If you’re a fan like I am of Chip and Dan Heath you probably already know they’ve got a new book out called Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. They begin by asking a provocative question: Why do some huge changes like marriage come joyously while some trivial changes like using a new expense report meet with huge resistance?
They boil it down to this: our rational mind is sometimes at war with our emotional mind. Each side can help drive or resist change. (We want to get in shape but it is more fun to sit on the couch and play Guitar Hero.) The Heaths offer lots of good advice for driving change by appealing to each side of our nature. Along the way they advise:

•Follow the bright spots – find what’s working, celebrate it and clone it
•Script the critical small parts of the change – think in terms of very specific behaviors you want to change
•Point to the destination – make it clear where you’re going and why it’s worth it
•Find the feeling – rational recounting of benefits costs and benefits doesn’t always work. Find way to make a simple emotional connection with the desired change
•Shrink the change – break down the change into small parts that are manageable
•Build good habits – when behavior becomes a habit it doesn’t overtax our brains
•Rally the herd – behavior is contagious as we all learned in junior high school, so help good behavior spread

The Heath brothers write for Fast Company and are masters of following the communications advice they put forth in Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Throughout their new book they offer surprising, compelling anecdotes and revisit them to illustrate and underscore their messages.

Lots of fun. You’ll enjoy this one! If you want to experience a sample check out their website for this book:

http://heathbrothers.com/switch/

To Catch a Wave You have to Be in Front of It

When times get bad the conventional wisdom is to hunker down and wait things out. Reduce the risk and cost today and get back out there fishing after the tide turns. This kind of thinking is natural and has some merit. Why risk precious limited capital on something new?

The most innovative companies, though, realize these tough times actually offer the best opportunities to create new products, tap into new markets and find new ways to reduce costs. Tough times don’t prohibit innovation; they demand it.
Innovating now offers some clear benefits:

•The new products and services take a bit of time to develop. Do it now and you’ll be poised to capitalize when the market rebounds. Get in front of that wave so you can surf it to the shore, step off the board and get a pina colada from the beach bar
•You’ll develop a competitive advantage. While other companies are hunkering down you can improve your cost position or develop killer new products. These advantages will be real and sustainable
•You can energize your workforce by focusing on the future and exploring new ideas rather than experience the doom loop spiral of fear/retrenchment/lower productivity/slipping revenues/fear/retrenchment, etc.

Innovation doesn’t have to be huge or risky. You can make more runs by hitting a bunch of singles rather than have everyone swing for the fences and miss. Lower your innovation costs by making lots of small investments in projects, finding out what’s working and putting more resources behind the winners.