| Title | Switch: How To Change Things | |
| Author | Chip & Dan Heath | |
| Publisher | Broadway Business | |
| Amazon Book Price | $12.98 | List $26.00 Link |
| Audible Audio Price | $17.15 | List $24.50 Link |
| Genre | Business, Career | |
| Web Page/Blog | http://heathbrothers.com/ | |
| The Heath brothers offer a well developed path for implementing change in your organization or personal life. The authors concept involves three critical activities: 1. Direct the Rider (analysis and rational understanding); 2. Motivate the Elephant (emotional engagement); and 3. Shape the Path (environmental factors). The authors use a great deal of information and examples from other researchers. Overall this book is valuable as a concise collection of industry research and real-world examples. The authors did a great job of writing an engaging book on a complex subject. |
| Audio Quality | Good | 5.0 |
| Content | Informational | 4.5 |
| Narration | Charles Knollenberg: Very Good | 4.5 |
| Story Organization | Very Well Organized | 4.5 |
| Stickiness | Great Metaphors: Very Sticky | 5.0 |
| Impression | Change is Possible | 4.5 |
| Recommendation | Great Personal Development Book | 4.5 |
| Overall | This Book Can Change Your Life | 4.75 |
Quotation: “” this concept simple enough to remember and flexible enough to use in many different situations.”
Publisher’s Summary
Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?
The primary obstacle is a conflict that’s built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed best seller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems, the rational mind and the 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 the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.
In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people – employees and managers, parents and nurses – have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results:
The 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, and 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.
©2010 Chip Heath; (P)2010 Random House
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