Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

by Chip Heath

People with the large buckets ate 53 percent more popcorn than people with the medium size.

People eat more when you give them a bigger container.

The equation is unyielding: Bigger container = more eating.

But wait a second. If you want people to eat less popcorn, the solution is pretty simple: Give them smaller buckets.

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

all change efforts have something in common: For anything to change, someone has to start acting differently.

To change someone’s behavior, you’ve got to change that person’s situation.

For individuals’ behavior to change, you’ve got to influence not only their environment but their hearts and minds. The problem is this: Often the heart and mind disagree. Fervently.