Human behavior. It seems to fall into grooves so easily. And it is often very, very hard to change. Change is not necessarily always good, but even when people know it would be good, it can seem impossible to make it happen. Besides that, people don’t always realize when changes would be improvements. They’re comfortable with what they know, don’t want to “rock the boat.”
The Heath Brothers, Chip and Dan, authors of Made to Stick, are back with a new book that is being released today by Broadway Books. That new book is Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. I was fortunate to receive an advance review copy of the book and found it every bit as demystifying and useful as their earlier bestseller.
These guys have a talent for giving readers a new framework for approaching issues that they encounter in business, non-profit organizations, or in personal life. In Switch, they lay out a simple metaphor for the different parts of how we need to deal with change. First, there is a rational part, then there is an emotional part, and finally there is a situational part.
The new structure for thinking about change that Chip and Dan offer is that you don’t need to always be focusing on what’s wrong. They instead focus on what is working – “bright spots” as they call them. The solution to a problem often begins with finding out who is doing things differently and to better effect, and then crafting the alternative in clear and simple to understand terms, following up with plenty of motivation and a supportive environment.
Sound hard? It doesn’t need to be. The authors have packed the book with what I’ll call “case studies” where people have addressed the rational brain or the emotions, and sometimes they simply alter the situation to create change. And as with their earlier book, the Heaths use breakout exercises called “Clinics” where you can think through change situations yourself. They end with one-page takeaways and ample reference notes. You simply cannot read this book and not feel fully armed to tackle those issues that are getting in the way.
With the recovery getting underway, we all need to be thinking about new, better ways to look at our businesses. The Heaths’ Switch can help you make it happen.