Chip Heath and Dan Heath usually have something meaningful to say. Their first book, “Made to Stick,” made waves in the marketing world. It looks like their latest effort, “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard,” will provoke discussion as well.
A recent BusinessWeek article outlines the key points of the new book and publishes insightful answers Dan Heath supplied to its author’s questions.
Given the recent shift in consumerism and the rapid commoditization of so many products, companies are looking for a better way to innovate, so there’s more impetus than ever to get this right. So maybe a new POV is required here. Otherwise, would we need another book on “innovation”?
Actually, at its core “Switch” is all about mastering the process of change so that true innovation can take root. Ideas from the book:
• Use a simple framework to modify behavior. Without behavior modification, change (innovation) is resisted.
• Harness the power of emotion. Innovators will have to influence colleagues to embrace new ideas and M.O.s and customers, in turn, to embrace the resulting new products. The Heaths argue this is best accomplished by using emotion, not rational thought based on data. (This is sure to spark some discussion!)
• Get them thinking. The power of brainstorming is important, but help eliminate the implausible and hone in on the “best solutions” from the start. By helping guide this process with a “checklist of solution categories,” this helps keep brainstormers more focused and more deliberate.
• Find the balance between short-term and long-term focus and goals. That is, balance the need for incremental innovation for the short term with breakthrough innovation for the future of the company.
According to Dan Heath, company employees can be encouraged to be creative and innovative if companies provide three essential components:
• Clear direction. Get specific about the way you want to innovate and what you want to achieve. Give guidelines to hone people in on the change you’re looking for.
• Motivation. Use emotion as the lever to motivate people to innovate getting their buy-in.
• Clear the way. Removing obstacles that choke the creative process is essential. Can you give employees quiet time to think, without PDAs and computers? Can you streamline duties? Can you move brainstorming sessions offsite, so the usual interruptions don’t clog the process?
Creating the right mindset and the proper environment for innovation is the primary function of management to be successful, the Heaths argue.
Agree? Disagree? What do you think of the Heaths’ ideas concerning innovation?
Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Strategy and Tactics
Ted, it seems like psychology, business and marketing are intertwined more and more these days. The one common denominator we all have is our humanity – our ability to feel.
Hi Elaine,
Isn’t that the truth? Everything is in tremendous flux and the speed of business is increasing ever more. Somewhere along the way, people in businesses are getting more and more lost in the shuffle. That’s why I think “changing corporate cultures” to better adapt to “change” will come only in those companies where managers interact better with their employees. When everybody feels empowered to come forward with their good ideas; when they and their ideas and input are valued, then I think great things can happen. We do need to instill more personal contact and humanity into an increasingly impersonal, high speed, communication via technology era, don’t we? Thanks for your insight, Elaine. I appreciate it.
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Hi Ted Mininni
i want to say somethink about change things ..
before I reveal the four steps I want to reiterate that while the advice could transform your life, it likely will not. As with most life-altering advice, it is simple, easy to implement, and even easier to ignore. Statistically speaking, the odds are great that you’ll ignore this advice. But a handful of you will try it so for the one or two people who will find this useful, the four steps that will transform your worldview are:
1. Choose a book of the Bible.
2. Read it in its entirety.
3. Repeat step #2 twenty times.
4. Repeat this process for all books of the Bible.
Christians often talk about having a Biblical worldview yet most have only a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible. They attempt to build a framework without first gathering the lumber and cement needed to create a solid foundation. The benefits of following this process should therefore be obvious. By fully immersing yourself into the text you’ll come to truly know the text. You’ll deepen your understanding of each book and knowledge of the the Bible as a whole.
Since this method is adapted from a book by James M. Gray (1851-1935), How to Master the English Bible‚ I’ll let him explain in his own words:
The first practical help I ever received in the mastery of the English Bible was from a layman. We were fellow-attendants at a certain Christian conference or convention and thrown together a good deal for several days, and I saw something in his Christian life to which I was a comparative stranger—peace, a rest, a joy, a kind of spiritual poise I knew little about. One day I ventured to ask him how he had become possessed of the experience, when he replied, “By reading the epistle to the Ephesians.” I was surprised, for I had read it without such results, and therefore asked him to explain the manner of his reading, when he related the following: He had gone into the country to spend the Sabbath with his family on one occasion, taking with him a pocket copy of Ephesians, and in the afternoon, going out into the woods and lying down under a tree, he began to read it; he read it through at a single reading, and finding his interest aroused, read it through again in the same way, and, his interest increasing, again and again. I think he added that he read it some twelve or fifteen times, “and when I arose to go into the house,” said he, “I was in possession of Ephesians, or better yet, it was in possession of me, and I had been ‘lifted up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus‚’ in an experimental sense in which that had not been true in me before, and will never cease to be true in me again.”
I confess that as I listened to this simple recital my heart was going up in thanksgiving to God for answered prayer, the prayer really of months, if not years, that I might come to know how to master His Word. And yet, side by side with the thanksgiving was humiliation that I had not discovered so simple a principle before, which a boy of ten or twelve might have known. And to think that an “ordained” minister must sit at the feet of a layman to learn the most important secret of his trade!
Thanks Ted, well humans need to quickly adapt or else, its goodbye to u
Changing, or growing I would say, is a very hard thing to do. However, this is only because that’s what’s being talked about (change being hard). It’s actually easy to grow, if this is what a person wants. I have found that many people have grown complacent and feel extremely uncomfortable with changing.
Thanks and God bless.
Thank you Ted,I’m newbie want to learn about it.
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Thanks for your insight Ted. I hate change, but do realize that at times change can be good.
Thanks Ted,I’m newbie need to learn about it.
These are some great pointers Ted. Thank you for laying them out so well. Easy action items that I can implement with my team.
Changing, or growing I would say, is a very hard thing to do. However, this is only because that’s what’s being talked about (change being hard). It’s actually easy to grow, if this is what a person wants. I have found that many people have grown complacent and feel extremely uncomfortable with changing.
Thanks and God bless.
Hi HS,
I totally agree with your comments. It’s human nature to get complacent and resist change. . .paradoxical to know we need to grow and change, yet resist it because we’re going into the unknown. Yet, for business to prosper, we have to be willing to move forward. Standing still actually leads to losing ground, competitively speaking. As companies become larger and more successful, they put mechanisms in place which actually impede progress and change. As a result, smaller, hungrier players come along and “eat their lunch”. That’s why it’s so important to focus on change for growth and to foster an environment where that can happen. Thank you for sharing your insights with us, HS. I appreciate it.
it’s so important to focus on change for growth and to foster an environment
Ted, it seems like psychology, business and marketing are intertwined more and more these days.
Hi Matt,
Thanks for weighing in on this topic. At heart, marketing focuses on customer-faced initiatives. That takes understanding the customer’s psychology: what motivates them to buy? Which kinds of products and services do they respond to? How can I make my business offerings more desirable than those of my competitor?
That takes hard work, commitment, analysis of ongoing data, and more than anything: an understanding that each and every employee IS the company to the customer. That’s why there is so much focus on the customer experience. If that isn’t exceptional and consistently exceptional, we’re all in the business of offering the same commodities as everybody else. It’s human nature to become complacent, right? We do certain things a certain way for a long period of time. Changing our M.O., making improvements takes dedication and hard work. They pay-off is truly worth it, though. That’s why books like “Switch” are important. They’re a call to businesses to set goals and work to reach them through positive change.
Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using? I’m looking to start my own blog soon but I’m having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S Sorry for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
Hi Ted, more and more today business and psychology seem to be integrating which I feel can only be a good thing as it helps us to meet and work with people where they are and according to their needs
Inspiring site, Thank you for laying them out so well
Hello Ted,
Very insightful post! This is one of the books that we recently summarized at Leaders Book Summaries at http://www.studyleadership.com
I have found that all of the books by the Heath brothers have been very insightful and well worth the read.
Keep Up The Good Work!
Hi,
I agree with you that It’s human nature to become complacent….
Thanks,
Ahhhh, change is scary!
It sure is, James. But the alternative: slowly seeing your company lose its vitality or competitive edge is even scarier!
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Thank you Ted. I hope i can more learn with you
Thanks Ted, well humans need to quickly adapt or else, its goodbye to u
Thank you Ted,I’m newbie want to learn about it.
nice info…:-)
Thanks for the great article.
I will visit your blog again, I really like it.