Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
Book Summary
By James Haupert
By Chip and Dan Heath. Ebook is $12.00
Broadway Books
Why We Like This Book
Multiple studies indicate that over 70% of change initiatives fail. This statistic about failed change has been fairly stable for decades. This alone should suggest that much of conventional thinking about change is incomplete or wrong and that there is a need to correctly define the components of successful change efforts.
There are many good books on the field of managing change. What we like most about this book is that the authors have created a simple but powerful model for understanding the often neglected emotional component of successful change. The Elephant-Rider metaphor provides a very easy to explain and useful way to express why some organizational changes succeed, and so many fail. There are lots of case examples that are used to illustrate the principles they suggest to the reader. This makes this a very easy reading for the manager practitioner.
We also like the way this book presents very unique thinking about how to make change work. We feel there is much value in the numerous and clearly explained case examples provided to illustrate their major points.
The following are some of the highlights of this book:
The Elephant and the Rider
Change driven by facts and reason alone, without a strong emotional appeal, is likely to fail.
This is the meat for the practicing manager or change agent and provides a useful “memory hook.” Understanding the relationship between these two change components helps us diagnose why so many change efforts fail. Originally coined by Jonathan Haidt (psychologist), he refers to our emotional side as the Elephant, and our rational side is its Rider. These two forces have a vital relationship to change and you cannot implement it without considering both. But note the authors’ point on which force is most powerful: “Anytime the six ton Elephant and Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose.”
Major Point: You Cannot Drive Change only with Reason
The need to balance the Rider with the Elephant helps us understand why change efforts driven primarily by scientists and engineers are at a considerable disadvantage.
It is common thinking that when people fail to change, it’s usually because of an understanding problem. This is not the case, although the intellectual side of us would usually like to accept this as the explanation. The authors’ tell us that, “We are speaking to the Rider when we should be talking to the Elephant.” Great point. We need to understand the important role of emotions in resisting change.
Why is it that change driven primarily by rational and reason is not likely to succeed?
- “Change often fails because the Rider (reason) can’t keep the Elephant (emotion and engagement) on the road long enough.”
- “If you reach your colleagues’ Riders, but not their Elephants, they will have direction, but without motivation.”
- “To make progress toward a goal requires the energy and drive of the Elephant.”
- “If you want to change, you have to appeal to both. The Rider provides the planning and direction, and the Elephant provides the energy and engagement.”
“The Elephant has enormous strengths and the Rider has crippling weaknesses.”
The weakness of the Elephant is that it is lazy and skittish and seeks short term payoffs. When change fails it is usually the Elephant’s fault. The Rider’s strength is the ability to plan and to think beyond the moment. But the Rider’s weakness is its dependency on the Elephant to get things done, and the Rider’s terrible weakness is to just spin his wheels.” The Rider has a strong need for direction, while the Elephant needs focus on motivation.
Three Steps to Real Change
They author’s provide flexible change ideas that allow us to view examples of what to do in different change situations. The fundamental step model they present is:
1, First, Direct your Audience’s Riders.
2. Next, Motivate your Audience’s Elephant.
3. Then, Shape the Path.
Some of the Key Ideas about Change
Many good ideas are presented about change. These are some of the gems:
- “Self-control is an exhaustible resource.”
Point: Change is hard because people wear themselves out. Individuals have a limited amount of energy that can be devoted to change.
- “Knowing something isn’t enough to cause change.”
Point: You need to address the emotions as this provides the necessary energy for change.
- “Bad can be stronger than good.”
Point: Sometimes finding bad examples make a more impactful point than good examples. Why? Because there is an emotional component to something that is really bad that can pay off handsomely because this appeals to our Elephant.
- “Bright Spot” evangelizing is important.
Point: We need to get away from archaeological problem solving (the Rider solution) and go straight to appealing to the Elephant.
- “Ambiguity is the enemy of any successful change.”
Point: High level goals and plans are fine. But, the most successful change transformations break these down into behavioral goals.
- “What looks like resistance, is often a lack of clarity.”
Point: The change leaders have to set a very clear path.
- “When people push for change and it doesn’t happen, they chalk it up to lack of understanding.
Point: This is a logical rationalization that misses the mark because it does not consider the problems with the Elephant.
- “Trying to fight inertia and indifference with analytical arguments is like tossing a fire extinguisher to someone who is drowning.
Point: The solution needs to match the problem.
Useful Terminology
The following are examples of useful ideas the authors introduce to us:
The Problem of Positive Illusion
The authors cite the study where only 2 percent of high school students believe their leadership ability is below average. The distortion of this illusion provides an enormous problem with regard to change. It makes it hard to get a clear picture of where an organization really is and how well we’re doing.
Appreciative Inquiry
They suggest a process for change by studying what’s working, rather than what’s not. In many situations, in may be better not to first try to fix things, but to look for best practices and what is currently working and expanding these.
Is it Often a Situational Problem, Not a Person Problem
Change agents must understand what is really happening in the organization. They believe what looks like a person problem is often really a situation problem. Example: A good driver who is late for an important meeting, now suddenly becomes a terrible driver. The driving skills are not the problem – it is the situation that causes the person to select the specific behavior.
Fundamental Attribution Error
First cited by Lee Ross, this is the systematic tendency to ignore situational forces that shape people’s behavior. This means we commit the error where we view the situation as the way the people are vs. understanding the situation they are in.
The Case Study of Late Reviews
We like when Heath and Heath present a case problem where peer pressure is the solution to the problem, not reward or punishment. Problem: Research papers that required peer review were often submitted late by reviewers. This problem was solved by an Excel spreadsheet posted on the internet that showed the status of every paper submitted. Every reviewer could see what the other reviewers had done and when. The tracking sheet created powerful pressure on them to not be seen as a source of delay.
