Switch

How to Change Things When Change is Hard

by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Chip and Dan Health, brother authors of Made to Stick and Switch, are experts in diffusing ideas and making change possible. While they focus on consumer behavior and organizational change, their work draws from a wide range of disciplines to clearly explain ideas about impacting the world around you. Switch is a fabulous compilation of mini case studies and success stories to guide anyone in bringing to life the social improvements they see possible.

With the clever use of an unusual metaphor throughout the book, Chip and Dan Heath offer their reader a simple change framework wrapped up in examples and real world applications. The analogy they use, originally posited by Jonathan Haidt, likens the Rational and Emotional sides of every decision maker to a rider on the back of an elephant. The rider, or rational side, fights for control, but in the end, if the elephant, or emotion, wants to go in another direction, there is little the rider can do.

As you can see, the framework these expert authors have put together is simple really. It offers a breakdown of the areas you need to consider to make a change that seems impossible. First of all, you must help your Rational side see how to make a change. Then you must appeal to your Emotions, motivating yourself and reducing the fear of change. Lastly, if all else fails, it may be the Situation that needs to be altered to achieve success.

What Chip and Dan Health show in the course of their book, is that there are ways to rein in your emotions and balance your rational self. No matter the difference you wish to make a reality in your organization, your community or yourself, this step by step framework can help you overcome any opposition. What I probably like best about Switch is the way it takes ordinary and extraordinary examples that show you what is possible. Overall an easy read, this book has left me enlightened and inspired!