Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
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Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?
The primary obstacle is a conflict that’s built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort—but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.
In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people—employees and managers, parents and nurses—have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results:
● The lowly medical interns who managed to defeat an entrenched, decades-old medical practice that was endangering patients.
● The home-organizing guru who developed a simple technique for overcoming the dread of housekeeping.
● The manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots by removing a standard tool of customer service
In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.
From the Publisher
Publisher : Crown Currency
Publication date : February 16, 2010
Edition : 1st
Language : English
Print length : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 0385528752
ISBN-13 : 978-0385528757
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.7 x 1.22 x 8.53 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #12,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #28 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving #136 in Personal Transformation Self-Help #147 in Leadership & Motivation
Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 5,895 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers say
Customers find this book engaging and easy to understand, with well-written content that uses vivid examples to break down the process of change. They appreciate the fascinating case studies and practical advice that applies to both professional and personal life. The book helps set a mindset and encourages thinking outside the box, making it a life-changing read.
8 reviews for Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
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Original price was: €32.€13Current price is: €13.
Sameer Malhotra –
Practical and inspiring guide to change
Full of stories and strategies that make change feel achievable. A must-read for leaders and individuals alike.
Shawn C. –
Great read, great evidence and made easy!
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking at making changes in their lives, whether professional or personal. Switch (by same authors as Made to Stick) provides great tips and solutions presented at a user level and with a great framework.The authors first lay out the three big things: the Rider, the Elephant and the Path and describe what each of these are and provides examples so the reader can get it on his level and not some abstract thoughts. After the big introduction the authors broke the book up into parts concerning each one.The first then is about directing the Rider, the more of our conscious, self will side. To do this one should find the ‘bright spots’ by seeing how some things succeeded instead of what failed. Next one should script the critical moves by breaking stuff down to specific goals. Finally it’s to point to the destination by giving Riders a clear view of where they’re going.The second is about motivating the Elephant, more our unconscious and representative of all the inertia we have when wanting to change. Elephants are the more emotional and less logical side so the first step is finding the feeling (think those ASPCA commercials). Next one should shrink the change by making it more manageable (more on this later) and increasing the sense of accomplishment. Finally, it’s about growing your people… Change will be easier if you expand the abilities and spirits of your people.The third is about shaping the Path. Within this it’s about tweaking the environment (smokers know this about all the cues there are about smoking). Next it is building habits which are behaviors on autopilot and how to encourage habits. Finally one should rally the herd.Overall the book is very well written. The authors write in a very friendly style without being too personal… The couple times they do break from the books narrative to tell jokes, they work and actually made me laugh out loud. Their writing style helps the reader understand and so does the formatting, and maybe more so. While overall the book is 3 parts, there are chapters within those parts and then smaller bite sized sections. While also good for reading bit at time I have to imagine they used their own advice with it because it makes one feel more accomplished and thus wanting to read more. All their points are backed up with studies and not just opinions. Also for good measure they have independent ‘Clinics’ where they present a scenario and ask readers to work it out first.Therefore, overall this is a great book that I learned a lot from and have already started using both personally and in my job.
Alan McComas –
Great Framework wrapped in an unfortunate metaphor
This would be a GREAT book. The framework and essential ideas are a very helpful way to think about change. However, they use a single metaphor and then carry it through the whole book. If only they ad presented the metaphor and then left it alone. I dislike the “elephant” and “rider” metaphor a lot – so it’s constant use becomes annoying. I disagree with the premise that our “logical” mind is “supposed” to be able to override our emotional selves. We aren’t designed to be “ruled” by logic – we are designed to cooperate with ourselves. We have internal checks and balances that work together to keep us safe. They eventually actually make the point that logic is actually designed to SERVE emotion, not rule it. So why do they overemphasize this metaphor that doesn’t even really portray their real point? And then use it ad nauseum? Why not just say that we must integrate and align our head, hearts, and bodies and work with the natural change process to get the best results. Lots of other metaphors work to describe the inner leadership and collaboration required to change ourselves intentionally.Once I got past the metaphor – I discovered several great ideas and terms that have been helpful in teaching clients how to “lead” and facilitate their own personal growth and change initiatives instead of trying to control change. Favorite ideas:- Look for the bright spots – learn from your own life.Look for small examples where you are already doing what you want to do more of. Look for what works and what doesn’t, what helps and what doesn’t. I find all change efforts benefit greatly from focusing more on what *is* working than on what isn’t working. ALL the available feedback is helpful if is *descriptive* rather than *judged* as good or bad. Feedback from what you do when you succeed can be used to redesign your strategy to fit you and your situation in areas where you are challenged. For example, if you are often late, focus on the bright spots – the examples of where you *are* on time. How do you do that? Use that to feed your creativity and design solutions for being on time more often. (I call this agilizing change.)- Love this quote ” What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity”YES! Need to get small and specific. I would also add that resistance is also often a sign of using strategies that don’t fit the situation, the person, the timing, or the resources available. In my world resistance is incredibly valuable feedback for redesigning your approach and successfully leading change.- Love the languaging of “Shape” the path.You really can’t “control” or “direct” change – if you work with the natural principles of how things and people organically change you will find that shaping is a far superior and more effective strategy.Overally, the model is a simple, straightforward framework that works better than most as a primer for people new to leading change. I found that with a little tweaking and using my own metaphors (based on agile mindset, and iterative, organic, systems design thinking) I was able to enhance and simplify my own Agilizen Designing for Change model making it easier to learn.This book is definitely worth reading by anyone who helps others change or is highly motivated to facilitate their own personal growth.
Karla Zárate –
Llegó en tiempo y forma
Ahmed Walid –
A must read for everyone
Effie –
Excellent read. Itâs been on my list of must reads for a while. I donât know why it took me so long to get around to reading it. This is a book that reiterate the fact that change is hard but there are some predictable patterns that can help effect positive change. Yes ideas are not new however the Heath brothers bring together lots of difficult concepts to presents a powerful and easy to understand framework for effecting positive change. They provide us with some great case studies and stories that brings the framework to life. I loved the book and was surprised how quickly I was able to use the concepts in my own professional life. Highly recommend it
md3347 –
Switch is a brilliant book for anyone interested in a non-academic approach to change / change management. Set around three core areas – Direct the Rider (the rational mind), motivate the elephant (the heart/motivation) and shape the path (as it sounds!) the Heath’s use real world examples and put it across in a way that is meaningful to anyone trying to approach change.The goal setting discussed (such as black and white goals that focuses the group on the task at hand) and following the brightspots, looking at what works and how it can be cloned rather than focusing relentlessly on what is ‘wrong’ are tools I have adapted into my own working life. I also loved other areas such as really demonstrating the issue (they give an example where an organization had many suppliers of rubber gloves and instead of doing a presentation to the board someone got a pair of gloves to represent every supplier and dumped the lot on the boardroom table. It just echos: this must changeThere are frequent check points for you to try apply the logic to an example as well as a summary section at the back (although it makes no sense if you haven’t read the book, so don’t think you can just skip to it!). This is a good book and regardless of your background or interest in change you will finish with a great set of approaches that everyone can understand without the all the usual acronyms and certifications that usually surround the topic.
Natalia –
Great book to learn more about change management; for everyone: team members, leaders, CEOs…