Books like Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

01

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

Chip Heath and Dan Heath · Psychology

The Power of Moments is Chip and Dan Heath's investigation into why certain brief experiences have an outsized and lasting effect on how we remember events, people, and institutions.

Both dig into memory.

02

Switch

Chip Heath and Dan Heath · Business

Switch is Chip Heath and Dan Heath's framework for understanding and overcoming the central paradox of change: people want things to be different, and yet change is consistently hard.

A kindred psychology read.

03

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman · Psychology

Thinking, Fast and Slow is Daniel Kahneman's account of the two cognitive systems that govern human thought.

A kindred psychology read.

04

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert B. Cialdini · Psychology

Influence is Robert Cialdini's account of why people say yes, and how that agreement is manufactured.

Both dig into persuasion.

05

Predictably Irrational

Dan Ariely · Psychology

Predictably Irrational is Dan Ariely's examination of how humans make decisions that are consistently, systematically irrational — not random or arbitrary, but irrational in ways that follow patterns.

A kindred psychology read.

06

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds

Carmine Gallo · Self-help

Talk Like TED is Carmine Gallo's analysis of what makes TED Talks compelling, drawn from interviews with more than 500 TED speakers, brain science research, and analysis of the most-watched talks in the archive.

Shares communication and persuasion with Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

07

Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade

Robert B. Cialdini · Psychology

Robert Cialdini spent decades studying the principles of persuasion that animate Influence, his 1984 masterwork.

Shares communication and persuasion with Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

08

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dale Carnegie · Self-help

How to Win Friends and Influence People is Dale Carnegie's 1936 guide to dealing with people effectively.

Shares communication and persuasion with Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

09

Never Split the Difference

Chris Voss · Business

Never Split the Difference is Chris Voss's argument that the rational, compromise-based negotiation frameworks taught in business schools miss something fundamental about how people actually make decisions.

Shares communication and persuasion with Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

10

To Sell Is Human

Daniel H. Pink · Business

To Sell Is Human is Daniel Pink's case that selling — in the broad sense of moving people to think or act differently — is central to what most of us do at work every day, whether or not our job title includes the word "sales." Drawing on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Pink estimates that Americans spend roughly 40% of their work time in non-sales selling: persuading, convincing, and nudging.

Shares communication and persuasion with Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

11

You Can Negotiate Anything

Herb Cohen · Business

You Can Negotiate Anything is Herb Cohen's argument that negotiation is not a special skill reserved for diplomats and dealmakers but a basic life competence exercised continuously — in salary conversations, purchases, relationships, and workplace conflicts.

Shares communication and persuasion with Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

12

Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion

Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson · Psychology

Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson's central concern is that modern media, advertising, and politics have optimized for propaganda techniques that bypass critical reasoning and exploit psychological vulnerabilities.

Both dig into persuasion.