Change Anything: The new science of personal success

Written by Joseph Grenny, Al Switzler, David Maxfield and Ron McMillan

So often we want to make big changes in our lives, but lack the resolve to see them through. It seems we just can't summon the necessary willpower to take on these huge challenges - saving money, quitting smoking, increasing productivity, getting a promotion or pay rise, or losing weight. But here's the secret: willpower is not the answer. With a clearer understanding of the real forces that shape our actions, we can make better decisions, change our outlook, and rid ourselves of bad habits.

CHANGE ANYTHING reveals the Six Sources of Influence that affect our daily decisions and explains how you can make them work in your favour, helping you to achieve your goals. By learning how they apply to your life, you can put these subtle but strong forces to use in a positive way that brings real results. Based upon the latest psychological and medical research, this book details a variety of real world examples that will empower you to re-examine the way you go about your business and your life and will provide you with the tools to CHANGE ANYTHING.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little, Brown (Hachette UK) Audio
• Release date: Nov 3, 2011
• ISBN: 9781405512800

Reviews for Change Anything

[thewestwing-864351 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Overall a useful book but the parts on weight loss definitely had some issues.

[madepercy-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I discovered this book while reading Psychology Today. The book has a simple premise: Identify your crucial moments (when you behave in a way you would like to change), then implement vital behaviours to achieve your desired change. But to do this, you need take into account the six influencers, covering the aspects of willpower and social and environmental influences, and stack the odds in your favour. The work states that there is a science to personal change, and it requires one to be both the scientist and subject. I draw many parallels here with Stoicism, in that the reader's attention is drawn to things within their control, and as scientist, there is a need to practice through trial and error until discovering what works for you. What I like about this work is that it draws on research conducted by the Change Anything Labs in Utah. It is not just a collection of snippets from elsewhere, but draws on the experiences of participants in the research. It sometimes reads like your typical self-help book, but the systematic way to bring about personal change provides a program that gives one the best chance of changing oneself for the better. The change subject areas hit almost everybody: losing weight, ridding oneself of an addiction, and improving one's relationship. The work is well-referenced and I can see myself returning to it again and again, as I had hoped when I first read a snippet of the work on Psychology Today. What I like most is that the book is scientific and supported by research, and it is inconspicuously Stoic in its approach. This has enabled me to take on board what needs to be learnt without my usual sneering at self-help books designed primarily to make the author rich or famous. The book also sets a standard in bringing academic work to the masses in a meaningful way, but without compromising the academic integrity of the work. In that, the work is very clever.

[zonnywhoop · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The whole thing could be condensed into a 30 minute power point. And even then it would be light on substance. Kerry Patterson seems incapable of writing in complete sentences.

[figgles_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Surprisingly useful for a self-help book. Advises that changing involves more than just will power or force of character, but a set of skills and techniques, that if brought into play along with self awareness, will enable you to make any personal changes you require. Very much of it's genre but worth studying and working with. I'ts working for me already...

[jeffv_19 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Change Anything is about personal change management. No matter what in your life needs change: finance, weight loss, relationships, addictions -- the same set of processes can be applied to each in order to achieve lasting success. The authors drum home the message that change isn't something to bear down and gut out on ones own accord; we need the help of others: sometimes, in the form of replacing "friends" that are enabling the bad behavior we would like to change; and sometimes, by actively seeking new skills to learn what you don't know. Six different change elements are identified and applied to case studies demonstrating it's success in real world application.The case studies are good and motivating. The change elements are not unreasonable -- one doesn't have to overcome a lot of inertia to implement them. While I haven't yet tried it yet, success certainly seems plausible given my experience with professional (and organizational) change management. The key difference is this methodology should be easy enough for anyone to grasp.One minor complaint: the authors have an accompanying website, which they pimp way too often during the course of the book. This had the effect of coming off like an infomercial -- something I've inherently grown to distrust.

[gshuk_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I have read on change. Their theory is that willpower for change is overrated. Then they go through a systematic way to approach change which is very uplifting. The power of this book comes from the way they made this theory so easy to understand and apply. Love that the second half of the book is detailed examples. I have found all Kerry Patterson’s books to be excellent.