What are the three steps to making change easy?

Chip and Dan Heath distill effective behavior change down to three simple steps in their well-researched and enjoyable book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.

1) First, direct the rational mind

Provide crystal-clear direction. What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.
Script the critical moves — don’t think big picture, think in terms of specific behaviors.
Point to the destination. Change is easier when you know where you’re going and why it’s worth it.

2) Second, motivate the emotional mind

Focus on emotions. Knowing something isn’t enough to cause change. Make people (or yourself) feel something.
Shrink the change. Break down the change so it’s not scary.
When leading a group, cultivate a sense of identity and instill a growth mindset. Believe change is possible.

3) “Shape the Path”

What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.
Tweak the environment. When a situation changes, behavior changes. So change the situation.
Build habits. When a behavior is habitual it doesn’t tax our minds as much.

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