2010, Chip and Dan Heath
This is an exciting new addition to my library and I am delighted that there is still more to learn about how to lead system change. It draws from various researchers, and incorporates powerful metaphors and images that ground the principles in ways that are practical and memorable. Like other authors, they have made the case that effective change needs to align with how human beings process and assimilate change. Spoiler alert – successful change leadership has nothing to do with having all the right answers. The Heath brothers illustrate that motivation needs to be in the forefront of the change leader’s thinking, and people don’t change because they should. The book is organized into three parts: Part 1 is Directing the Rider. This involves discovering who are already doing the change you want. (The CAS literature refers to these people as “positive deviants”) and then making the change understandable a visible. Part 2 is Motivating the Elephant which refers to the emotional part of change. Part 3 is Shape the Path, which refers to eliminating system barriers that make adoption patterns difficult, as well as embedding the change through the establishment of new habits that will sustain the change.
From my perspective, this book adds significantly to learning about the human side of leading change. That said, I encourage you to integrate this book with others on the list if you want a more fulsome approach to leading large scale change.