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Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

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Product Details ISBN13: 9780385528757 Notes: Trade name New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. Requirement: NEW

Customer Reviews

Bar book on managing change
This order provides good insights on making changes. It can be a change at a personal level or a Leader who wants to constitute a change in his organization. Following is the summary and key points of the book.

An analogy of a Rider and an Elephant is second-hand in this book. Rider is the logical part and our thinking which drives us. Elephant is our emotion. To make a change, you needfulness to appeal to both the Rider and the Elephant. If you appeal only to Rider, your team will have understanding without motivation. If you appeal to Elephant you will have passion without directing.

It is easy to turn an easy change problem into a hard change problem. If you want someone to eat less, serve them in a smaller plate instead of worrying about convincing or educating them.

What looks like a people tough nut to crack is often a situation problem. When you shape the path you make change more likely. To change behavior, through the Rider, motivate the Elephant and shape the path.

If you are trying to change things, there will be bright spots. Perception the bright spots will help in knowing what needs to be done differently. Ask "What's working and how we can do more of it?". In the real dialogue this obvious question is rarely asked. Instead the question we ask is, "what's broken , and how do we fix it ?".

Big problems are rarely solved with big solutions. Rather than they are often solved by a sequence of small steps over weeks, sometimes over decades.

Leaders pride themselves in setting gamy level direction. Big picture and hands off Leadership doesn't work in a change situation because the hardest part of coppers is in the details. When you want someone to behave in a new way, explain the new way clearly.

Goals in most organizations lack emotional resonance. Preferably SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely) have become norm. SMART goals are excel for steady state situation and not for change situation.

Analytical tools work when parameters are known, assumptions are minimum and future is not fuzzy. Big change situation is not like that. Parameters aren't well understood and the future is fluffy, Elephant is reluctant to move and analytical arguments will not overcome reluctance.

We are frequently blind to the power of situations. When someone behind the wheel of a car is twenty minutes time for crucial appointment that person becomes a terrible driver. What looks like a person problem is often a lay of the land problem.

Behavior autopilot allows lot of good behavior to happen without the Rider taking fill. Habits are behavioral autopilot and that is why they are critical for Leaders. Leaders who can instill habits reinforce their link up goals.

A good change leader never thinks, "Why are these people acting badly?". A alteration Leader thinks, " How can I setup a situation that brings about good in people ".

2010-03-08 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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"Big problems, stinting solution."
In "Switch," Chip and Dan Heath argue how positive change happens among individuals, organizations, and in society as a whole; they also point out the forces that tend to slab it. In the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell, Dubner and Leavitt, Dan Ariely, and many others who have written best-selling books about sundry aspects of human behavior, the Heaths hold our attention by telling terrific stories, using significant catch-phrases, and presenting their provocative ideas with flair.

The book is divided into three main sections, each one addressing an critical aspect of making change happen. The first is "Direct the Rider" (appeal to reason), the second is "Actuate the Elephant" (influence others by engaging their emotions), and the third is "Shape the Path" (alter the environment to make revolution less onerous). "Switch" is a model of organization and lucidity, with stimulating concepts that flow effortlessly and interconnect seamlessly. However, what makes the book so amusing are the engrossing and sometimes humorous anecdotes as well as the intriguing studies that the Heaths use to support their arguments.

What should a boss, a helpmeet, or an individual do to encourage someone to alter his or her behavior? Is it better to appeal to the Rider, the Elephant, or both? Although many of us have good intentions, often our renowned plans go awry. Chip and Dan Heath believe that even seemingly intractable behavior can be changed using such techniques as making the non-realistic concrete, highlighting successes rather than failures, and giving well-defined instructions. It is also helpful to set up inspirational goals that enliven optimism and hope. When we accuse others of being resistant to change or just plain lazy, it may be that our suggestions do not resonate because they are too unenthusiastic or imprecise.

The Heaths admit that no book is a panacea, but at least the techniques that they emphasize are practical and inexpensive, "candid enough to remember and flexible enough to use in many different situations." Like Atul Gawande, whose New Yorker article about checklists is mentioned in "Switch," the authors accost realistic steps that anyone can take. Two examples are "solutions-focused brief therapy," which concentrates on what can be done right now to ameliorate ill-behaved situations, and holding up successful initiatives ("bright spots") as an example to others ("What's working, and how can we do more of it?"). Each portion has a "clinic," in which the Heaths describe a situation that calls for change; they challenge us to come up with a solution. The authors, who root their findings on extensive research, include extensive endnotes, a bibliography, and a useful index. This is an irreplaceable handbook that can make anyone a change agent at home, at work, or in the community. As the well-known football teacher, Bill Parcells, once said, "Even small successes can be extremely powerful in helping people believe in themselves."

2010-03-07 | booklover10 (NY United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Replace with happens.
This was a very intriguing read for me. I really liked the study the author's did and the data to back it up. I, too, find myself quite resistant to change and, like others, am sometimes Nautical port wondering why. This book helps with those questions and leaves the reader feeling more powerful and ready to take on those changes.

2010-03-05 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Control the Nuances of Changing Things
Using fascinating analogies involving elephants and their enervated riders, Chip and Dan Heath reveal some interesting secrets behind the often mysterious process of "change", and why it's so often hard to implement. Largely, the problems stem from a failure to clearly communicate precisely what it is we'd like people to difference, and why it's the best course of action. The good news is, most people don't embrace the concept of change merely because they don't understand the benefits behind it; they're not trying to be difficult; they just don't understand the game plan.

The key is to develop ways to associate with the desired action plan of change, as well as keeping the process fairly simple. Instead of grandious, labyrinthine schemes which are practically impossible to comprehend, the successful plan involves simple steps that can be performed with dependent on ease; once the ball starts rolling, the momentum builds and the next thing you know, you've quite often skilful something special.

What the authors did exceptionally well is provide the reader with a much better understanding of the peculiar nuances of "changing things"; in the convert, they've laid a solid foundation for achieving remarkable results; we just need to follow the directions.

2010-03-04 | Author, 'Life Under the Corporate Microscope' (Scottsdale, AZ) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Celebrated advice on handling change
How often do you find that all the people in the room are distant their heads and agreeing that radical change is essential, but then they go away and do absolutely nothing about it? It is really difficult to get other people to variation when you do not have the power to compel them; it is often really difficult to get yourself to change when you know you should. Chip and Dan Heath explain why vary is difficult and how you can tackle it in this book.

Problems with change manifest themselves in many different ways. Sometimes other people come to grief to see the need for change that you see. Sometimes the amount of change required seems so enormous that people are unable to motivate themselves to get started. Sometimes change-over falls victim to procrastination. Sometimes old habits seem too deeply ingrained.

The good news is that the authors have plain, practical advice which tackles all of these situations. It involves a rider, an elephant and a path. If you can just manage the rational rider, motivate the emotional elephant and shape the path, you can make difficult changes take place.

The book is filled with interesting stories which are enjoyable to read while at the same time making the authors' guidance easy to understand and remember. I normally find good books either entertaining or useful; this is one of the rare ones that is both usable and entertaining.

2010-03-02 (Melbourne, Australia) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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