Secrets That Will Change the Way You Think About Change

Photo by Nothing Ahead from Pexels

As cliché, as it may sound, “Change is the only constant thing in the world.” Although it’s ceaseless, we cannot deny that a lot of us still struggle when it comes to change.

This book by Chip & Dan Heath entitled “Switch” tackles how we can lead and encourage changes in human behavior by focusing on the rational side (Rider), emotional side (Elephant), and the environment in which change is supposed to happen (Path).

The Heath brothers provide three main concepts about making change happen. Indeed, we cannot make it happen if we only rely on the rational side or the emotional side of human beings. We need both the Rider and the Elephant.

Courtesy: www.agileleanlife.com

#1: Direct the rider

• Follow the bright spots — Find out what’s working and clone it.
• Script the critical moves — Make sure that everyone knows how to change. We must provide crystal-clear direction.
• Point to the destination — Change becomes easier when you know where you are going and why it’s worth it.

#2: Motivate the elephant

• Find the feeling — Knowledge is not enough to cause people to change. Feelings can help them change something. Positive and even negative emotions can trigger specific actions.
• Shrink the change — People are more motivated to partly finish a longer journey than to be at the starting point of a shorter one. Make change easier to achieve.
• Grow your people — Cultivate a sense of identity and instill a growth mindset.

#3: Shape the path

• Tweak the environment — Don’t blame people rather change the situation so their behavior will change.
• Build habits — Let’s make the change habitual so there is less conflict.
• Rally the herd — Make sure that onboard is alright with the change.

In making change happen, we need both the Rider, the Elephant, and the Path. Having the Rider but not the Elephant can make our people understand but demotivated. Having the Elephant but not the Rider can make our people passionate about what they’re doing without having direction.

In a nutshell, we need knowledge and motivation to successfully change things.