David Vedvick

Notes from the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by the Heath Brothers

• Self-control is an exhaustible resource
• What looks like resistance is often lack of clarity
• Big problems are often solved with a sequence of small solutions
• Pursuing bright spots - "what's working, and how can we do more of it?"
• BHAG - Big Hairy Audacious Goal
• Big picture goals (be healthier!) make it easier to rationalize failure
• Change in people happens in this order: see-feel-change
• We define terms in ways that satisfy us
• If you want to inspire something to change, make it clear that progress has already been made
• Inspire people to be more determined, more motivated, more ready to act
• When people make decisions they rely on two models: the consequences model and the identity model
• Any change effort that violates someone's identity is likely doomed to failure
• Identities grow from small beginnings
• A growth (instead of fixed) mindset is key to achieving new things
• Project mood chart: U-shaped curve with a peak of "hope" at the beginning, second peak of "confidence" at the end, and a negative emotional valley of "insight" in the middle
• What looks like a person problem is often a situation problem
• People are more likely to change if you make it easier for them to change
• Sterile cockpit - give coders time during the week where they aren't interrupted
• Shape the environment to encourage change
• Habits are "behavioral autopilot"
• Habits change when the environment changes
• Pre-load decisions to overcome environmental habits (action triggers)
• Action triggers need to be specific and visible enough to interrupt normal stream of consciousness
• Behavior is contagious
• When the herd embraces the correct behavior, publicize it
• Free spaces allow reformers to come together while feeling safe from the conservatives