Switch

Question 0

Elephant and rider description

Answer 0

emotional side is elephant and rational side is rider; perched atop elephant, rider holds reins and seems to be leader but is so small relative to elephant- when they disagree, rider is going to lose, he’s completely overmatched; if you reach rider w/o elephant, they will have direction but w/o motivation

Question 1

Three surprises about change

Answer 1

1- what looks like a people problem is often a situation problem
2- what looks like laziness is often exhaustion
3- what looks like resistance is often lack of clarity

Question 2

3 keys to switch

Answer 2

1- direct the rider- resistance is often lack of clarity- provide crystal-clear direction
2- motivate the elephant- laziness is often exhaustion- get elephants on path and cooperative- engage emotional side
3- shape the path- people problem is often situation prob

Question 3

Direct the rider (3)

Answer 3

1- find the bright spots- what’s working and how can we do more of it
2- script the critical moves- more options, even good ones, can freeze us- the more instinctive a move becomes, the less self-control from the rider it requires and thus it’s more sustainable
3- point to the destination- vivid picture from near future- goal closer at hand- to be tackled in month or years not decades

Question 4

Point to the destination description

Answer 4

destination postcard- vivid picture from near future that shows what could be possible; need a gut-smacking goal- appeals to both Rider and Elephant- show Rider where headed and Elephant why the journey is worthwhile
must back up destination postcard with good behavioral script

Question 5

Rider’s flaws (3)

Answer 5

• limited reserves of strength (self-control)
• paralysis in the face of ambiguity and choice
• relentless focus on problems rather than solutions

Question 6

Motivate the elephant (3 ways)

Answer 6

1. Find the feeling- SEE-FEEL-CHANGE
2. Shrink the change- people are more motivated if they are closer to the finish line than they thot
3. Grow your people- when behavior needs to change, ask urself if people would agree with this: I aspire to be the kind of person who would make this change- must create identity around change

Question 7

Find the feeling

Answer 7

• SEE-FEEL-CHANGE- presented with evidence that makes you feel somthing- hits you at emotional level ex. disturbing look at prob, hopeful glimpse of solution, sobering reflection of current habits
• neg emotions only help for quick and short-term, need creativity, flexiblity, and ingenuity for longer-term

Question 8

Shrink the change

Answer 8

• people find it more motivating to be partly finished with longer journey than to be starting shorter one
• Elephant is easily demoralized- remind people what’s already been conquered
• one way to shrink change is to limit investment you’re asking for- 5 mins of housecleaning; another way is to think of small wins- milestones within reach
• engineer early successes engineers hope- it’s Elephant fuel

Question 9

Small wins

Answer 9

• build momentum
• reduce importance (this is no big deal), reduce demands (that’s all that needs to be done), raise perceived skills (I can do at least that)
• wins should have 2 traits: 1. meaningful 2. within immediate reach
• big changes come from succession of small changes

Question 10

Grow your people

Answer 10

• create an identity that they aspire to that involves the change
• build in failure expectation- not end goal failure, but failure on the way- build in growth mindset- brains and abilities are like muscles- strengthened with practice

Question 11

Motivating elephant…

Answer 11

comes from feeling
also comes from confidence- elephant has to believe it’s capable of conquering change- from feeling big relative to change (growing people or shrinking change)

Question 12

Shape the path

Answer 12

1- tweak the environment- make right behavior a little easier and wrong behavior a little harder
2- build habits- action triggers, checklists
3- rally the herd- people follow social behavior of others- publicize results of herd members who have done it right; imp of opinion ldrs

Question 13

Build habits

Answer 13

• small environmental tweaks can make a diff; can force a habit
• action triggers: execute a certain action when encountering certain situation trigger
• checklists- provide insurance against overconfidence, ensure against big screwups, helps avoid blindspots

Question 14

action triggers

Answer 14

• execute a certain action when encountering certain situation trigger; preloads decision
• must be specific enough and visible enough to interrupt people’s normal stream of consciousness
• next time team resolves to act in a new way, have team specify when and where they’re going to put plan in action

Question 15

Habits

Answer 15

• are behavioral autopilot- doesn’t draw down Rider’s reserves
• 1. must advance mission 2. relatively easy to embrace- if too hard, becomes its own change problem- ex. lay out gym clothes instead of going to gym