Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Key Takeaways, Analysis & Review

by Eureka Books

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A COMPANION TO THE BOOK AND NOT THE ORIGINAL BOOK.

Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Key Takeaways, Analysis & ReviewSwitch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard (2010) is about how to bring about change in an organization. Its main focus is changing behavior by appealing to the rational and emotional sides of people's psyches. To generate change, authors Chip and Dan Heath maintain, a leader must connect with both sides, the rational and the emotional. This is because sometimes, one side can work against the other and sabotage successful change. The rational side tends to analyze possibilities for change so much that it becomes unable to act--so change never occurs. The emotional side is ready, or even eager, to act on change, but it can act compulsively and without focus. This means that changes based solely on emotion are likely to fail. To bring about real change, a leader must stimulate the emotional side of a group's psyche to get the process of change underway, then harness its rational side to give this change a concerted direction...



This companion to Switch includes:
Overview of the book
Important People
Key Takeaways
Analysis of Key Takeaways
and much more!

Genres: Self Help

32 pages, Paperback

Published December 15, 2015

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great summary, book lacks originality

It is well known that change in all human societies, from the largest to the smallest, can be hard. Unless things are going really poorly there is the natural “better the devil you know . . .” attitude among the members. Rational arguments for change are of course powerful, but the human resistance to change is generally based on emotions rather than logical thought.
The book by the Heath brothers is based on the general theme that emotions play a large role in any attempt to change things. This is of course logical, so any attempt to make significant change has to incorporate the resistance based on emotions.
Eight fundamental takeaways are listed in this Instareads summary:

*) Any attempt to make changes must appeal to both the hearts and minds of the players.
*) When too much rational thought is used when approaching a problem, there is the risk of the delay killing the opportunity for solution.
*) When people rely too much on emotions when making decisions, the lack of rational thought can lead to very poor decisions.
*) The environment within an organization can often be an obstacle to change
*) In order to achieve player buy in to major changes, leaders should focus on the specifics of the change rather than just a general direction.
*) To effectively make major changes, leaders should make emotional appeals and start with small changes.
*) Leaders should start the process of change by establishing habits conducive to change and rely on change enthusiasts to help drive the process.
*) (Positive) Reinforcement is the key to sustaining change. By reinforcing all changes in the right direction, it is possible to snowball small changes into big ones.

The summary is effective, but it also demonstrates how redundant the book is regarding existing knowledge. I have read many management books over the years and these eight fundamental principles appear in some form in nearly all of them. It is no accident that political and military leaders often talk about “winning the hearts and minds of the people” in another country.
Any summary should allow the reader to make a decision whether they want to read the book or simply skip it. Using that criteria this one did what it should, it convinced me that I don’t want to read the book because there is very little in it that I will find new.

This book was made available for free for review purposes and this review also appears on Amazon

[Mike Mangione · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book and an easy read. Definitely, a business book.

I agree with the basic tenants of the authors, but it’s one of those “easier said than done” things in most cases. The historical examples utilized to prove out their thesis were substantial, but there’s a strong component of timing and luck in many of the scenarios.

All in all, if you like a good business read, that gives you some new things to try and ways to think about change in your organization or life, I think you’d like this book.

I’d read other content from Dan and Chip Heath.

[Daniel Jeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend

[Nfener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read, really interesting and easy to follow and implement. Have read some similar advice in other books.