We’ve all been there at some point in our lives: We tell ourselves, “This really, really needs to happen,” yet in the same breath, we answer ourselves, “But it’s impossible.” Say, we have a boss and a power structure around us that needs to shift. Or an intractable family disagreement with no obvious way forward. In our better moments, we all feel like we’re great leaders that shape history, but at other times, I wonder where all my courage and boldness went.
In Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, brothers Chip and Dan Heath address how to induce change through the lens of neuroscience. Using a parable about a rider steering an elephant to accomplish a difficult task, they divide change into three components: The rider (the reasoning analyzer), the elephant (the emotional motivation), and the path (the surrounding environment). To trigger effective change, individuals must align all three elements. This tripartite formulation correlates with human anatomy –the reasoning brain, emotional brain, and active body – and with Aristotle’s classic division of rhetoric into logos, pathos, and ethos.
When I first approached this book, I was concerned that the authors were going merely to co-opt science to sell inspirational stories. After all, each chapter is filled not with scientific citations but with narratives and examples. I soon learned that their framework was incredibly deeply constructed, based on the science. When reading, I found myself reconsidering “impossible” situations in my own life to assess where I could adjust my actions to get the ball moving. Their approach seems deceivingly simple at first, but in truth, it’s profound and penetrating.
Most people, especially academics, stumble into a pitfall with the belief that change is just a matter of winning the argument. They forget that almost all change is triggered, not by analysis (the rider), but by an emotional appeal (the elephant). Similarly, emotional appeals don’t accomplish lasting good unless wise thinking by the rider points the elephant in the right direction. Finally, clearing the path and making the environment less cluttered to accomplish the work require wise, reflective leadership. Moving an elephant forward can be accomplished more easily when a group of people move together to avoid obstacles.
I was pleasantly surprised at how deep this philosophical approach penetrates. The writing style is not dense; if anything, the prose is airy and light, but it sure provokes thought. Though an avid reader, I could only digest one or two chapters per day without becoming overwhelmed with contemplation. And the book leaves you with a simple prism to analyze situations: the rider, the elephant, and the path. Understanding those components can quickly lead to construct a plan of action in, say, a meeting or a conversation. I love books that convey profound messages in simple language, and by doing just that, this book will help me change hard, seemingly intractable situations for the better.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
By Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Copyright (c) 2010
Crown Currency
ISBN13 9780385528757
Page Count: 320
Genre: Management, Leadership
www.amazon.com