About the AuthorsCHIP HEATH

Professor of Org Behavior at Stanford Business School

Columnist for Fast Company magazine

Research focuses on why certain ideas thrive, which was the topic of his and his brother Dan’s previous book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

DAN HEATH

Fellow at Duke Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Harvard MBA

Also a Fast Company columnist

Policy research experience with Harvard and the Aspen Institute

Has consulted with Microsoft, USAID, and American Heart Association, among others

The Rider versus the Elephant Heath Brothers use the Rider/Elephant

framework to describe our way of thinking and feeling

The metaphor was first introduced by Jonathan Haidt in The Happiness Hypothesis

The rider is more rational-thinker, whereas the elephant is more emotional-feeler

The Heath Brothers argue that in order for an individual or organization to change, the Rider & Elephant must work together

How to Make a Switch

Three-part framework: Direct the Rider▪ Rider needs clarity

Motivate the Elephant▪ Need to engage people’s emotional side

Shape the Path▪ Can make change more likely by tailoring the

situation

“For things to change, somebody somewhere has to start acting differently. Maybe it’s you, maybe it’s your team. Picture that person (or people). Each has an emotional Elephant side and a rational Rider side. You’ve got to reach both. And you’ve got to clear the way for them to succeed.”

DIRECTING THE RIDERFind the Bright Spots · Script the Critical Moves · Point to the Destination

Find the Bright Spots Our Rider tends to focus on problems when instead should

be focusing on solutions Jerry Sternin & Vietnam

Tasked with fighting malnutrition in Vietnam…in six months All factual analysis TBU: “true but useless” Rather, tried to find flashes of success of healthy children amongst

poor families Found that children tended to be healthier in households where:▪ They were fed more frequently—even if same amount across more meals▪ Their mothers fed them different kinds of foods: shrimp, crabs, and sweet-

potato greens, even though latter were considered low-class Sternin organized cooking groups amongst local mothers,

ultimately initiating widescale change and helping improve child nourishment in Vietnam

Find bright spots: Investigate what works and clone it

Script the Critical Moves Our Rider tends to get too caught up in thinking about the big picture;

instead, think in terms of specific behaviors Child Abusers

Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) used on abusive parents Tries to disrupt escalating cycles of frustration that often characterize abusive

situations First step: Play with child for 5 minutes a day▪ Devote 100% attention to them▪ Don’t answer phone▪ Don’t teach them their ABCs▪ Just enjoy them

Initially, exercise exhausting because Rider has to supervise every moment As behavior becomes more instinctive, less self-control is required by Rider Next: Parents are taught how to give commands so kids will listen Parents who completed 12 sessions of anger-management therapy were three

times more likely to abuse their children over the next 3 years as compared to parents who completed 12 sessions of PCIT

Though not necessarily a cure-all, scripting can have enormous potential for positive change

Point to the Destination Although our Riders love poring over data and facts, a “destination postcard” that

appeals to both the Rider and the Elephant can be more compelling for change Breast cancer treatment

Generally, stressful process for women undergoing breast cancer treatment▪ Lump noticed -> Doctor -> Radiologist -> Surgeon -> Pathologist -> Surgery -> Radiation therapist -> Medical

oncologist The circuitous cycle appalled UCSF Professor Dr. Laura Esserman, who envisioned a breast cancer

clinic where a woman could walk in with a detected lump and walk out knowing whether it was benign

Had limited institutional power, but started small: Breast Care Center would operate once weekly She’d see patient in morning, go over slides w/ radiologist, after which patient would return knowing

results Gradually, Center expanded to twice a week, and surgeons, nurses, and other support staff joined Eventually achieved so much success that UCSF constructed new floor for the Center Became recognized a national leader in breast cancer care & research and a major source of revenue

for UCSF Center had a gynecologist, psychologist, and genetic counselor on hand, as well as healing gardens,

a café, and a boutique that sells wigs and scarves, achieving Dr. Esserman’s “under one roof” vision Goals with emotional resonance succeed more often than the normative

SMART goals – goals that are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Timely

MOTIVATING THE ELEPHANTFind the Feeling · Shrink the Change · Grow Your People

Find the Feeling Just knowing something not enough to cause change–make ppl feel something Target’s $60b transformation

Was only $3b retailer compared to Kmart ($9b) and Wal-mart ($30b) in 1992 Marketed itself as hip, but merchandise didn’t deliver How did it become $63b giant of today? People like Robyn Waters , who wanted to change the “knock off this year’s best seller in

Asia, sell it next year half-off” cycle Built up early adopters, and fresh designers improved sales Waters needed to get merchants excited about color beyond neutrals, but being numbers-

driven, would see that color hadn’t sold previously She got creative:

▪ Brought in jars of brightly-colored M&Ms and created cascades of color in glass bowls▪ Showed off Apple’s new iMacs –in lime, strawberry, grape—which had been a sensation▪ Exhibited photos from boutiques around the world and how they incorporated colors that “pop”▪ Created mock-up displays with actual clothing samples so merchants could see for themselves

Instead of creating a usual “business case” for design, she appealed to the Elephant In almost all successful change efforts, change sequence is not the

commonly perceived ANALYZE-THINK-CHANGE but rather SEE-FEEL-CHANGE

Shrink the Change The Elephant hates things with no immediate payoff, so break down

the change till Elephant doesn’t fear it anymore Debt management

Dave Ramsey and his wife lost their wealth in a 3-year period of financial hell: lawsuits, foreclosures

With a new baby on the way, were bankrupt After emerging from the crisis, he provides advice to struggling families,

especially with his “Debt Snowball” technique:▪ List all debts▪ Arrange them smallest to largest▪ Only make minimum payment on each▪ After minimum payment, put available $ toward first debt on list▪ After paying that one off, direct $ towards next debt, and so on▪ As each debt is conquered, “snowball” of $ applied to debt grows faster

His technique is controversial because doesn’t consider interest rates “Sometimes motivation is more important than math.” –Ramsey Small milestones add up, and build the needed motivation to continue

With each step, the Elephant feels less scared b/c things are working

Grow Your People Instill the growth mindset IDEO

World’s preeminent product design firm CEO Tim Brown says every design process goes thru “foggy periods” Sketched a U-shaped “project mood chart” that depicts how ppl will

feel at different stages in the design process:▪ Beginning peak: Positive emotion, “hope”▪ Second peak of positive emotion: “confidence”▪ In between: negative emotional valley, “insight”

Growth mindset buffers against defeatism, accepts failure as a natural part of the change process

Differs from business mindset of a) planning, followed by b) execution Rider needs direction, but Elephant needs motivation,

from confidence, which comes from either shrinking the change or growing your people — or both!

SHAPE THE PATHTweak the Environment · Build Habits · Rally the Herd

Tweak the Environment Situation change Behavior change Rackspace

Hosts internet sites for other companies Now prides itself on its “Fanatical Support” for customers, but wasn’t

always customer-friendly Customers would phone & email, but would get no response After founder Graham Weston was personally confronted by a

disgruntled customer, sought change New head of customer support David Bryce▪ New identity: “Rackspace Gives Fanatical Support”▪ New business model: Cut costs by standardizing service▪ Threw out call-queuing system, so forced to answer customer’s call

Old behavior of ignoring customers became harder, and new behavior of serving customers became easier

What looks like a fundamental character problem is often correctible by changing the environment

Build Habits When behavior is habitual, the Rider has an easier time Checklists

As reported by Atul Gawande, patients in intensive care units can suffer health complications resulting from intravenous line infections

Dr. Peter Provonost of Johns Hopkins compiled a five-part checklist, with advice such as:▪ Wash hands before inserting a line▪ Patient’s skin should be cleaned with antiseptic at insertion

Nothing new, but results astonishing:▪ Line infections nearly eliminated▪ Hospital saved nearly $175m b/c no longer had to treat complications▪ Saved about 1500 lives

Checklists can help avoid blind spots in complex environments Supportive habits like checklists creates an

environment more amenable to change

Rally the Herd Elephant constantly looks to herd for cues about how to behave Sugar daddies in Tanzania

Common problem: older man pursues younger woman, who receives favors for sex

But more problematic in Tanzania:▪ Women are often underage▪ They often engage in unsafe sex, especially b/c hard to “say no” to elder benefactor▪ Unsafe sex can lead to AIDS and death▪ No strong social taboo against sugar-daddy behavior, even though 89% individually believe

such relationships are wrong Campaign devised to fight cross-generational sex Decided to employ humor to address uncomfortable topic Planned to tell radio commercial (widest medium) stories about villain “Fataki”

– meaning “fireworks” in Swahili, something dangerous and unstable By end of 4-month campaign, “Fataki” became unexpectedly wide-known Tanzanian public took ownership of a name and character who symbolized a

bad behavior they had resented quietly all along Behavior is contagious; help it spread to aid change

WHAT WILL YOU ?