Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

by Chip Heath

And that’s the first surprise about change: What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.

you’ve got to change that person’s situation.

First, there’s what we called 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.

But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant.

Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. He’s completely overmatched.

When change efforts fail, it’s usually the Elephant’s fault, since the kinds of change we want typically involve

short-term sacrifices for long-term payoffs.

Changes often fail because the Rider simply can’t keep the Elephant on the road long enough to reach the destination.

The Elephant’s hunger for instant gratification is the opposite of the Rider’s strength, which is the ability to think long-term, to plan, to think beyond the moment (all those things that your pet can’t do).

Emotion is the Elephant’s turf—love and compassion and sympathy and loyalty.

To make progress toward a goal, whether it’s noble or crass, requires the energy and drive of the

Elephant.

If you want to change things, you’ve got to appeal to both. The Rider provides the planning and direction, and the Elephant provides the energy.

A reluctant Elephant and a wheel-spinning Rider can both ensure that nothing changes. But when Elephants and Riders move together, change can come easily.

When people try to change things, they’re usually tinkering with behaviors that have become

automatic, and changing those behaviors requires careful supervision by the Rider.

The bigger the change you’re suggesting, the more it will sap pe...

And when people exhaust their self-control, what they’re exhausting are the mental muscles needed to think creatively, to focus, to inhibit their impulses, and to persist in the face of frustration or failure. In other words, they’re exhausting precisely the mental muscles needed to make a big change. So when you hear p...

wrong. In fact, the opposite is true: Change is hard because people wear themselves out. And that’s the second surprise about change: What l...

What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.

If you want people to change, you must provide crystal-clear direction.