Have you ever tried to change something involving people and found resistance? A silly question indeed – of course you have. Whether the change you’re trying to make is in yourself, or in your workplace, ultimately the forces that affect your ability to make that change are the same.
In their new book Switch: How to change things when change is hard, Chip Heath and Dan Heath present a practical way of looking at this issue. So very many business (and other) books have addressed change that when I heard there was yet another book I was skeptical that it would present anything new. And, in many ways it doesn’t.
What it does do is present successful change as a commingling of the rational and emotional, placed in the environmental setting. The Heath brothers demonstrate, with one anecdote and case study after another, how it all works. Ever been totally puzzled when you presented someone with a convincing set of data to promote your plan, only to have them shut you down? That’s the emotional undercutting the rational. They present real-life strategies (from real-life situations) for engaging mind and heart, and bring in the support network in the environment to make it all happen.
So, go out there and check into this recently published book. Read the very entertaining tales, learn from the examples, and apply the strategies…then let us know how it worked for you! ~ DS
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