Review
This book was recommended by a work colleague whom I respect enormously and it provides actionable advice for specific, prescriptive actions I should take to change the culture, behaviors, and outcomes of my own organization at work. It explains our natural, intuitive, and frustratingly ineffective methods we normally use to change behaviors, then provides specific examples of why they fail and more specific examples of what does work. In each example they illustrate some important subtlety that requires analysis and practice.
I was a little put off by the salesy, journalistic and sensational enticements in the first chapter and sped through it with mounting frustration and blood pressure. And there were too many pages dedicated to attacking the "serenity trap" named for the
serenity prayer (serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change what I can, wisdom to know difference).
However the organization, presentation, examples, and evidence compiled in the rest of the book made up for the weak beginning. I was especially thrilled by the repeated evidence, data, and subtleties into which the authors went, emphasizing how hard implementing the concepts really are.
Summary
- Clarity, shared meaning of results desired
- Enormous attention, iteration, scholarship to measurement definition and tracking the measures
- Laser focus on 3 or fewer vital behaviors
- over-determine change using six methods that nudge and enable vital behaviors
- enormous scholarship, careful observation, iteration, patience
- Six Methods:
- change feelings about vital behaviors using direct, emotional consequences
- over-invest in enabling new skills & emotions acquisition, mastery
- harness social influence
- provide assistance (people, process, training)
- Modestly and carefully reward early successes. Punish only when necessary. Use incentives third, dis-incentives last.
- change physical surroundings to try to make desired behavior easier and undesired behavior harder (propinquity)
- patience, persistence: careful diagnosis, patient testing, and mindful application of principles and methods
Read the whole thing.
