Switch - Chip Heath [114]
We’re all lousy self-evaluators. The research studies on self-evaluation and the examples of positive illusions are summarized in David Dunning, Chip Heath, and Jerry Suls (2004), “Flawed Self-Assessment: Implications for Health, Education, and the Workplace,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 69–106. David Dunning also has some interesting research on what he calls the “unskilled and unaware” phenomenon. The worst self-evaluators are people who lack skill. For instance, people who don’t have a sense of humor are most likely to think their bad jokes are funny, and people who lack skill in grammar are most likely to confidently ignore a useful correction. When the research came out, dozens of newspaper articles appeared illustrating the “unskilled and unaware” phenomenon with a discussion of workplace bosses, a topic not covered in the original research article.
Attila the Accountant. Sim Sitkin, who is now a professor of management at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, told this story to Chip Heath in May 2009.
“In the absence of a dire threat.” See David A. Garvin and Michael A. Roberto (February 2005), “Change Through Persuasion,” Harvard Business Review, pp. 1–8, reprinted in Harvard Business School Press (2006), Harvard Business Review on Leading Through Change (pp. 85–104), Boston: Harvard Business School Press. The “dire threat” quote is on p. 86; the “deathbed” quote is on p. 87. 119 Rock bottom. See Ruth Maxwell (1986), Breakthrough: What to Do When Alcoholism or Chemical Dependency Hits Close to Home, New York: Ballantine Books; the conference incident is on pp. 4–5.
The burning platform. See William E. Smith and Helen Gibson (July 18, 1988), “Disaster ‘Screaming like a Banshee,’” Time, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,967917,00.html (accessed May 28, 2009).
Glengarry Glen Ross. See David Mamet (1984), Glengarry Glen Ross: A Play, New York: Grove Press.
What Good Are Positive Emotions? See Barbara L. Fredrickson (1998), “What Good Are Positive Emotions?” Review of General Psychology, 2, 300–319. Among the studies Frederickson cites: Doctors experiencing positive emotions solve a tricky medical dilemma more flexibly and quickly. Students in a positive mood devise more innovative solutions to a technical challenge. Negotiators in a positive state of mind are more successful and creative negotiators; they find “win-win” solutions more often. Positive emotion also makes it easier for people to make connections among dissimilar ideas, and it makes them less likely to slip into an “us versus them” mentality. All of these tendencies—flexible problem solving, innovative solutions, less political infighting—would be very useful in a change situation.
Chapter Six
A study of hotel maids. See Alia J. Crum and Ellen J. Langer (2007), “MindSet Matters: Exercise and the Placebo Effect,” Psychological Science, 18, 165–171.
Car-wash loyalty cards. See J. C. Nunes and X. Dreze (2006), “The Endowed Progress Effect: How Artificial Advancement Increases Effort,” Journal of Consumer Research, 32, 504–512.
50 percent of the money in the bag. This practice was discussed in an interview between Chip Heath and Jan Alfieri, of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, in February 2009. Alfieri says that this money is usually raised in what fund-raising professionals call the “quiet period” before the campaign is announced publicly. Historically the amount was 50 percent, but some recent campaigns raised as much as 70 percent. Alfieri says, “All this is calculated to give donors the assurance the campaign will succeed.”
Shrink the change. Thousands of studies in psychology indicate that people do better when they have high situational self-confidence, or self-efficacy. People with high self-efficacy perform better on sports, academic, and work tasks; they persevere longer; and they rebound better when they encounter a setback.
How do you build this kind of self-efficacy? Most research on self-efficacy is correlational so it