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Title details for Switch by Chip Heath - Available

Switch

How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

by Chip Heath
Dan Heath
ebook
2 of 3 copies available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
2 of 3 copies available
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! The ultimate guide to making changes and following through, from the authors of Made to Stick and Decisive—hailed as “witty and instructive” (The Wall Street Journal), “packed with examples and hands-on tools that will get you moving right away” (BusinessWeek)

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. 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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 16, 2010

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780307590169

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780307590169
      • File size: 4544 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 4, 2010
      The Heath brothers (coauthors of Made to Stick
      ) address motivating employees, family members, and ourselves in their analysis of why we too often fear change. Change is not inherently frightening, but our ability to alter our habits can be complicated by the disjunction between our rational and irrational minds: the self that wants to be swimsuit-season ready and the self that acquiesces to another slice of cake anyway. The trick is to find the balance between our powerful drives and our reason. The authors' lessons are backed up by anecdotes that deal with such things as new methods used to reform abusive parents, the revitalization of a dying South Dakota town, and the rebranding of megastore Target. Through these lively examples, the Heaths speak energetically and encouragingly on how to modify our behaviors and businesses. This clever discussion is an entertaining and educational must-read for executives and for ordinary citizens looking to get out of a rut.

    • Library Journal

      February 1, 2010
      Old habits die hard. Whether on the communal or the individual level, maintaining the status quo is always the easiest course. So how do companies or people change? Chip Heath (organizational behavior, Graduate Sch. of Business, Stanford Univ.) and his brother, consultant Dan Heath, coauthors of "Made To Stick", have teamed up again to show us that change can be a lot less painful than we fear. In their previous book, they explored how ideas catch on. Here they analyze what must be addressed if societal, organizational, and personal habits and practices are to be instilled with new ideas. They draw upon numerous behavioral studies, business case studies, and hypothetical examples to illustrate their principles. VERDICT This practical and entertaining work could easily be classified as a self-help tool. But since the authors also focus on organizational change and include dozens of vignettes from real companies, it's also a good managerial prescription for transformation. While it won't displace John Kotter's "Leading Change" as the classic text for "change managers," this catchy book offers fresh ideas and a breezy style that will work equally well for company executives, undergraduates, and average joes.Carol J. Elsen, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., Whitewater

      Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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