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Chip and Dan Heath, the brothers behind the great book Made to Stick, have a new book coming out next month — Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. The topic excited me, because my work with the Emerging Scholars Network tries to change an entrenched academic system I was lucky enough to score an advance copy. Like I expected, this book has strong advice that will help ESN change the university; I did not expect how much it would help me change my own bad habits.

The book’s basic concepts build from the idea that our brain has two distinct systems: an impulsive-but-powerful emotional brain and a clever-but-weak rational brain. The Heaths call these the Elephant and the Rider, borrowing an image from University of Virginia psychologist Jonathan Haidt. According to the Heaths, meaningful and lasting change happens by:

• Directing the Rider with clear objectives and “bright spots”
• Motivating the Elephant by tapping into our strong emotional desires, and
• Shaping the Path so that the Elephant and Rider have fewer choices to distract them.

I found the idea of bright spots to be especially helpful. Instead of focusing your attention and analysis on problems, focus on the “bright spots” where things seem to be going right. The Heaths give an example of a young boy who is constantly in trouble at school, except for one class. His counselor figures out why that one teacher in the whole school can get the student to behave, then maps out the critical steps for other teachers to follow. I’m looking forward to identifying bright spots within ESN.

I’ve already decided to apply the ideas of Switch to my two most vexing work problems: making my fundraising calls and writing on a consistent basis.

For fundraising, I’ve identified a couple of ways to shape the path so that it’s easier for me to make my calls. I will prepare my list of people to call the day before and print it out ahead of time, so that my emotional energy can be spent on my calls, rather than on figuring out who to call. Then, because it’s difficult for me to get motivated to start my calls, I’m going to set an action trigger: in this case, a kitchen timer that I’ll set when I enter my office in the morning. When the timer goes off, I’m going to drop whatever I’m doing, pick up my pre-prepared list, and start my calling.

If that sounds simple, that’s the Heaths’ point. Change happens through (apparently) simple adjustments. I’ve not yet figured out a Switch-style solution to my writing problem. Perhaps a move to the library or a coffee shop to do my writing, where it’s harder for me to log on to the internet and where I feel more “wasteful” if I’m using my “special writing time” to check Facebook? That might be a good solution: I experienced a bright spot with writing when I was in graduate school by working on poetry in the school’s atrium, and the change of environment might trick my brain out of its “easily distracted” mode.

As you might imagine from guys who specialize in sticky ideas, the book is filled with great stories and easy-to-remember concepts. I found it to be an enjoyable read, not too challenging intellectually, but extremely challenging personally.

What do you want to change? What are the bright spots that are already working? How can you create more bright spots in your life?

For more information about Switch, check out the Heath Brother’s website. You can also read an excerpt online from Fast Company.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog, and some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I’ve started my monthly tally of books I’ve read in 2010.  Two down so far, and another on the way!

I’ve just posted a list of all the books I read in 2009, and I hope to make this a monthly habit in 2010.  A few highlights:

Christian Smith and Patricia Snell – Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults
The second in a planned three-book series, Smith follows the teens he surveyed in Soul Searching into their early adult years (ages 18 to 23). Smith looks at how their religious lives change, as well as the factors (parents, friends, church) that affect their religious attitudes and beliefs. A must-read for anyone working this age group.

Augustine – City of God
I’ve been reading Augustine’s 1,000 page masterpiece a few pages at a time for something like a year now, and it continues to reward. Written in response to the fall of Rome, Augustine takes on accusations that Christianity weakened the Roman Empire, then goes on to describe the “two cities” that coexist in history: the city of man and the City of God. I’m up to Book 13 (out of 22).

N. T. Wright — Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
What does the resurrection of Jesus tell us about our ultimate destiny? What does the resurrection tell us about our life in the present? Wright combines world-class scholarships with a pastor’s tone.

Stephen Carter
The Emperor of Ocean Park
New England White
One of my new favorite authors. Carter, a leading legal scholar who teaches at Yale, started a new career as a novelist several years ago, with a specialty in complex mysteries set among upper-middle class African American families involved in higher education and politics.

David Halberstam – The Breaks of the Game
Recommended by sportswriter Bill Simmons as the best sports book ever written,it did not disappoint. David Halberstam follows a year in the life of the Portland Trailblazers, illuminating both the individuals who play, coach, and manage basketball and the larger forces of race, money, and fame that shape their lives.