Maybe TikTok and YouTube Shorts are having us appreciate a lot of great content, put into a little package…

We at Decker have been long-time fans/supporters/advocates of Chip and Dan Heath and their books, especially Made To Stick.  We even created a program called Decker Made To Stick Messaging with their partnership – using our Decker Grid™.  So when we see the methodology work – we just want to point to it and say, ‘Let’s all copy THAT!’  That’s what this blog is highlighting…

Jim Lecinski is a previous Google sales leader and 2022 professor of the year at Kellogg.  Not to mention a Decker alumnus, but I digress…

He was asked to give a five-minute speech at one of their graduations.  That stresses most people out, knowing the stage, the amount of people, and the need to be witty, pithy, and likable (being teacher of the year and all!).  So he did this. Strongly recommend watching this 5-minute video for the rest of this blog to make sense.

Here’s why it worked, which takes us back to the Heath Brothers’ approach of S.U.C.C.E.S. (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories). They tell us the more of the six principles you have in your message, the more memorable it will be and the more change will come of it.  So what’s in this five-minute speech?

• Simple: The foundation frameworks learned at Kellogg are applicable everywhere and will set graduates up for success.
• Unexpected: No one was expecting a speech on Jazz music, especially for a business school graduation ceremony.
• Concrete: You can picture and almost hear the musicians’ techniques as he describes them.
• Credible: Louis Armstong laid down principles 100 years ago.
• Emotional: Demonstrating the ‘what if’ for graduates. Applying these learned principles in whatever my future endeavor, no matter the major or area of focus, will have a tremendous impact.
• Stories: He tells the story of Jazz music and how it’s rooted in close collaboration and appreciation of fellow musicians, honed by principles and foundations developed by Jazz leaders like Louis Armstrong.

Congrats Jim.  We didn’t all graduate from Kellogg and get to be present for this, but this way more people get to see your message and celebrate you being named: Professor of the Year!

We can all make memorable and influential messages in whatever amount of time given – just follow the recipe.