Creating Lasting Change – How To Make It Stick
Follow These Simple Techniques For Creating Lasting Change That Sticks
Let’s face it, creating lasting change is hard . My MBA was actually for “Change Leadership”, so there are entire courses designed around how to properly go about creating lasting change. If you have ever tried to implement change that sticks, that lasts, and that can rally people versus separate them you know it is hard to do. Everyone has an opinion, and it is their right. Some will be for the change you are trying to make stick, and some will downright fight it until their last efforts. When I use to manage restaurants, creating lasting change was fast moving and fast planning. I wish back then I had read the book Switch (which has become on of my favorite books as of late). The book is written by Chip and Dan Heath and they do a great job at arming you with how to really go about creating lasting change. I will give you the highlights of the book in this post, but it is well worth picking up, its in the bookstore. So, lets unpack how you can go about creating lasting change that sticks.
Creating Lasting Change Starts With How People Operate
In Switch, they discuss how many psychologist believe that we have two parts to our mind. We have the rational side, and the emotional side. They refer to the rational side as the rider, and the emotional side as the elephant. The rider steers the elephant in simple terms. The rider is a planner and has the long term mindset that can work towards a goal. The elephant is the opposite. Our emotional mind wants to be satisfied immediately. So if you have been dieting, there will be a point when your rider gets tired and your emotional mindset takes over and eats a tub of ice cream for example. By knowing this alone will empower you to really see if someone has a strong rider or a stronger elephant. Obviously, the rational and emotional sides of our minds goes a lot more in depth. But, for creating lasting change we just need to know this to understand how people mentally operate because this will be our base for creating lasting change.
Creating Lasting Change Key Points
Now that you have a framework how our minds operate, setting up a structure to compliment that is the next step. In Switch, they provide a lot of case studies and scenarios that are great to read and reference when you are creating lasting change. Some of the main points and take aways I grabbed from Switch are as follows;
- When trying to create lasting change some primarily focus on the problems. However, trying to find the “bright spots” or what is working and then try to replicate it versus creating the wheel has more benefits.
- Don’t get too focused on creating lasting change by looking at the big picture. Formulate the next steps, tactics, and behaviors that can get you to the end goal.
- Put meaning to the change and direct the “rider” to work towards the end goal of the change
- You have to add in the emotional element for change to make people feel the root of the change.
- A daunting change may emotionally freak you out. So in order to start creating the lasting change, shrink the change down in to manageable components.
- Foster a growth minded environment versus a fixed mindset environment.
- Adjust the environment to fit the changes for creating lasting change.
- Build the right habits and get buy in from everyone who is involved for creating lasting change.
Creating lasting change is not a fly by process that can easily been attained. Using these steps that I outlined will build you a foundation that will serve you well for the long haul. The bottom line here, when creating lasting change make sure you involve the rational and emotional parts of the mind equally
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