Everyone has something they want to change, but change is hard.
People and organizations are guided by conservation of momentum. Inertia. We tend to do what we have always done.
When trying to change minds and overcome such inertia, the tendency is to push.
When trying to change minds and overcome such inertia, the tendency is to push.
We assume that pushing harder will do the trick. That if we just provide more information, more facts, more reasons, more arguments, or just add a little more force, people will change. Unfortunately, that approach often backfires. People and system pushes back.
Rather than thinking about what you could do to try to create change, ask yourself why things haven't changed already. What’s stopping people? What are the parking brakes?
Stop trying to persuade and instead get people to persuade themselves. Let them choose how they get where you are hoping they will go. People like to feel they have control over their choices and actions.
Start by understanding. Ask, don't tell.
Rather than thinking about what you could do to try to create change, ask yourself why things haven't changed already. What’s stopping people? What are the parking brakes?
Stop trying to persuade and instead get people to persuade themselves. Let them choose how they get where you are hoping they will go. People like to feel they have control over their choices and actions.
Start by understanding. Ask, don't tell.
Before people will change, they have to be willing to listen. They have to trust the person they are communicating with.
If you want to truly understand something, try to change it. You can also reverse it. To truly change something, you need to understand it.
Change is also hard because we tend to overvalue what we already have or already are doing.
We compare things to our current state. The status quo. To get people to change, the advantages can't be just a little better; it has to be a lot better. Research suggests that the potential gains of doing something have to be 2.6 times larger than the potential losses to get people to take action.
Change is also hard because we tend to overvalue what we already have or already are doing.
We compare things to our current state. The status quo. To get people to change, the advantages can't be just a little better; it has to be a lot better. Research suggests that the potential gains of doing something have to be 2.6 times larger than the potential losses to get people to take action.
You need to surface the cost of inaction. You must make it easier for people to see the difference between what they are doing now and what they could be doing.
People think that, when changing minds, someone has to lose.
People think that, when changing minds, someone has to lose.
Two chefs needed the last orange in the kitchen for an important dish. They argued back and forth, but took a big knife and split it half leaving both with only half of what they needed. However, one chef needed the juice for a sauce, and the other needed the peel for a cake.
To change minds, find the root. Discover whatever needs and motivations are driving behavior in the first place. Find the root and the rest will follow.
To change minds, find the root. Discover whatever needs and motivations are driving behavior in the first place. Find the root and the rest will follow.
'The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind' by Jonah Berger.
