Switch

Change is Hard

 
What will it take to change our community? Northeast Indiana will have to undergo a lot of change if we hope to go from earning 80 percent of the national average per capita income, to becoming a region full of successful, sustainable innovation.

 
But change is hard. Really hard. (Are you still committed to your New Year’s Resolution? Yeah, me neither.)

 
However, the Heath Brothers share some great tips in their newest book, Switch: How to change things when change is hard. And some of those tips can relate to community and economic development projects like Northeast Indiana’s Vision 2020.

 
Here are a few of the gems I collected:

1. What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. Change the situation instead of judging the people.
2. Self-control is an exhaustible resource. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.
3. What looks like resistance is often lack of clarity. (Some is not a number. Soon is not a time.)

 
Basically, what you think is the problem, might not be at all. Make sure the people you are trying to change—whether your office mates, your spouse, yourself or your region—are clear on the expectations and are motivated to reach the goal. Pretty simple stuff, but awfully powerful, too.

Cover image from Heathbrothers.com