Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard By Chip Heath

Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, communities & our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict built into our brains, say Chip & Dan Heath, authors of bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists discovered our minds are ruled by two different systems—rational mind & emotional mind—that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort—but if overcome, change can come quickly. In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people have united both minds & as a result, achieved dramatic results: ● lowly medical interns who managed to defeat an entrenched, decades-old medical practice that was endangering patients. ● The home-organizing guru who developed a simple technique for overcoming the dread of housekeeping. ● The manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots by removing a standard tool of customer service In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, & other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.