I finally read “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard” by Chip and Dan Heath – and it’s now on my short list for anyone leading teams through change.
The book breaks change down into three parts:
- the Rider (our rational side),
- the Elephant (our emotional side),
- and the Path (our environment).
When change fails, it’s usually because one of those three is misaligned – the Rider doesn’t know where to go, the Elephant doesn’t feel like moving, or the Path makes it too hard.
My Key Takeaways
They’re kind of weird analogies, but my takeaway is that change almost always needs a multi-pronged approach to address all three.
The examples in the book help land the ideas. I’ve already been sharing some of the stories and they’ve been useful for helping people find that “click” moment.
One story stuck out to me: a project in Vietnam fighting child malnutrition. Instead of studying what went wrong, they searched for “bright spots” – villages where kids were healthy – and spread those small, successful behaviors.
In other words: find what’s already working on your team and scale that.
Another: a company trying to switch from paper to digital expense reports. People resisted until someone left two envelopes on every desk – one labeled Old Way, one New Way. The new habit suddenly became the easy path.
Sometimes change doesn’t need a pep talk, just fewer steps to get there.
Wrap Up
If I had to sum it all up, I’d say that small wins and simple nudges go a long way.
Next time you’re driving a process shift, new tool, or cultural change, try to remind yourself of these three ideas:
- Direct the Rider (appeal to the rational)
- Motivate the Elephant (care for the emotional)
- Shape the Path (set the right environment)
Kim H. Nguyen 