On Tuesday I wrote a post “Leader as Loving Parent” where I championed the premise that change is necessary even though it’s really tough.

If I would have known what I was going to hear today, I would have saved the ink and just summarized Chip Heath’s talk “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.” It was fantastic.

I want to share my takeaways…I’ve tried to compile them so they will be relevant regardless of whether or not you saw the presentation:

1. When we’re confronted with a big problem, like his example of eliminating malnutrition in Vietnam, we gravitate toward deep analysis. What’s far more effective is to simply look for the bright spots, the instances where things are working, and seek to replicate them.
2. Don’t engage in TBU – True But Useless Thinking that doesn’t make progress toward a solution.
3. People tend to be schizophrenic about change… Part of us wants change because of its benefits; part of us resists it and is in love with the comfort of our routine.
4. Understand the dynamics of change through the metaphor of an enormous elephant being controlled by a small rider. The elephant is our emotions and the rider is the logical self. To create change, provide direction to the rider and motivation to the elephant.
5. Don’t dwell on the sacrifices required for change. If we did, most of us would not be married…and certainly not smiling in our wedding pictures.

Chip’s talk really whet my appetite, and I can’t wait to read his book.