Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard Hardcover – February 16, 2010

Full of stories and strategies that make change feel achievable. A must-read for leaders and individuals alike.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking at making changes in their lives, whether professional or personal. Switch (by same authors as Made to Stick) provides great tips and solutions presented at a user level and with a great framework.The authors first lay out the three big things: the Rider, the Elephant and the Path and describe what each of these are and provides examples so the reader can get it on his level and not some abstract thoughts. After the big introduction the authors broke the book up into parts concerning each one.The first then is about directing the Rider, the more of our conscious, self will side. To do this one should find the 'bright spots' by seeing how some things succeeded instead of what failed. Next one should script the critical moves by breaking stuff down to specific goals. Finally it's to point to the destination by giving Riders a clear view of where they're going.The second is about motivating the Elephant, more our unconscious and representative of all the inertia we have when wanting to change. Elephants are the more emotional and less logical side so the first step is finding the feeling (think those ASPCA commercials). Next one should shrink the change by making it more manageable (more on this later) and increasing the sense of accomplishment. Finally, it's about growing your people... Change will be easier if you expand the abilities and spirits of your people.The third is about shaping the Path. Within this it's about tweaking the environment (smokers know this about all the cues there are about smoking). Next it is building habits which are behaviors on autopilot and how to encourage habits. Finally one should rally the herd.Overall the book is very well written. The authors write in a very friendly style without being too personal... The couple times they do break from the books narrative to tell jokes, they work and actually made me laugh out loud. Their writing style helps the reader understand and so does the formatting, and maybe more so. While overall the book is 3 parts, there are chapters within those parts and then smaller bite sized sections. While also good for reading bit at time I have to imagine they used their own advice with it because it makes one feel more accomplished and thus wanting to read more. All their points are backed up with studies and not just opinions. Also for good measure they have independent 'Clinics' where they present a scenario and ask readers to work it out first.Therefore, overall this is a great book that I learned a lot from and have already started using both personally and in my job.

This would be a GREAT book. The framework and essential ideas are a very helpful way to think about change. However, they use a single metaphor and then carry it through the whole book. If only they ad presented the metaphor and then left it alone. I dislike the "elephant" and "rider" metaphor a lot - so it's constant use becomes annoying. I disagree with the premise that our "logical" mind is "supposed" to be able to override our emotional selves. We aren't designed to be "ruled" by logic - we are designed to cooperate with ourselves. We have internal checks and balances that work together to keep us safe. They eventually actually make the point that logic is actually designed to SERVE emotion, not rule it. So why do they overemphasize this metaphor that doesn't even really portray their real point? And then use it ad nauseum? Why not just say that we must integrate and align our head, hearts, and bodies and work with the natural change process to get the best results. Lots of other metaphors work to describe the inner leadership and collaboration required to change ourselves intentionally.Once I got past the metaphor - I discovered several great ideas and terms that have been helpful in teaching clients how to "lead" and facilitate their own personal growth and change initiatives instead of trying to control change. Favorite ideas:- Look for the bright spots - learn from your own life.Look for small examples where you are already doing what you want to do more of. Look for what works and what doesn't, what helps and what doesn't. I find all change efforts benefit greatly from focusing more on what *is* working than on what isn't working. ALL the available feedback is helpful if is *descriptive* rather than *judged* as good or bad. Feedback from what you do when you succeed can be used to redesign your strategy to fit you and your situation in areas where you are challenged. For example, if you are often late, focus on the bright spots - the examples of where you *are* on time. How do you do that? Use that to feed your creativity and design solutions for being on time more often. (I call this agilizing change.)- Love this quote " What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity"YES! Need to get small and specific. I would also add that resistance is also often a sign of using strategies that don't fit the situation, the person, the timing, or the resources available. In my world resistance is incredibly valuable feedback for redesigning your approach and successfully leading change.- Love the languaging of "Shape" the path.You really can't "control" or "direct" change - if you work with the natural principles of how things and people organically change you will find that shaping is a far superior and more effective strategy.Overally, the model is a simple, straightforward framework that works better than most as a primer for people new to leading change. I found that with a little tweaking and using my own metaphors (based on agile mindset, and iterative, organic, systems design thinking) I was able to enhance and simplify my own Agilizen Designing for Change model making it easier to learn.This book is definitely worth reading by anyone who helps others change or is highly motivated to facilitate their own personal growth.