When Change is Hard

I recently read and started to apply on a huge project the methods of the book Switch-How to Change Things When Change is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.  This is by far the most "go out there and use it immediately" book I've ever read about making big, scary changes in an organization even when you don't have much authority or resources at your disposal.  This book's core technique is making things happen for me on my new project faster than I ever would have dared to dream possible.

The authors present a simple model for change that they borrowed from Jonathan Haidt's book The Happiness Hypothesis:  a rider, an elephant, and a path.  When change happens, a rider first decides where he wants to go.  Then he motivates the elephant to move.  And the change will happen fastest if the path has been cleared.

Chip and Dan Heath give powerful examples of people who persuaded companies, governments, and societies to make profound changes using these three steps:

1. Script the rider.  The "rider" is the rational brain.  Provide a clear, concise description of the behavior that is needed to get the result.  Tell the "rider" where to go.
2. Motivate the elephant.  The "elephant" is emotion.  Emotion makes things happen.  Emotion gets things done.  The "rider" is too analytical, too indecisive, too puny to act in powerful ways.  It is only when people feel strong positive or negative emotions that they will overcome huge barriers to change.
3. Clear the path.  Make the change you want easy.  Instructions, training, technical support--anything that you can do to keep the rider and the elephant from changing their minds.

The model is so easy to remember that I find myself at meetings almost daily thinking, 

• "What is the single most important thing I'm asking this person to do? (Script the rider)
• "How can I help them visualize how much this change will make their lives better? Or how much failure to make the change will cause issues?"  (Motivate the elephant)
• "How can I make this as easy as possible for them to do?  Can I write a program that does most of the calculations for them?  Do I need to give more training or write more instructions?"  (Clear the path)

In my new project, I'm working with parts of the business I know almost nothing about, with different departments that sometimes don't get along with each other, and yet I'm making fast progress getting people aligned because I have a vision in which every department wins and I'm taking the time to help each department see what is in it for them.