Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard
- Downloads：2989
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-29 09:55:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Chip Heath
- ISBN：1847940323
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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Change is hard。 It doesn't have to be。
We all know that change is hard。 It's unsettling， it's time-consuming， and all too often we give up at the first sign of a setback。
But why do we insist on seeing the obstacles rather than the goal？ This is the question that bestselling authors Chip and Dan Heath tackle in their compelling and insightful book。 They argue that we need only understand how our minds function in order to unlock shortcuts to switches in behaviour。
Illustrating their ideas with scientific studies and remarkable real-life turnarounds - from the secrets of successful marriage counselling to the pile of gloves that transformed one company's finances - the brothers Heath prove that deceptively simple methods can yield truly extraordinary results。
Change is hard。 It doesn't have to be。
We all know that change is hard。 It's unsettling， it's time-consuming， and all too often we give up at the first sign of a setback。
But why do we insist on seeing the obstacles rather than the goal？ This is the question that bestselling authors Chip and Dan Heath tackle in their compelling and insightful book。 They argue that we need only understand how our minds function in order to unlock shortcuts to switches in behaviour。
Illustrating their ideas with scientific studies and remarkable real-life turnarounds - from the secrets of successful marriage counselling to the pile of gloves that transformed one company's finances - the brothers Heath prove that deceptively simple methods can yield truly extraordinary results。
Reviews
Matt McCullough
，
An outstanding resource about change。 There were very practical steps included that can be used for change in small or large groups。 The case studies and additional resources were also very helpful。 This is a must have。
Rashmi
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A very engaging， well-written guide on how to enact change。 Not preachy， and filled with relatable examples and easy-to-follow analyses that are applicable to all types of changes， big or small， personal or at work。
Brian
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Good book with plenty of examples of how people in history have made small changes to change outcomes and habits。 Also examples， of how to get things done more efficiently with a checklist instead of a vague task/to-do list that most people do and never complete。
Ivan A。 Luciano
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I really enjoyed this books structure。 Ive read a few of the books mentioned within this book and while discussing those ideas with friends and coworkers， I have always found it difficult to get those ideas across。 This book， bridges that gap。 Highly recommended！
Bernard Tan
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Switch is an easy to read management book about Change Management， written in a conversational way， something that appeals to the US market。The basic premise of the book follows from the dominant thesis in behavioural science - that people are not rational economic actors。 And as such， knowledge and economic incentives alone are not sufficient to inspire real change in individuals and organisations。To effect real change， we must employ what behavioural scientists already know - that the human mi Switch is an easy to read management book about Change Management， written in a conversational way， something that appeals to the US market。The basic premise of the book follows from the dominant thesis in behavioural science - that people are not rational economic actors。 And as such， knowledge and economic incentives alone are not sufficient to inspire real change in individuals and organisations。To effect real change， we must employ what behavioural scientists already know - that the human mind has two competing pulls and both have to be addressed。 Kahneman calls one part "thinking fast" and the other and "thinking slow" （System 1 or 2）， Thaler labels the parts as the "planner and the doer"， while the Heath brothers call them "the rider and the elephant" - a vivid metaphor to hold in the mind。 The Heath brothers recommend that to attain real change one must "direct the rider"， "motivate the elephant" and "shape the path"。 Motivation for change can arise from little things。 How the physical environment is designed can affect behaviour。 Understanding that the elephant is a social being and the desire to remain part the herd is an important motivator to stay the course。 Comprehending that the elephant is unable to deal with drastic change， but will respond well to small wins and rewards。 And that accentuating the positive - something which does not come naturally to the rider - is much more appealing to the elephant。 This book， like many of its gendre， is important for policy makers to read。 In fact， the UK government set up a unit to move citizens' behaviour in certain directions， including encouraging the paying of taxes on time。 This book is filled with many stories。 But this takes away the impact of the book。 You keep wondering that if things are so easy as described， then change management would not be a problem。 But it is - in spite of this book by the Heath brothers。 。。。more
Shanda Vangas
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I really appreciated how the authors broke down behavior change strategies and techniques into simple steps and terms as used a variety of successful examples from the personal， organizational， community and societal levels。 Great takeaways for both personal and professional use。
Maritza Arreola
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Definitely I like this book and the analogy that propose to the parts to be considered in the implementation of any kind of change。
Liana
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Plenty of real-world anecdotes， which is what I like。 The elephant-rider comparison was somewhat helpful in remembering techniques， but overall real common-sense stuff。
Sue Steckle
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They offer so many examples to make the elephant & rider point， it just makes sense after reading it all。 Relating to the elephant （our emotions） goes back to our fundamental "why" we do things， and purpose， in my opinion。。。 well beyond our rote habits。 This is definitely worth understanding and considering， and they provide a great framework for it。 They offer so many examples to make the elephant & rider point， it just makes sense after reading it all。 Relating to the elephant （our emotions） goes back to our fundamental "why" we do things， and purpose， in my opinion。。。 well beyond our rote habits。 This is definitely worth understanding and considering， and they provide a great framework for it。 。。。more
Irfhan Buhari
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Must read。。。 Will help you understand yourself and others。。。
Ross Rohrbough
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Practical！ Easy to apply and understand。
Mohamed
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The authors have done a good job in convincing you about the concept。 Yet， you have to understand it deeply and implement it mindfully if you want to get the benefits。
Frederikke Sofie
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Well written with a number off great inputs to us， who work with communication studies 😊
Carrie
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Focused on stories， examples， and clear frameworks。 This book provides a compelling case for centering people and the role that our emotional selves play into openness to change。
Richard Rothman
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Great book。 A thoughtful and practical approach to change leadership。 The rider， elephant， and the path should be part of the change nomenclature。
Christie Mugler
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Brilliant way to pull out the internal， external， and environmental elements in a story of leading the elephant。 No one person is able to make change alone any better than you can push an elephant in the direction you want it to go。
Ann Frost
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This was super useful to read - I read it for work。 I listened to this as an audio book but have now also bought a copy。 This was also the first book that I turned up the speed on - to 1。25 x - that was a game changer。 And the reader of the audio book was great。 No mispronunciations （that I noticed anyway） that inevitably drive me crazy。 Like the reader pronouncing Brisbane with a long a; or the reader mispronouncing Spokane， WA the same way; or the reader pronouncing INSEAD with the long e soun This was super useful to read - I read it for work。 I listened to this as an audio book but have now also bought a copy。 This was also the first book that I turned up the speed on - to 1。25 x - that was a game changer。 And the reader of the audio book was great。 No mispronunciations （that I noticed anyway） that inevitably drive me crazy。 Like the reader pronouncing Brisbane with a long a; or the reader mispronouncing Spokane， WA the same way; or the reader pronouncing INSEAD with the long e sound。 Arrgh！ Am I a pedant？ :） But I digress。 A really good book about multiple ways to think about change at individual， group/team， and organization levels。 。。。more
Shannon Gray
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I decided to join my work book club and this is the book that was chosen。 Obviously not my typical style of book， but still a good book in giving examples of how to handle change and better yourself。
Emmanuelle Briot
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Great food for thoughts when it comes to think of how to implement change， trigger change or deal with change。。。
Connie
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I enjoyed the real-life stories on how to direct the rider， motivate the elephant， and shape the path。
Noel Hayes
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Really quick interesting book - some similarities to atomic habits but more specific to organisational change than personal change。Nothing revolutionary， but these books are good at structuring common sense ideas into a digestible and usable format。 Good food for thought for anyone interested in the dynamics of change。
Marc Johnson
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An excellent introduction to how to encourage change
Bree Taylor
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Read with my PN book club。。。 I enjoyed Switch and definitely felt there were a lot of really good points here with stories that helped to really hit home with the points that the authors were trying to make。Would love to see a new edition with more current examples。
Gary
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Excellent
Saundra
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Reread - still so helpful and good！
Jamie Scott
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Has some good points but you really need to other change/ habit books to get a more full picture of how to effectively change。
Eric
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I found this book to be incredibly insightful with practical applications。 One of those few books that I read years ago that I still think about。
Mo
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Switch presents a model of the psychology of change， that is simplistic yet insightful and useful。A recurring complaint about nonfiction， especially in the 'business'， 'leadership'， and 'self help' genres is that thin content that could have fitted in a blog post is instead interspersed with useless padding over 400+ pages。 This makes extracting the few useful nuggets of wisdom a chore。 Switch brilliantly avoids this trap by presenting the model fully in the early part of the book， and using the Switch presents a model of the psychology of change， that is simplistic yet insightful and useful。A recurring complaint about nonfiction， especially in the 'business'， 'leadership'， and 'self help' genres is that thin content that could have fitted in a blog post is instead interspersed with useless padding over 400+ pages。 This makes extracting the few useful nuggets of wisdom a chore。 Switch brilliantly avoids this trap by presenting the model fully in the early part of the book， and using the remaining page count for elaboration and examples。The Switch model is given as an analogy: an elephant and its rider on a path。 The rider represents the rational part of our brains， the one focused on long term objectives， that understands that there is often no gain without pain， and the one that is often impeded by over-analysis and indecision。 The elephant is our emotional part: short-sighted， seeking instant gratification， but spontaneous and impulsive。 Finally， the path is the situation surrounding the rider and the elephant， the context within which the change happens。Backed by many real-life examples and solid research， the Heaths argue that successful change can often be attributed to an identifiable set of factors。Appealing to the riderWhen change seems intractable， or to overcome analysis paralysis， find the 'bright spots': situations or areas where change has already succeeded。 These provide an opportunity for learning how change was achieved to leverage it more widely。 They also give us a way to demonstrate to the rider that change is possible。The rider also hates making decisions， and hates ambiguous situations。 To facilitate change， script the 'critical moves'， a small set of clear instructions that achieve the result。Another strategy is giving the rider （and the elephant） an appealing 'destination postcard': painting an attractive vision of the destination。Appealing to the elephantThe elephant is motivated by strong emotions。 This can often be much more powerful than data-focused arguments。The elephant is also often demoralised but seemingly complex changes， so a useful tactic is 'shrinking the change' to enable the first few critical steps。 People prefer being part-way through a long journey than to take the first step on a shorter journey， so emphasising progress is important。 Splitting a journey into milestones， and milestones into 'inch-pebbles'， is a powerful approach。 It gives the elephant quick small wins that create hope and create momentum。The elephant is also motivated by cultural and identity factors。 It makes decision by asking itself: is this change consistent with how I perceive myself？ So a possible approach to drive change is to create and instill new identities in people。 But even better is to adopt a 'growth mindset'， accepting that failure is inevitable but we can learn from it。Situational factors play a large part in successful changes， so creating the right conditions to support change is key。 In the book， this is known as 'shaping the path'。The elephant sometimes 'rationalises'， i。e。 finds ways to stray from the path， in which case， black and white （B&W） goals are an important tool。 These goals provide a binary way of assessing whether they've been met。 For example， 'eat healthier' is not a B&W goal， whereas 'never eat another kebab' is。Finally， the elephant often looks for behavioural cues from other people。 So demonstrating that many people are rallying behind the change can be a significant motivator。 。。。more
Kelly Greaves
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Very witty in their delivery。 They also provided a plethora of examples for each topic/segment， which sealed the deal for better understanding。I will definitely be utilizing their suggestions when/if the situations occur。My favorite quote is “What looks like resistance is often lack of clarity”。
Christopher Kaufman
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