Switch:How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?  According to Chip and Dan Heath, the primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains.  Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems - the rational mind and the emotional mind - which 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 showed how everyday people - employees and managers, parents and nurses - have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results.  In Big Ideas from Switch, we’ve brought together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. It shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.