Stickology: How to Build Unbreakable Connections with Employees and Customers for Life

What if the secret to business success wasn't technology, strategy, or products, but the emotional connections you build with your people?

Stickology exposes the engagement deficit costing businesses trillions each year and shows how to create lasting commitment from employees and customers. Stephen Baer explores the traits that allow elite organizations to forge relationships that endure even through crises.

Through his framework for "forever engagement," Baer demonstrates how measurable emotional investment drives loyalty, advocacy, and performance. Engaged employees deliver exceptional experiences that turn customers into lifelong advocates and enable companies to reinvest in their people.

Through 30 paired case studies such as Life is Good and SHEIN, Lyft and Uber, Whole Foods and Kroger, and Credo Beauty and Ulta, the book contrasts organizations that build meaningful connections with those that rely on superficial touchpoints. Packed with frameworks, self-assessments, and exercises, Stickology equips leaders to create authentic, sustainable connections that turn engagement into a lifelong competitive advantage.

What readers will take away:

Purpose-Driven Decision-Making

How to move beyond a mission statement and integrate purpose into daily operational decisions. The "Purpose-Alignment Audit" provides a practical framework for analyzing how well your decisions reflect your stated values.

Community Building

How to build a community as a core part of your business model, not just a bonus. The "Community Connection Inventory" helps you map your community ecosystem and identify opportunities to foster a sense of belonging among customers and employees.

Systematic Recognition

How to move beyond periodic gestures and build a systematic recognition culture. The "Recognition Architecture Audit" helps you identify gaps in your current recognition practices and ensure all contributions are seen and valued.

Organizational Adaptation

How to help your organization evolve with changing markets and user needs. The "Adaptive Infrastructure Assessment" guides you in analyzing how your organization handles challenges and turns them into opportunities for meaningful evolution.

"Stickology offers practical, case-based models on how brands successfully align values, culture, and strategy to engage employees and customers in lasting, meaningful ways. I highly recommend this book to anyone tasked with stewarding a brand and the people who deliver on that promise." - Tom Reno, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, New York Public Radio

"I thoroughly enjoyed Stickology and couldn't agree more that engagement is a vital, measurable driver of performance, and a critical factor in building a loyal, enthusiastic, and enduring client base." - Jared DiPalma, Chief Financial Officer, Dow Jones

"Stickology offers a smart, balanced look at what truly drives lasting engagement-from both the employee and customer perspective. The customer experience will never exceed the employee experience-and this book brings that truth to life." - Rob Lauber, Former Chief Learning Officer, McDonald's

Author: Stephen Baer
Publisher: Business
Published: 02/10/2026
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.78lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.52d
ISBN: 9789699592539

About the Author
Baer, Stephen: - Stephen Baer is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Engagency, a firm built on his core belief that human engagement is the engine of business performance. He leads a team of behavioral experts who help organizations build meaningful, measurable connections with their workforce and customers.With a 30-year career focused on the science of connection, motivation, and activation, Stephen brings a rare blend of behavioral insight, creativity, and operational discipline. He previously co-founded and led The Game Agency, a learning and engagement company acquired by ELB Learning, and held sales and marketing leadership roles at Atari and General Electric, where he earned Six Sigma Black Belt Certification and received GE's Global Marketing Excellence Award.Stephen has served on the Board of ELB Learning and the Advisory Board of the Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network (LTEN), and contributed to the Forbes Human Resources Council for six years, sharing insights on engagement and organizational growth.The author of Stickology: How to Build Unbreakable Connections with Employees and Customers for Life, and two children's books (Catastrophe in the City and The Doghouse), Stephen holds a BA from Oberlin College and an MBA from Columbia University.

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