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Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard-Crown Business (2010)
The Heath brothers argue that lasting change requires appealing to both the rational mind and the emotional one, which they frame as a Rider directing an Elephant, while also shaping the Path they travel. Case studies from hospitals, businesses, schools and families illustrate each principle.
- Release Date
- 2011
- Length
- 305 pages
- Publisher
- Currency
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Our Review
About the book
The Heath brothers argue that lasting change requires appealing to both the rational mind and the emotional one, which they frame as a Rider directing an Elephant, while also shaping the Path they travel. Case studies from hospitals, businesses, schools and families illustrate each principle.
Our review
One metaphor, a rider on an elephant, does an astonishing amount of work in this practical, persuasive book about change.
The Heaths are exceptional explainers. Borrowing a framework from psychologist Jonathan Haidt, they show why knowing what to do so rarely leads to doing it, and then give us a three-part toolkit that anyone can remember after one read. The examples are well chosen and varied, ranging from a nutrition campaign to a hospital overhaul, and the book always connects big ideas to small, concrete steps. Few business books are this usable.
Its weaknesses are typical of the genre. Many of the success stories are cherry-picked, and we rarely hear about cases where the framework failed. Some of the social science it leans on has faced replication challenges since publication, particularly the research on willpower depletion. The structure also becomes formulaic by the final chapters. None of that undoes the core insight, which remains useful for managers, parents and anyone trying to break a habit.
What we loved
- The memorable Rider, Elephant and Path framework
- Concrete, varied case studies across many fields
- Clear, friendly prose that makes the ideas easy to apply
Keep in mind
- Success stories are selectively chosen
- Some cited psychology research has since been questioned
Read it if you like
Readers of Atomic Habits, Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein, or the Heaths’ own Made to Stick.
The verdict
A smart, practical guide to change that rewards readers who actually try its tools; one of the better books of its kind.
