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Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Chip Heath,

Dan Heath

4.04 · Rating details · 39,400 ratings · 2,671 reviews

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 ...more

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Hardcover, 305 pages

Published February 16th 2010 by Random House Canada

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Nov 22, 2010 Kerrilee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2010

I'll be interested to see if this book is still relevant in 10 years, as the influence of books like this often come and go. In the meantime, though, my brain just won't stop incorporating elements from it into how I'm thinking about current events in my life.
I was already inclined to believe the validity of the structure that the Heaths outline because I've practiced some of it already without using the same words--most especially Shaping the Path, as I give a lot of thought to the environment ...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Trevor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: behavioural-economics, psychology, education

I really quite enjoyed this book. It was one of those books that had me talking to people about it before I finish reading it. In fact, if any of my M Teach friends are reading this – you probably want to get your hands on a copy of it, as it has some really interesting things to say about how to motivate students.

I’ve read another of their books – Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die – which was also particularly good and based on an idea in Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point. I ...more

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Jun 09, 2017 Amir Tesla rated it it was amazing

Shelves: psychology

Recommended to: Anyone who desires the capability to spark massive, lasting and effective "CHANGE", from individual and family up to organizational and even nation-wide levels
I know, it's cool :D

About the book
It's definitely among the most perfect books I've ever consumed. Author's have structured it in the following format: Three main parts each one being a critical element of change. Each part then is consisted of submodules i.e. different ways of reaching the corresponding element and each ...more

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Dec 22, 2015 7jane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: those who have read enough self-help but want a finishing-touch final one

This is a book that's best read after you have read 1-3ish good self-help books (say, Baumeister's "Willpower", Duhigg's "The Power Of Habit" and Keller's "The One Thing" for example), and yet feel you need something like 'cherry on top'.

This book teaches one how make a change through the image of a rider, directing an elephant, on a path from A to B. The rider is the rational (sometimes procrastinating and over-researching) mind, the elephant the emotional (sometimes out-of-control) mind, and ...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Reid rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I understand the perspective of the haters: this book is broad and over-simplifies a really complex topic. I understand, haters, but I don't agree. I love the Heaths' writing precisely because they keep things simple. Their premise that inspiring change requires you to speak to both the brain's logical, rational side as well as its emotional side isn't headline news, but they present it using a simple metaphor (Rider, Elephant, and Path) that makes it easy to grasp and (more important) easy to ...more

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May 01, 2010 Taka rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: japan_jul07-aug11, social-science, 2-nonfiction-you-must-read, self-help

Another must read from the Heath Brothers-

This is another invaluable book packed with extremely useful information. True to the theme of their earlier book, they help make all the concepts stick by hammering them in over and over: Direct the Rider, Motivate the Elephant, and Shape the Path.

For any change to occur, you must have a good reason, a good motivation, and a good environment. The rider is the rational side of you, the elephant, your emotional side, and the path, your environment.

To ...more

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Apr 24, 2011 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: happiness, creativity, problems-ideas, health, learning, healing

Let me sum this book up: To change behavior, you must do three things. One, you must change the person’s behavior. Two and three, you must change the person’s hearts and minds.

The authors use the analogy of an Elephant and his Rider. The Rider is your logical brain. The Elephant is your heart. To get the elephant to move, you must engage both the Rider and the Elephant. So, to put it another way, to change behavior, you must Direct the Rider (provide clear direction), Motivate the Elephant ...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Kerry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: psychology, nonfiction, business

This is an excellent (and timely, considering all the New Year resolutions) book! If you want to save time, you can just read the first and last chapters, as those in the middle are just examples (case studies) to illustrate their points. Here is the cliff-note version:

The Three Surprising Truths about Change and What You Can Do about Them:

-- Direct the Rider (our analytical side): What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity. Provide crystal-clear direction (instead of telling people ...more

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Nov 12, 2010 Stephen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is an excellent book on how to enact change and the mechanics behind that. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to change something in their personal life or within their working environment.

I was able to get a good understanding of the interplay and motivation of the two competing brain types which Chip coined the Rider ( Rational ) and the Elephant ( Emotional ). He then breaks it down to these sections.

Direct the Rider
- Follow the bright spots
- Script the Critical Moves
- ...more

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May 06, 2010 Rachael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

EMOTIONAL SELF=ELEPHANT- It wants things now, easy, It is usually the "emotional self" that usually causes us to fail, because it usually doesn't want to make the short term sacrifices for long term payoffs. It can also have enormous strengths like love compassion and sympathy.

RATIONAL SELF=RIDER It analyzes and decides what to do. The rider is to direct the elephant where to go. If the rider can't get the elephant to go where it wants. (You overeat, or sleep in) the elephant went against the ...more

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Jun 15, 2015 Wanda rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, psychology, read-in-2015

I wish that I could give this book 2.5 stars—absolutely average. Because I think that I have seen it all and tried it all before. And I think the book could have been cut by several chapters without being hurt at all.

I like the basic metaphor of this book: the emotions as an elephant, the intellect as mahout. The rider (as the Heaths call the mahout) has limited amounts of strength and will-power to use to direct the elephant; the elephant has to be cooperative, or the rider won’t get where she I wish that I could give this book 2.5 stars—absolutely average. Because I think that I have seen it all and tried it all before. And I think the book could have been cut by several chapters without being hurt at all.

I like the basic metaphor of this book: the emotions as an elephant, the intellect as mahout. The rider (as the Heaths call the mahout) has limited amounts of strength and will-power to use to direct the elephant; the elephant has to be cooperative, or the rider won’t get where she wants to go. Also discussed is the path—the environment which we can manipulate to steer ourselves into the desired habits and behaviours. [See also: Slim by Design by Brian Wansink re: changing the environment to facilitate change].

I think the examples given in Switch are much more applicable to the work place than to the individual household. I’ve been trying to get myself to do basic housework as I go each week, rather than storing up misery for myself on the weekends. But so far, I just can’t get my elephant to give a damn about the situation. The mahout tries her best, but very little housework gets done.

The authors also use an example of teaching a monkey to use a skateboard, using mango bits as rewards. They suggest that lavish use of rewards will help with eliciting the desired behaviour. I have used this strategy on myself with limited success—do X and then you can read a chapter of your book or phone someone you want to talk to. The tricky thing is then to stop at one chapter and do another chore before reading the next chapter (my elephant is a tricky one).

Another suggestion in the book is linkages of behaviours—look for a bright spot in your routine, something that you have no problem doing, then link it to another desired action. This was how I trained myself to floss my teeth EVERY evening. I slotted that task in between washing my face and brushing my teeth. After a year and a half of this, I am finally to the point that it takes a major catastrophe to prevent me from flossing. However, I’m still working on linking setting up my coffee maker in the evening to doing any dishes that won’t go in the dishwasher. That was my one New Year’s Resolution for 2015 and at the 6 month point, I still haven’t performed this task reliably. Unfortunate, as both my elephant & mahout enjoy getting up to a clean kitchen.

The Heaths also take a page out of the FlyLady’s book [Sink Reflections : FlyLady’s Babystep Guide to Overcoming Chaos] by recommending breaking tasks down into tiny sections—making the goal so small that the emotional elephant isn’t spooked by it. Marla Cilley (the FlyLady) recommends 5 minute cleaning bursts on the theory that you can force yourself to do almost anything for only 5 minutes and that a small success will almost always carry you along to do more. This works for me to some extent—some days I designate as “It bugs me so I fix it” days. If I notice a dusty window sill, I go get a cloth and clean it. Then I may go and check all the other window sills and make sure they are clean too. I notice a grimy light switch—suddenly it’s “clean all the light switches” day.

I also have experience with trying to manipulate my environment to make being tidy an easy option. [See Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern for more tips on this]. I’ve moved my filing cabinet to the dining room where I seem to like to open the mail. Sometimes the contents make it into the files, but once again, not on a reliable basis.

So, I need to find myself a reliable EMOTIONAL reason to keep up with these tasks—and I haven’t come up with one yet. My solution to the situation is usually to invite guests, spurring myself to spruce up my apartment. So far, peer pressure is the only thing that works every time for me! And the Heaths also recommend that, so I may just have to stick with it and invite folks in more often.

Wish there was a little more to the book than that—I am apparently an awfully recalcitrant housekeeper.

...more

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Jun 09, 2015 Steve rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, read-in-2015

I read this book for two reasons. First, it was a selection on the 2014 Air Force Chief of Staff Reading List, and second, a coworker recommended it. As a management engineer, change is my job, or I should say, getting people, functions, and businesses to change is my job, and I’m interested in books like this and how I can apply concepts and ideas presented. There were some interesting theories and notions in this book, but it is highly repetitive and somewhat tedious.

“Switch” suffers from I read this book for two reasons. First, it was a selection on the 2014 Air Force Chief of Staff Reading List, and second, a coworker recommended it. As a management engineer, change is my job, or I should say, getting people, functions, and businesses to change is my job, and I’m interested in books like this and how I can apply concepts and ideas presented. There were some interesting theories and notions in this book, but it is highly repetitive and somewhat tedious.

“Switch” suffers from three main problems. First, it focuses on techniques to facilitate change in organizations and individuals, and while it occasionally cites interesting work in cognitive and social psychology, the justification for the techniques is anecdotal: “Technique X worked at company Y in particular instance Z, and so it’s obviously a valid technique that’s always applicable.” There’s no attempt at any sort of rigorous scientific testing of such a claim. For example, the authors claim that you cannot focus on why a proposed change is failing to take hold, but must instead identify the pockets where change is working, figure out why it works there, and then emulate the successes elsewhere. They describe several case studies where this approach has led to successful change, including a project to improve childhood nutrition in Vietnam, and an intervention with a misbehaving ninth grader. Finding the bright spots is a good thing to do, but the hypothesis that it is always the best approach, that it will always trump analysis and correction of failure, is simply ludicrous. Anyone trained in the proper use of the scientific method will want to scream at instance after instance of this type of claim without support.

The second problem with “Switch” is the use of overly-cute language. The book’s central claim is that effective change requires three things: engaging the rational, data-driven perspective of the people who must make the change; ensure they have an emotional stake in the change; and make the change process as easy as possible for them by manipulating the environment. To describe this triad of requirements, the authors use a metaphorical rider (the rational perspective) on an elephant (the emotional component) moving down a path (the change context). They use this metaphor in paragraph after paragraph, until their message is drowned out by the cutesy language. This pervades the book, even beyond the rider-elephant-path triad. For example, near the end of the book, where they’re describing how to keep change momentum going, they talk about positive reinforcement, and provide the example of a monkey trainer who rewards her charge with bits of mango for each small action she performs correctly. A page or two later, they proclaim “If you want your boss or your team to change, you better get a little less stingy with the mango.” Seriously?

This book is about twice as long as it needed to be to convey its key points, but “Switch” does contain some common-sense approaches to effecting change. It presents some reasonable change strategies, and having them in one’s change-management toolbox is a good thing. But surely there is a way to present them without using silly, repetitive language, and without claiming that these are the only effective ways to create change. ...more

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Nov 13, 2013 Mario Tomic rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is by far the best and most practical book on behavior change I've read so far. The book was written to address the change at the individual, organizational, and community level and I found it to be extremely useful when helping my clients reach their fitness and health goals. I was initally introduced to the work of brothers Heath through their book "Made to Stick" which is a another great read. So what are you gonna get out of this?
For starters you'll learn the exact framework how to deal ...more

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Apr 28, 2017 Amanda NEVER MANDY rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: dull-jane, 2017

This book was boring as shit. I would read a paragraph and then fall asleep. The concepts it discussed were no-brainers and there was really nothing more to pull from this read. It’s not that I went in with a closed mind, it’s just that it didn’t light up any new thought pathways in my overstuffed brain. The writing made me feel like the authors were trying too hard to be my friend having these high five do you know what I mean moments that made me shake my head in disgust. Their tone read as if ...more

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Nov 25, 2014 Britany rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, botn

A fellow colleague recommended this book to me, and I have to say that it read pretty quick. The chapters are broken down into numbered anecdotes. Examples and stories of these concepts. These stories made the book relatable and easier to digest. The concept is that change is difficult, but using some key theories, you too can change anything. A behavior, a concept, a strategy, or a mindset.

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Aug 23, 2019 Obsidian rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

So this is the first of the books I had to read for my training this summer. I have to say that "Switch" was my favorite just because it really gets down into why change is hard for people and organizations. And it shows how small changes can build into such big successes. I am at an organization right now going through some upheaval since our boss was let go after our employee feedback survey and overall morale dropped over three years. Of course looking back now and after completing my So this is the first of the books I had to read for my training this summer. I have to say that "Switch" was my favorite just because it really gets down into why change is hard for people and organizations. And it shows how small changes can build into such big successes. I am at an organization right now going through some upheaval since our boss was let go after our employee feedback survey and overall morale dropped over three years. Of course looking back now and after completing my training I can point out where things went wrong. Ignoring feedback from employees, refusing to adjust to others and listen, having "process" improvements every couple of months and not sticking with one approach, etc. It's no wonder I was full of stress and would wake up grinding my teeth.

The book really focuses on what is called the elephant, the rider, and the path. And that the elephant for many of us are dealing with emotions. The rider is supposed to be the rational part of yourself. And the path is where you want the elephant to go. Well you would think that it would be pretty easy to steer an elephant right? Nope. It's really hard. In fact it takes a lot to control the elephant so that you can get to the path you want to go.

The Heath's do a great job of putting in a ton of case study work in this book that I found fascinating. My favorite was of the man given a finite amount of time to improve nutrition and pretty much solve hunger in I believe it was Thailand. And then him realizing after studying mothers in some villages how they were able to make sure that their children were fed and not suffering from malnutrition. He had those mothers show the other mothers and from there all of this knowledge was passed on. It seems like such a small thing, but it wasn't.

I have dealt with some employees this past year that I want them to get on the path and I know it's my job to keep control of my elephant so that I don't show frustration or impatience and have to clearly show them why the path in the end will be worth it. It definitely helped me rethink some things and how I interact with others. ...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Caroline rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star-reads

My father was a man who was fleet of foot and fleet of mind – with the highest levels of self discipline that I have ever encountered. The one thing he didn’t understand were human beings, and why they did things, or even worse, why they didn’t do things. He was completely flummoxed by mankind’s shortcomings.

I wish he was still alive. I wish I could press this book into his hands and say “Here is your chance to understand.”

As well as writing a primer on human nature, Chip and Dan Heath have ...more

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Jul 15, 2013 Andy rated it it was ok

Of the three books I've read by the Heaths, Switch is the weakest. The strength of their method is to present solid info with illustrative stories but it seems like they didn't do their homework on this one. The overall message of the book about habit/person/environment is valid but nothing new. The plus value the authors can add is from the stories they choose, so they need to get those right.

For example, the story they probably bring up the most is about a campaign to get people to switch to ...more

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Jun 10, 2015 Mike (the Paladin) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: self-help

Well, a pretty good book. There's nothing here I haven't read elsewhere. this is a book giving the same steps you will read about in most "beat bad habits" books (change routine etc.).

It's related through the use of examples which makes it accessible. I think this will be more help in a bad habit at work situation than in ones personal life.

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Feb 25, 2011 Cindy Frewen Wuellner rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I bought this book last April 2010, skimmed it, set it aside. looked like another management book, not transformative (along the lines of say Good to Great). Yesterday on the twitter chat I host, a couple of people said it changed their lives. I thought that about Howard Gardners books on change. My mental models change. Picking it back up and reading it cover to cover in the last 24 hours, I can see why they related to it. the Heaths find a pattern for changing behavior that is simple, ...more

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Jan 05, 2016 Manik Sukoco rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Have you ever made a New Year's Resolution to lose weight, exercise more, kick a bad habit, and then the next week slipped back into the same old routine? There is a reason that people, organizations, and societies many times fall into this trap of trying to make a big change; and shortly thereafter fall back into the same old rut. Can't we just change by trying harder? According to the authors, trying harder will never result in lasting change. All that it will do is tire the "Rider."
The ...more

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Feb 26, 2010 Nick rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Switch is like the Heath brothers earlier book, Made to Stick, in that the ideas in it are not new, just better expressed. Chip and Dan are great storytellers and they have made change (i.e. behavioral change) simple and easy by reducing it to 3 steps: Direct the Rider (provide clear direction for the rational mind), Motivate the Elephant (engage people's emotions) and Shape the Path (make the change easier by changing the situation in key ways). Similarly, their first book took the ...more

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May 13, 2016 Karen Chung rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This one gets five stars out of utter usefulness. If you liked Charles Duhigg's Power of Habit, you should love this one - it's certain to add many new life-changing tools to your current collection.

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Sep 17, 2018 Farnoosh oa rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: english, non_fiction

so boring. Perhaps some good theories, but they are repeated thousand times in book.

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Nov 27, 2017 Cheryl rated it liked it

Shelves: xx-dnf-skim-reference

I have to admit that I didn't read it carefully. Mostly it's a more self-helpy version of lots of pop-psych books I've been reading lately. And it's a little too general, in that it assumes most ppl are very similar to one another (even when it reports success rates of, say, 18% before & 35% now).

But it's got some terrific guidelines, mantras, examples, and actions, so if you're motivated but unsure about how to begin to make the change you want to see in your life or your team, it's worth ...more

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May 25, 2010 Mike rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Of all the pop-psychology books I've read recently, this is easily my favorite. Now, when someone says, "This author is so insightful and intelligent," you can be pretty sure what they really mean is, "I agree with everything he says," and I admit there is a certain amount of that in my review. However, I did pick up some ideas, plus it's always nice to reinforce your world view.

Many, many years ago (decades actually) I was visiting a relative. The door to the garage was the main entrance to the Of all the pop-psychology books I've read recently, this is easily my favorite. Now, when someone says, "This author is so insightful and intelligent," you can be pretty sure what they really mean is, "I agree with everything he says," and I admit there is a certain amount of that in my review. However, I did pick up some ideas, plus it's always nice to reinforce your world view.

Many, many years ago (decades actually) I was visiting a relative. The door to the garage was the main entrance to the house, and it didn't have a closer or a spring. As a result, it was usually left open when the kids went in or out. This caused almost constant emotional turmoil that was really unpleasant. Further, the failure to close the door was repeatedly referred to as a character defect in the children. To myself, I said, "Sheesh, buy a closer for that door." And right then I invented one of my life mantras, "Seek mechanical solutions to emotional problems." (Ask Adam if he remembers me saying this.) So, I was happy to see someone else with the same philosophy.

This book is about motivating change. The authors focus on three areas: The intellect (which they call the "rider"), the emotions (which they call the "elephant), and the environment (the "path"). They would call my screen door situation an example of "smoothing the path". I loved the idea of a human being described as the rider and the elephant. I am trying to lose weight. Or, at least, my rider is. Losing weight is easy, you just have to eat less and/or exercise more. But it really seems like I am two people in one body. The rider says "No Cold Stone Creamery!", but the elephant seems to be able, at times, to just turn the rider off, and I find myself walking into the ice cream store almost puppet-like. Who is in control here? A lot of the book is devoted to ways the rider can trick the elephant, because the elephant, being so much bigger, usually gets its way.

I was also impressed by the author's discussion of "growth" mindset vs "fixed" mindset. A fixed mindset is the belief that people are either good at something or not, and it's pretty hard to change. The growth mindset is the belief that given enough time, anybody can become an expert at anything. I will admit to something of a "fixed" mindset. It just seems obvious to me that some people are good at some things and other are not. But what the authors pointed out, which I hadn't followed through in my mind, was the implications of the fixed mindset. For example, people with a fixed mindset get discouraged easily by failure, because they take it as evidence of a particular trait, not as a position on the path to mastery.

Like all books of this ilk, it's filled with dubious psychological experiments that are provided as proof, but probably are full of investigator bias and other scientific holes if you really looked carefully. But it's not really the point that 47% of college seniors did this or that, the point of the book is to provide common sense methods to motivate yourself and others, and I think it accomplishes that. ...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Shauna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: eureka-2012

I read this because I had to choose one title from an initially daunting list of "leadership"-related titles in preparation for an institute I attended recently. Otherwise, I never would have picked it up (I never read inspirational/leadership-type nonfiction). From here, I'll just quote verbatim the review I gave of this to the other attendees:
"Switch"...is all about how to make a change. Big, little, personal, institutional, societal…any kind of change in any context can be understood by the I read this because I had to choose one title from an initially daunting list of "leadership"-related titles in preparation for an institute I attended recently. Otherwise, I never would have picked it up (I never read inspirational/leadership-type nonfiction). From here, I'll just quote verbatim the review I gave of this to the other attendees:
"Switch"...is all about how to make a change. Big, little, personal, institutional, societal…any kind of change in any context can be understood by the overarching metaphor the Heath brothers use: a Rider (reason/analytical appeal) on an Elephant (feeling/emotion), traveling a Path (the situation/environment/direction the change must go). The three elements of the metaphor form the structure of the book, and the authors richly illustrate each element and its sub-parts by using real-life examples, ranging from hospitals and schools, to Target and Brasilata (a very large can-manufacturing company in Brazil). You meet a teacher who inspired a class of 1st graders, almost all of whom could barely read or didn’t even know the alphabet, to perform at 3rd-grade levels by year’s end. You meet a Save the Children worker sent to open the first office in Vietnam (with next to no resources of any kind, and no support from the Vietnamese government), who in six months reached 2.2 million people in 265 villages, dramatically reducing childhood malnutrition. The Heaths also cite volumes of published research, using those experiments to vet their statements at each step. There are several side-bar “case studies” which are also drawn from real situations needing change, where you are offered the chance to think about what you might do to make the “switch,” and walk you through the change step by step.
The three elements of making a switch: Direct the Rider, Motivate the Elephant, and Shape the Path, are further described and faceted into steps. It’s a clear primer for making a change.
I found "Switch" very readable and thought-provoking. It serves as an excellent manual on leadership from any level in an organization or environment, and on how to create and foster innovation with very few resources. It got me thinking creatively about changes coming (or changes not coming, but needed!) in my own organization and my personal life. My sole quibble with the book is that I found it had a few too many humorous “asides,” which can work (Mary Roach’s books are nothing but well-researched humorous asides, and I enjoy them immensely), but the Heaths’ I found fell a little flat and momentarily distracting. I do highly recommend this book. ...more

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Sep 16, 2011 Angie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

I found this book to be a revelation. It’s smart and delivers on its promise. By the end of the book, I had a much clearer perspective on to make change. One of the reasons that I like this book so much is that it focuses on the systems in place – not the people. Too many books focuses on the people and start from the assumption that there is something wrong with them: they are lazy or they are dumb. These assumptions ...more

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Mar 30, 2010 David rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Let me be clear: I HATE most self-helpy/businessy books. They're usually simplistic/obvious, preachy, vague, or "jargony". Switch is none of those things. Sure, you'll be introduced to some jargon, but it's just three terms (Rider, Elephant, and Shaping the Path), you'll learn them within minutes, and they'll be used consistently throughout the rest of the book.
I learned some things about human nature that surprised me. At first, the results of some of the cited studies seemed to run counter to ...more

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May 29, 2010 Jay Connor rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: jcrubicon@gmail.com

Finally a book about change that starts with the end in mind. In most of the prior extensive literature of this area from self-help to management categories, authors and gurus extoll the nobility of the effort rather than the achievement of the result. It is also nice to see recommendations based on research rather than the ego-stroking when-I-was-in-charge polemics of many past CEOs of now marginally successful corporations (e.g., "Execution").

The authors pulled from studies conducted over Finally a book about change that starts with the end in mind. In most of the prior extensive literature of this area from self-help to management categories, authors and gurus extoll the nobility of the effort rather than the achievement of the result. It is also nice to see recommendations based on research rather than the ego-stroking when-I-was-in-charge polemics of many past CEOs of now marginally successful corporations (e.g., "Execution").

The authors pulled from studies conducted over decades in psychology, sociology and other fields to shed light on how we can make successful changes. The power of many of the studies and observations is how counter-intuitive they appear. Thus, explaining why change is so hard -- we are not programed for it and our well-meaning "gut instincts" are often at 180 degree odds of sustaining the change we seek. Think of the Bush Presidency.

While I am most fascinated with change in a community and societal context, the examples here, which also include individual and organizational levels, are very helpful and instructive. I think this is because, as the authors stress, "when change works, it tends to follow a pattern. The people who change have clear direction, ample motivation and a supportive environment." This aligns very directly with the best practices we present to communities and discussed in our book: "Community Visions, Community Solutions." For a powerful recent example see Erie Together on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3RDVu...

Well, if there's a pattern to follow, why don't we? The basic problem is that "the brain has two independent systems at work at all times," the authors explain. "First, there's what we call the emotional side. It's the part of you that is instinctive, that feels pain and pleasure. Second, there's the rational side, also known as the reflective or conscious system. It's the part of you that deliberates and analyzes and looks into the future." In essence, the rational mind wants change and the emotional mind wants comfort. But don't let the terms fool you ... oftentimes we have seen the rational mind of a businessman in a community gathering embrace the emotional comfort of "lets just do something" rather than invest the process time to draw a clear, rational, path to the solution.

One concept, which the authors present, has fundamental implications, especially in communities, for all three elements of change: clear direction; motivation and environmental supports. They call it Fundamental Attribution Error -- a deep-rooted tendency to attribute people's behavior to "the way they are rather than the situation they are in." This gives rise in community to a whole set of broad-brush dysfunctions: blame, "those people," claims of lack of personal responsibility, etc. For example, we have seen children from the lowest socio-economic strata, who for years were thought of as "those kids" who will never make it, perform equal to their counterparts when the community's expectation changed. We have seen in the communities we have worked with, over time, a desire to know what they didn't know. When they see that so much of our failure in communities is situational and not "those people," they see that in fact they have power over the situations their community has created. And that is the SWITCH.

...more

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About Chip Heath

Chip Heath

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Chip Heath is the professor of Organizational Behavior in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
He received his B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University and his Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford.

He co-wrote a book titled Switch How to Change Things When Change Is Hard with his brother Dan Heath.