In 1970, Art Fry had a problem.
He sang in his church choir and kept losing his place in the hymnal. Paper bookmarks would slip out, and nothing seemed to work. He needed a way to mark pages that would stay in place without damaging the book.
At the time, Fry worked at 3M. He remembered a weak adhesive a colleague had developed – too weak for most applications but maybe just right for a reusable bookmark.
Fry combined the two ideas and created what we now know as the Post-it® Note.
But it took a while to catch on. People didn’t understand why they’d need sticky notes.
The invention gained traction only after 3M ran a trial in Boise, Idaho, putting samples into offices and explaining how to use them.
That simple act of communicating the idea changed everything.
Having a great idea isn’t enough. What makes an idea stick is how well you implement it – and how well you share it.
When you make your idea simple and relatable, you give it the chance to spread.
Timeless Presenter, my new book on the principles of communication that never expire, will be released soon.
If you’d like to be notified when it’s out, you can join the early access list here.