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In a lively and colorful style, Chip Heath and Dan Heath invite readers to ponder what makes change “take” or “fail to take.” Their approach is both highly concrete and based on a broad range of psychological studies on human adaptability and how the brain works. They propose a very simple three-step process, illustrated with numerous examples along the way, as well as with seven detailed “clinical case studies” describing how this approach creates the conditions for successful change. The diversity of these examples makes this book extremely instructive and interesting. To help your employees be more disciplined, you can, for example, take inspiration from how one mother managed to get her stubborn teenager to clean up his room! And couldn’t manufacturers learn something from hospitals to improve safety on the shop floor?
The content is certainly not revolutionary. To get a person to change, it is well known that you have to speak both to the head and the heart. And yet… this book is strewn with very concrete tips that are right on the nose. Your employees don’t want to change? Make your goals easier to reach, to make success seem more attainable and more palatable. This lets people celebrate a quick victory that can then serve as the foundation for building the rest of the transformation process. And ask yourself whether employees really know how they are supposed to change. Were you precise enough?
A concentrated dose of common sense and good ideas, which might perhaps have been explored in greater depth, but which will likely initiate a lasting change in the way that readers will approach change in the future.