Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – Productivity Book Group

Productivity Book Group [ http://productivitybookgroup.org ] discussed Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard [ http://amzn.to/1P3mbA6 ] by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die and Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work). Enjoy the discussion!

(Sorry about the audio…for some reason the teleconference recording clipped/distorted some of the audio!)

The Amazon book description states:

Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?

The primary obstacle is a conflict that’s built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—that 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 show how everyday people—employees and managers, parents and nurses—have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results:

●      The lowly medical interns who managed to defeat an entrenched, decades-old medical practice that was endangering patients.

●      The home-organizing guru who developed a simple technique for overcoming the dread of housekeeping.

●      The manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots byremoving a standard tool of customer service

In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change.Switch 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.

From the Hardcover edition.

Our next reading selections are:

6/25/2016 Resilience: Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to Success Mark McGuinness http://amzn.to/1NQ6Z8w
7/30/2016 Stuffocation: Why We’ve Had Enough of Stuff and Need Experience More Than Ever James Wallman http://amzn.to/1PTjBwv

PBG - Resilience - June 2016 - Mark McGuinness

PBG - Stuffocation - July 2016 - James Wallman

Show Notes:

(Please listen to understand the context of the resources provided. If we missed something, please comment on the episode and let us know! Thanks to Bonnie B. for helping out with the Show Notes!)


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