Stick out.

I’m reading Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Bet you’d learn something from it if you haven’t already read it. An early passage already has me thinking about how we’re communicating [big corporate initiative, henceforth known as “the thing”] to employees. The Heath boys present six principles that make ideas “sticky” (or “memorable” if you prefer):

“Let’s take the CEO who announces to her staff that they must strive to ‘maximize shareholder value.’
 
“Is this idea simple? Yes, in the sense that it’s short, but it lacks the useful simplicity of a proverb. Is it unexpected? No. Concrete? Not at all. Credible? Only in the sense that it’s coming from the mouth of the CEO. Emotional? Um, no. A story? No.
 
“Contrast the “maximize shareholder value” idea with John F. Kennedy’s famous 1961 call to “put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade.” Simple? Yes. Unexpected? Yes. Concrete? Amazingly so. Credible? The goal seemed like science fiction, but the source was credible. Emotional? Yes. Story? In miniature.
 
“Had John F. Kennedy been a CEO, he would have said, “Our mission is to become the international leader in the space industry through maximum team-centered innovation and strategically targeted aerospace initiatives.” Fortunately, JFK was more intuitive than a modern-day CEO; he knew that opaque, abstract missions don’t captivate and inspire people*… It was a brilliant and beautiful idea — a single idea that motivated the actions of millions of people for a decade.” (*emphasis added by soulmagnet75 for dramatic effect)

Here’s soulmagnet75 again to editorialize: It seems to me what we’re trying to do anywhere in corporate America is “captivate and inspire people.” That’s what we’re talking about when we’re talking about “employee engagement.” So far, what I’ve heard about “the thing” at my company isn’t sticking with me. If we were to apply more of these Heath principles of sticky ideas, could we be more successful? We’re getting into the story, we’re attempting to get at the emotional, I think, with a new idea that will spotlight individual employees. What I’m missing is that simple, concrete expression: From the earth to the moon and back. Where are we going? We’ll have to be careful about avoiding overused analogies about “getting on the bus” and “reaching for the stars,” but isn’t there something? Isn’t there some way to say this more effectively so employees actually care?