to achieve an amazing goal.

Our groups talked about what it means for your sermon, a clarified vision or a new church plant to become sticky.

Another author who talks about that is Seth Godin. Here's a byte of what Seth has to say about viral ideas:

For an idea to be spread, it needs to be sent and received.

No one sends an idea unless:

1. They understand it.

2. They want it to spread.

3. They believe that spreading it will enhance their power (reputation, income, friendships) or their peace of mind.

4. The effort to send the idea is less than the benefits.

No one “gets” an idea unless:

1. The first impression demands further investigation.

2. They already understand the foundation ideas necessary to get the new idea.

3. They trust or respect the sender enough to invest the time.

Notice that ideas never spread because they are important to the originator.

Notice, too, that a key element in the spreading of the idea is the capsule that contains it. If it’s easy to swallow, tempting, and complete, it’s far more likely to get a good start.