by Dan & Chip Heath
Summary:
A practical exploration of behaviour change. The book starts with the analogy: Our emotional side is an Elephant and our rational side is its Rider. Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader. But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. In short, the Heaths’ hypothesis is: to bring about change, we have to: Direct the Rider; Motivate the Elephant; Shape the Path.
We like it because:
It provides clear steps to motivating and directing change in one’s life – practical and easy to understand. We love the easy to get hold of imagery of the ‘Elephant and the Rider’.