Thursday, June 9, 2011

Switch -- Chip and Dan Heath --------------------- 4 Stars

I have a fixed mindset. That was one of the things I learned in Chip and Dan Heath's fantastic book Switch. That is not a good thing. It means that I think people are static and can not change; which I really do believe. Apparently, this is bad and wrong.

I was recommended this book by a colleague and would have to say it's about half, fun "Outliers" type of book and half, academic type of text. Basically, its a book about how you make changes. Changes in your daily life, changes in the work place, changes in a family, getting other people to change...pretty much any change that is hard to do.

Normally, I am not big into organizational change/self-help type of books but this book was excellent. First, it was well written. Short and easy to read chapters and sentences. Second, it had great stories and anecdotes; they were very well told and applicable. Third, it was easy to understand and broken down into three specific things to do. Fourth, it included great suggestions and links to other books that are related including Nudge and Outliers.

And now, for the million dollar question, I will tell you how you can easily create change and save you from reading the whole book. You ready for it? Here it is:
1. Direct the Rider
2. Motivate the Elephant
3. Shape the Path
Uh, You're Welcome! I just took the whole book and explained it to you. Well, maybe not, but if you would like to read a very interesting and worthwhile book about change (and really understand what those three things are) , do check out Switch.

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