The Heath Brothers wrote the popular book “Made to Stick” which I reviewed here, so I was eager to read their latest book “Switch”. But I almost gave up on it after the first chapter. It started off as such a self-help book that I could only groan and think, “Isn’t this more of an Oprah book than a business book?”

But I didn’t put it aside, and I’m glad. It’s well worth reading (though still a bit self-help preachy).

The premise of the book is that change happens all around us all the time, and that people do change. In fact, instead of calling the book “Switch” they could have called it “Change”. Probably not as cool a title, though. Anyway, the book explores how managers can get people to change their behavior. It’s a simple approach built on solid research and a keen insight into how our minds work. The basics are that we must address three things: the elephant, the rider of the elephant, and the path. The rider represents our analytical response, which tends to think logically and look at all the reasonable options, but is also susceptible to paralysis by analysis. The elephant represents our emotional response, which is very powerful and can be lazy and easily spooked (or highly committed and brave, depending on the emotional response). The path represents the context of where we work and live. Having created this metaphor, the authors then discuss how to get all three to work together.

It really is as much a self-help book as it is a management book, but the authors focus mostly on the management side. They use anecdotal stories of organizational change that are interesting, though one or two seemed idealistic. I guess the book works either way; it’s a solid management book, but it is also a good self-help book if you are looking for ways to change your behavior. Wait, excuse me, I mean “switch” your behavior.

Whatever. It’s worth reading and I recommend it.