Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

"Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? ... The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort—but if it is overcome, change can come quickly....

... The duo's tension is [best] captured by an analogy used by University of Virginia psychologist Jonathan Haidt in his wonderful book The Happiness Hypothesis. Haidt says that 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. He's completely overmatched.

The authors share some insights on overcoming this tension via this framework:

1) DIRECT THE RIDER: What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity. So provide crystal-clear direction. (Think 1% milk.)

2) MOTIVATE THE ELEPHANT: What looks like laziness is often exhaustion. The Rider can’t get his way by force for very long. So it’s critical that you engage people’s emotional side—get their Elephants on the path and cooperative. (Think of the cookies and radishes study and the boardroom conference table full of gloves.)

3) SHAPE THE PATH: What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. We call the situation (including the surrounding environment) the “Path.” When you shape the Path, you make change more likely, no matter what’s happening with the Rider and Elephant. (Think of the effect of shrinking movie popcorn buckets.)

Want to know more? Get the book! Meanwhile, here are links to a one-page summary of this framework and handy resources for work or personal use.

You keep us

You keep us waiting
You, the God of all time
Want us to wait for the right time in which to discover
Who we are, where we must go,
Who will be with us and what we must do
So thank you ... for the waiting time

You keep us looking
You, the God of all space
Want us to look in the right and wrong places
For signs of hope, for people who are hopeless
For visions of a better world that will appear
among the disappointments of the world we know
So thank you ... for the looking time

You keep us loving
You, the God whose name is love
Want us to be like you
To love the loveless and the unlovely and the unlovable
To love without jealousy or design or threat
And most difficult of all, to love ourselves
So thank you ... for the loving time

And in all this, You keep us
Through hard questions with no easy answers
Through failing where we hoped to succeed and
making an impact where we felt we were useless
Through the patience and the dreams and the love of others
And through Jesus Christ and his Spirit, You keep us
So thank you ... for this keeping time

And for now and for ever
Amen

- Iona Community, Scotland

Stay hungry, stay foolish

Making any new year's resolutions? Steve Jobs shares three life stories at his Stanford commencement address back in (pre-iPhone) 2005. (1) Trust that you can connect the dots in the future; (2) Keep looking for what (and whom) you love - don't settle; and (3) Your time is limited so don't waste it!



If you're up for more advice, here's my shortlist of words of wisdom.

Stay tuned

Our next big product launch is coming to Singapore!

Here's a video snippet on the Nokia X6 Comes With Music edition - offering you "unlimited free music downloads, yours to keep" !


... and our Comes With Music 101 vid!


Early reviews are coming out, e.g. this unboxing overview from a UK user. Meanwhile, check here for the latest news from Rihanna :)

Rihanna Live!

Watch highlights of Rihanna's heartfelt live concert with Nokia at London's O2 Academy, Brixton, featuring songs from her albums, Rated R, Good Girl Gone Bad, A Girl Like Me and recent duets, Live Your Life and Run This Town. Download these tracks plus exclusive Rihanna content at a Nokia Music Store near you.

Madhouse montage and Wait Your Turn


Russian Roulette is growing on me...


Continual updates from this site so check back often!

The Bizarre Behaviour of Singaporeans

The outsider view is often the most perceptive - observations made by a German national who has lived in Singapore for 9 years.

44 years of economic and material success have spawned some very strange behaviours among Singaporeans. They spent so much to buy a house or flat, furnished it up like a palace, but spent their time outside, most of the time at work. And the maids are the ones enjoying the million-dollar or multi-million-dollar assets.

Then they pay so much, the highest in the world, for a car only to park at home. Too expensive to drive, too many ERPs and car park charges to pay. And they are encouraged to park their cars at home and take public transport, being cheaper and more convenient.

And when Singaporeans travel, instead of seeing the places, they went shopping. The best part is that they would head for the cheapest bargains, buying stuff that they could get in Chinatown or pasar malam, at even cheaper prices. But they are still happy that they got a bargain.

And while the heartlanders are busy trying to make a life here, being told to bust off if they are not happy, which they could not, the rich and presumably very happy and contented citizens are buying up properties overseas just in case they need to make that escape from this paradise.

While many Singaporeans are thinking of jumping ship, or preparing to jump ship, hoards of new immigrants are rushing in to take their place in this paradise.

And to top it all up, they keep complaining about the govt and all the policies that they found unpalatable, but come every election, they will vote and return the govt to power.

Strange Singaporean behaviour

The Wait Is Ova

Rihanna's new album after 2 years - Rated R - is out November 23! Lucky fans will get the chance to see her perform live (via online streaming or in person) from a "secret" London site on Monday, November 16, 8PM GST. Brought to you by Nokia. Connecting People :)



She's out of Disturbia and there's no stopping her music now.... Have a song from this good gal gone bad:

Rihanna - Take A Bow
Uploaded by Rihanna. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Happy Halloween!

Death Star, Gollum or Enterprise pumpkins, anyone?






There's even one for Obama!

See Fantasy Pumpkins for carving tips and more ideas.

Sigh, miss the US, esp. in fall - hubby is off on a solo trip this time....

Singapore Idols = boomz!

OMG. *headdesk*


PS If you look closely ~0:05, the publishers even misspelt "Mathetmatics!" (sp) *double headdesk*

Chronicles of Narnia

Thanks to a friend's referral, I can finally read CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia online, illustrated and free! As a big Tolkien fan growing up, Narnia never quite grabbed my imagination as Middle Earth did. To be fair, although the first two movies were box office successes, they didn't quite do the original books justice -- much like Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and other popular children's film adaptations. It'd be good to revisit Aslan's world with my (somewhat) older lenses.

Don't Stop Believin'

Fell in love with this song once again but can't decide which Journey cover/remix I like better - there's so many out there!

Glee's cover - when will this new TV series air in Asia?! Trailer here


Family Guy + classic Journey remix


Filipino Arnel Pinada's first show as Journey's new lead vocalist


Sam Tsui's cover of Glee's cover (your eyes are *not* deceiving you!)


Nick Pitera's cover of Glee's cover (he really is singing both parts!)


... and the 2009 American Idols

Bad day - 'nuff said

Superwoman

I'm needing some gal pep talk after this week. Count on Alicia Keys to bring out the real "S" factor in you!

Everywhere I'm turning
Nothing seems complete
I stand up and I'm searching
For the better part of me
I hang my head from sorrow
Slave to humanity
I wear it on my shoulders
Gotta find the strength in me

Cause I am a Superwoman
Yes I am
Yes she is
Still when I'm a mess
I still put on a vest
With an S on my chest
Oh yes
I'm a Superwoman

For all the mothers fighting
For better days to come
And all my women, all my women sitting here trying
To come home before the sun
And all my sisters
Coming together
Say yes I will
Yes I can

Cause I am a Superwoman
Yes I am
Yes she is
Still when I'm a mess
I still put on a vest
With an S on my chest
Oh yes
I'm a Superwoman

When I'm breaking down
And I can't be found
And I start to get weak
Cause no one knows
Me underneath these clothes
But I can fly
We can fly, Oooohh

Cause I am a Superwoman
Yes I am
Yes she is
Still when I'm a mess
I still put on a vest
With an S on my chest
Oh yes
I'm a Superwoman

Some days, I feel like doing this too ...

... but for very different reasons!

The Day The Saucers Came

One of my favourite modern poems - inspired by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Jouni Koponen. Imaginative allegory about keeping perspective on "the bigger picture;" how our own short-sighted fixations cause us to miss the amazing world beyond ourselves.

The only constant in life is change

It's been an eventful month to say the least. In the midst of all the global and personal changes, I find myself thinking back on Mahatma Gandhi's mantra for our idealistic grad school days: "Be the change you want to see in the world" and on the witty and suprisingly fun Avenue Q, which closed with "Everything in life is only for now."

This week, news of Obama's successful presidential bid in the US coincided with continued reorgs and layoffs, some closer to home than we'd like. Hopefully we can choose to embrace these opportunities for change, and make the most out of what could be rather than dwell on what was or is. Let's remember, "Nothing lasts, life goes on, full of surprises ... and we'll accept the things we cannot avoid -- for now!"


... And *not* be like this (ok, I couldn't resist a *tiny* political dig)

VP debate drinking game

Lo and behold, there IS a VP debate drinking game. Check it out! (Warnings: Not work safe. Heh.)

If Biden:
• refers to John McCain as "a friend" or someone he respects just before trashing him.
• tries in any way to justify the complete failure that is Amtrak.
• has to explain what his son did for a living after law school.
• says any of the following: "climate change," "biofuels," "green," "ethanol," "drilling," "Big Oil," or "Bridge to Nowhere."
• refers to Palin's recent interview with Katie Couric.
• exceeds his time limit.
• mentions the number of years of experience he has.
• makes any allusions to the pregnancy of Palin's daughter Bristol.
• displays righteous anger.
• suggests a title for Larry Flynt's Sarah Palin-themed adult film.

If Palin:
• invokes McCain's POW history
• mentions her husband or any of her children by name (make it a double if she says "Track in Iraq").
• says any of the following: "pitbull," "lipstick," "hockey mom," "Joe Six-Pack," "maverick," "barracuda," "glass ceiling," or "plagiarism."
• says "gosh," "gee," "golly," "darn," "heck" or any other homespun curse euphemism.
• evades answering a question.
• cries poverty.
• is actually carrying a firearm.
• cites Russia's proximity to Alaska or talks about her great love for the state of Israel in response to a question about foreign policy (been there, done that!).
• mentions by name any animal species native to her home state.
• is wearing a suit that costs more than her plane.

If either candidate:
• says any of the following: "change," "God," "hope," "Beltway," "insider," "lobbyist," "energy," or "Bush."
• says "Delaware" or "Alaska" in a funny accent to sound folksy.
• invokes the specter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
• actually curses.
• says "Wall Street" and "Main Street" in the same sentence.
• uses hyperbole to talk about the current financial crisis.
• says, "Let me finish."
• mispronounces the name of a world leader.
• milks the crowd for applause.
• mentions Tina Fey.

If Gwen Ifill, the moderator:
• betrays her mainstream-media bias (warning: may cause blindness).

Also: Vote! (if you can that is)

It's Friday. Give me a break.

Is China trying too hard?

After Malaysia's (continued) disappointing badminton losses tonight, I needed a diversion and came across this surprising reveal about the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

Evidently, the cute little girl Lin Miaoke was only miming the singing by the gifted but not-cute-enough little girl Yang Peiyi. The organisers felt that although "the seven-year-old Yang had the better voice," they opted to go with a mime by the prettier Lin because "the girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people.... We must put our country's interest first." On a related note, tonight's win by the Chinese gymnasts also reminded me of the age controversy, where historical records indicated that some of the girls were actually underage, below the official minimum of 16 years, contrary to what was indicated in their passports.

After all the effort to host a spectacular Olympics and to cultivate a positive view of China, it's a shame that there's no distinction between city-wide clean ups, crash courses on foreign languages and manners, and employing superficial or even illegal tactics to project outward perfection and ensure success. But what message does this send to the Chinese public and especially its younger generation?! Yes, issues of pride, honor, image and legacy will always confront us - the greater the public scrutiny, the greater the pressure. Yet it's how we choose to face them that truly sets us apart and makes us great.

BTW, China isn't the only guilty party, and these are hardly the first cases of Olympic lip synching or truth-faking (drug scandals, anyone?), nor will it be the last. Even at the opening ceremony of the Turin 2006 Winter Games, Pavarotti mimed his own pre-recorded aria due to his poor health and cold weather. At least it was his own face and voice!

Any delusional bloggers out there? ;)