The second book in this week’s Summer Reading Club is Chip and Dan Heath’s Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard is a must read for the summer. The Heath brothers outline the psychology of making a lasting change whether it be for our personal lives, our communities or in our businesses.
In the book, they explain that our mind is comprised of two parts, the rationale and the emotional or the Rider and the Elephant as they refer to them. They explain that when our Rider and our Elephant are not aligned, that change is difficult and slow; but when the two are in synch, change comes quickly and easily.
In Switch the Heath brothers outline the three steps to create change which are as follows:
- Direct the Rider
- Find the bright spots
- Script the critical moves
- Point to the destination
- Motivate the Elephant
- Find the feeling
- Shrink the change
- Grow the people
- Shape the Path
- Tweak the environment
- Build habits
- Rally the herd
- Keep the change going
Throughout each section of the book, the Heath brothers use real-world and real people examples to help explain each concept, which are all memorable and relatable to any type of change you wish to make. They also offer “clinics” which give the readers a chance to apply what they have learned so far in some hypothetical situations.
The concepts taught in this book are very simple and easy to both comprehend and apply to your life. Though the book is written with the intention for business leaders to learn how to necessitate lasting change in the workplace, the methodology taught in Switch can help you with any change, big or small in your life whether it be to loose some weight, fix your financial troubles, etc.
The Heath brothers’ book is beneficial and an important read to anyone in the business world, from the lowly intern to the company CEO.
What change do you want to create?
