Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Books

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 ...