"Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes" - Final Post and Review

If you are new to Python and want to quickly ramp-up to become no non-sense developer in Python, you might want to read this post, these posts that are related to this book and probably all of these posts to become Python Super Star.

This is going to be the final post on this book

Review Comments: I accidentally stumbled on this book when I was looking for the books on Python. As the name suggests, it met the purpose of offering the crash course in Python. I could see the chapters are shorter as that one can complete a chapter (or two) in a single sitting. and logically arranged. The code snippets (examples) and "try it yourself" offered a great insight into the programming language. If you are in a hurry to get yourself exposed to Python, grab a copy of this book and you should be making a lot of good progress in booting up in Python. I should also alarm you that this book does not cover the language and its features in great detail. If you are looking for a deeper coverage of each feature, there are other books.

I have solved all the exercises in GitHub. I do not intend to solve the projects now.

Ratings: I would rate this book a 4.5 Stars.

Recommendation: Apt for beginners of Python (If someone is new to programming, they might feel left behind in later chapters as the book covers quite a lot of ground in every chapter or might need to spend more time referring the materials online). If you are new to programming, maybe a MOOC course on Python would be an excellent start.

You can find all posts related to this book - here

Next Goal:

It is time to learn Python little deeper using "Learning Python" by Mark Lurtz

Want to challenge yourself?

Do you want to take part in the challenge of completing "Learning Python" in two months? Add comments below.

"Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes" - Code Journal 2

If you are new to Python and want to quickly ramp-up to become no non-sense developer in Python, you might want to read this post, these posts that are related to this book and probably all of these posts to become Python Super Star.

Today's update:

Today (13-Dec-17, coded from 6am to 7.45am), I committed the coding solutions for Chapter 8. While solving the exercises, I realized that how easy and lovely is Python. When people say that Python is highly expressive, I did not relate to it. Now, I can :-). The amount of features that you can build with the amount of code is no way related. You will end up writing lesser code (less code means less time to develop means high productivity. Less code means fewer bugs which leads to high quality). If you want to experience it, try reading Chapter 8 and try solving examples. Lists, dictionaries along with various ways of using functions, passing arguments, passing parameters dynamically, passing a variable number of arguments are cool features of Python. Functions in Python is very powerful and yet flexible (I urge you to experience it by yourself)

Do not underestimate Python and this book (because it is a crash course). Solving some of the exercises can be very involved and serves the purpose. I would give 5/5 for the exercises in this chapter. Great selection of exercises. Kudos to the author

Solutions to Chapter 8 can be found in GIT Hub Repository. View it and Share it

Want to contribute/collaborate?

If you want to contribute, you can clone the repository, create a branch and give me a pull request. If you want to know how to collaborate, email/call me. Together, we can make things better.

If you wish to join me in the journey of a lifelong student, add yourself to my blog list and I will not disappoint you :-). 

"Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes" - Code Journal 1

If you are new to Python and want to quickly ramp-up to become no non-sense developer in Python, you might want to read this post, these posts that are related to this book and probably all of these posts to become Python Super Star.

I am archiving all the code that I have written so far in GIT. Just in case if you want to see it live, check this out - https://github.com/grabyourfreedom/pythoncrashcourse. I have committed all the code that I have written till chapter 5. I will keep working on it - fix bugs, add comments, refactor and add solutions to more exercises. For next few days, I will work on the code until chapter 11 and start reading the other chapters from Saturday (for more posts and code). The code journal posts are likely to be short as I am planning to post only updates here and commit the code to GIT hub.

It is very exciting to ramp in a language - reading, coding, and sharing.

Want to contribute/collaborate?

If you want to contribute, you can clone the repository, create a branch and give me a pull request.

If you wish to join me in the journey of a lifelong student, add yourself to my blog list and I will not disappoint you :-). 

"Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes" - Reading Journal 4

If you are new to Python and want to quickly ramp-up to become no non-sense developer in Python, you might want to read this post, these posts that are related to this book and probably all of these posts to become Python Super Star.

This post gives an overview of what I learned in Chapters 10 and 11.

Chapter 10: Files and Exceptions

It looks to me that the last few chapters are really informative. This chapter didn't disappoint me. The first part talks about file operations - reading a file, writing to a file, appending to a file with few variations. The second part talks about handling/managing errors using exceptions (try, except and else). As a bonus, the chapter covers storing data using JSON module and at the end talks about code refactoring. Overall it is written well and does the job.

Chapter 11: Testing Your Code 
This chapter seems to be very easy and yet at the same time very informative. It is great to see a book that boots up someone in a language (programming) talks about "testing the code". I feel that it makes a lot of difference in developer's life (others too) when we test our own code using automated unit tests. This chapter talks about testing your functions and classes using Python's unittest module with cool examples. And the side effect, it kindles the interest to explore further on creating automated tests too. Great job by the author

The next set of posts from me would be code journal. I will try to write a couple of posts sharing the coding exercises. With this, I concluded the basics of Python and I am excited to start the projects :-)

If you wish to join me in the journey of a lifelong student, add yourself to my blog list and I will not disappoint you :-). 

"Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes" - Reading Journal 3

If you are new to Python and want to quickly ramp-up to become no non-sense developer in Python, you might want to read this post, these posts that are related to this book and probably all of these posts to become Python Super Star.

This post gives an overview of Chapters 7, 8 and 9

Chapter 7: User Inputs and while Loops

This chapter covers how to get input from the user, how to convert it to numerical values if you need it. It covers while loop, how to exit from the loop using flag, break, continue and how to avoid infinite loops. It gives a couple of examples of when and how to use while loops with lists and dictionaries. This chapter is extremely light for a developer and might be interesting to someone who is new to programming. You should complete this in less than 30 minutes including the exercises.

Chapter 8: Functions
The chapter covers quite a lot of ground with functions, modules and a bit on PEP8 styling guidelines with respect to functions. You will see how to define a function, without and with parameters, returning value, keyword argument, optional values, default values for parameters, passing a variable number of arguments, passing a variable number of arguments with keywords, importing a module, importing a function from a module, importing all the functions from a modules and aliases for module/functions with sufficient examples. The chapter closes with the styling guidelines from PEP8. An awesome chapter and I really liked this chapter. This chapter might take a little longer including exercises and reflection. It is best to pause here for some time to reflect to ensure you got everything. After completing this chapter, you will really feel that Python is powerful. Kudos to the author for giving us a wonderful chapter.

Chapter 9: Classes
Like the previous chapter, this chapter too covers very interesting paradigm of Object Orientation using classes and objects. If someone is new to programming, I recommend for a slow reading solving all the exercises and trying out all the examples. It is worth the effort. Ensure that you understand the essence of the chapter (classes, objects in OO paradigm) before moving further. If you already know another OO language like C++ or Java, it should be a cakewalk for you. This chapter talks about creating classes, __init__ method, self, creating objects, accessing attributes, calling methods of the objects, subclassing/inheritance, overriding, importing classes and styling of classes. Another wonderful chapter with real-world examples.

If you wish to join me in the journey of a lifelong student, add yourself to my blog list and I will not disappoint you :-). Together, let us transform ourselves.

"Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes" - Reading Journal 2

Like me, if you are new to Python and want to quickly ramp-up to become no non-sense developer in Python, you might want to read this post, these posts that are related to this book and probably all of these posts to become Python Super Star.

This post gives an overview of what I learned in Chapters 4, 5 and 6

Chapter 4 - Working with Lists

In this chapter, you will work with Lists in a much better way and you will see how much easier is working with Lists. You will learn the operations such as iterating the list using for loop, working with numerical lists using range, slicing a list, copying the lists, difference between copying and assigning lists. You also get to know various errors (runtime and logical error) that are likely to happen when you do not indent properly. At the end, you have a very nice section on how to Style the code. Refer PEP8 from here. This chapter is engaging and you can complete this chapter in 30 to 45 minutes including solving exercises.

Chapter 5 - if Statements

This is another easy chapter that covers conditions/tests, condition evaluation to boolean, test equality, test inequality, comparisons, multiple conditions using "and" and "or", check for existence of a value in a list and non-existence of a value in list, test to check whether the list is empty, simple if, if..else and if...elif...else. Like the other chapters, this chapter is also engaging and one can complete this within an hour

Chapter 6 - Dictionaries

This chapter covers the basics of another important feature of Python - Dictionary. This chapter teaches what is dictionary (you will understand the difference between list and dictionary when you work through examples),  adding new key-value pairs, modifying key-value pairs, removing a key-value pair, various ways of looping (items, keys, values) and various types of nesting (dictionary inside dictionary, list inside dictionary and dictionary inside list).

If you wish to join me in the journey of a lifelong student, add yourself to my blog list and I will not disappoint you :-). Together, let us transform ourselves.

Switch by Chip and Dan Heath - Notes

This page contains my notes, my reflections and various other references that would aid my readers. Finally my recommendation on the book.

Book: Switch - Switch - How to change things when change is hard

Authors: Chip and Dan Heath

Website: http://heathbrothers.com

Posts:

These posts are not a replacement for the book. The book is million times impressive and insightful. After reading these posts you might get an urge to buy the book but after reading the book you would like to change something. I would rate this book a five star (*****) and encourage all my readers to buy one. These posts should shed some light on your investment on this book and potential huge return on investment.

1. Book Review after first reading
2. Switch (Part 1) - Three Surprises
3. Switch (Part 2) - Direct the Rider, Find the Bright Spots
4. Switch (Part 3) - Direct the Rider
5. Switch (Part 4) - Motivate The Elephant
6. Switch (Part 5) - Shape The Path
7. Switch (Part 6) - How to keep the Switch going?
8. Found an excellent video review of the book in Youtube
9. Other Resources to aid in learning

!!! Happy Switching !!!

"Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes" - Reading Journal 1

Like me, if you are new to Python and want to quickly ramp-up to become no non-sense developer in Python, you might want to read this post, these posts that are related to this book and probably all of these posts to become Python Super Star.

The best book to start (even if you are already exposed to some level of programming) is "Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes. The book consists of two parts. Part one is basics with 11 chapters and Part two consists of nine chapters with three projects. The main intention of this book is to get us up to speed in Python quickly (as you might have guessed it from the title).

The rest of the post gives an overview of what I learned in Chapters 1, 2 and 3 and what was interesting/boring. I ensure to keep it crisp so that you spend more time on learning rather than reading my stories.

Chapter 1: Getting Started
While many of us fumble when it comes to doing things for the first time, this chapter takes the installation of Python and running the first program to the extreme. All the folks who have exposure to programming to a decent degree will find it very boring (detailed steps in Windows, Mac, and Linux deserve their space in the appendix but not first chapter). What I would expect is some history of Python, principles of Python, Why Python is so popular, Where Python is used and what is the future of Python. My view is that you should download and install Python on your own and probably try run your first program (it is fine if you spend additional 15 mins to muck around and figure it on your own - believe me, it is easy). This chapter is a dull start.

Chapter 2: Variables and Simple Data Types
This chapter covers quite a lot of ground if you not exposed to programming at all. If you are experienced programmer, you will skim this chapter through but yet feel accomplished if you do all the exercises. This chapter talks about Variables, naming variables, data types - string, integers and float with some important operations on those datatypes in Python. The concluding sections of this chapter deal with importance of writing comments and The Zen of Python which in my view placed right at chapter 2. This chapter should take 30 minutes to an hour depending on whether you are a programmer or aren't. Python seems to be exciting

Chapter 3: Introducing Lists
This chapter covers an important aspect of Python - that is Lists. After reading this chapter and working out the examples/exercises one should get a fair handle on lists. Like me, if you are from C world you will find it to have some similarity with arrays but then it differs in varieties of ways. You will start feeling the uniqueness and flexibility of Python when you try out examples. This chapter should take around one hour to read and workout examples (since you are no longer new to Python). By now, you can expect yourself to start becoming comfortable with Python. This chapter was a treat for a newbie. Enjoyed it.

If you wish to join me in the journey of a lifelong student, add yourself to my blog list and I will not disappoint you :-). Together, let us transform ourselves.

Learn Python with "Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes" - Getting Started

I found an excellent link that has recommendations for Python books. Looks like the most of the books are well rated on Amazon and I thought that I would start learning Python with little more focus and discipline.

First I would like to get started with the book "Python Crash Course" by Eric Matthes. The book promises that it would be a crash course with a hands-on approach with three projects after learning the basics of Python. I feel that it would be easier for me to boot-up in Python using this book by doing some projects. I expect to complete this book in 3-4 weeks time (depends on how much time that I am going to devote and most likely I will utilize my weekends).

As usual, I prefer reading this book twice and do things as I read the book the first time. The second reading is to fill the gaps and to ensure that I do not miss anything and probably refactor the code I have written. After I complete the book, I will write a full review of the book with pointers to the source code of the projects in a public repository like GIT and give my feedback on whether this book satisfied my expectations (I am also planning to write short summaries of chapters - what I learned, what I felt interesting and what is boring)

My expectations - Learn Python, interesting to read, interesting projects to do, some advice to programmers new to Python, Fast track my Python boot-up and guidance to go to next level in Python

Let me see whether this book satisfies me.

If you wish to join me in the journey of a lifelong student, add yourself to my blog list and I will not disappoint you :-). Together, let us transform ourselves.

Switch (Part 6) - How to keep the Switch going?

This is sixth and final part of my reflections on the book - Switch. This is going to be a short post. Before reading this post, read other posts.

Once the change process has kicked in and you got the Elephants moving, the next thing to do is to convert the momentum to forward momentum. A long journey starts with a step but a step does not guarantee the long journey towards the destination. We need to constantly reinforce - "point and move towards the destination", "get the elephant moving towards the destination" and remove impediments by "shaping the path". We need to follow the pattern of Switch.

A good thing about a change is that once you moved it an inch from stationary, the change feeds itself. Once you start, the change favors you. The mere exposure effect and cognitive dissonance play their part to continue to push through the change (snow balling effect). The only thing that you need to ensure is to follow the pattern again and again - "direct the rider, motivate the elephant and shape the path".

The learning from the book is immense and i think the insights are so engrained that i would follow Switch framework in my life - personal and profession. I would like to thank Heath brothers was writing such a wonderful book that is quite engaging. Hope to read the other books.

Want to read all the posts on Switch. Click here

Disclaimer: I neither get commission for a writing review nor using Affiliation of any Bookstore. The whole purpose of these posts is to provide value to my readers and give them information to be better.

Switch - Video Review

Check this out - the review gives an overview of the book - Switch. This video provides quick overview of the book. I am sharing it here since i find it interesting and useful. This is published by Callibrain

Want to read all the posts on Switch. Click here

Disclaimer: I neither get commission for a writing review nor using Affiliation of any Bookstore. The whole purpose of these posts is to provide value to my readers and give them information to be better.

Switch (Part 5) - Shape The Path

This is the fifth reflection post on Switch by Heath Brothers. If you are the first time reading the posts  on the book - Switch, it might help to skim through other posts this, this, this and this.

Tweak the Environment - This is based on the premise that "What assumed to be a people problem is often situation problem". You see someone cutting across you at high speed and you curse him. You think that he is mad and yell at him. Do you think he is usually like that? We often see issues as people issues rather than situation issue. This is called as "Fundamental Attribution Error". The author discussed how to reward right behavior, making the environment easier for right behavior and making the environment little harder for bad behavior. The section provided ample case studies - Saints and Jerks Food Donation Campaign, Medication vests to keep nurses focused to reduce errors, Rackspace Fanatical Support. Haddon Matrix needs special mention on how the environment can be tweaked better (pre-event, event and post-event)

Build Habits - Habits are behavioral auto-pilots. Unless the behaviors are formed as habit, it is going to tax Rider and often needs Rider's supervision. Habits are environmental and mental. People are sensitive to environment and culture, we often try to fit to peer groups as behaviors are contagious. The second way of making habits is to have "action triggers". So it is very important to tweak the environment so that "expected" behaviors are formed as habits.

Rally the Herd - When you lead Elephant on an unfamiliar path, chances are it is going to follow the herd. Now, you need to create herd the way it is easier for change to happen. Make influencers and create free spaces so that the people flock together so that they build new identity.

Summary:

The first part of the book covers three surprises about change, the second part covers how to "direct the rider", the third part covers how to "motivate the elephant" and the final part covers the role of the path and how to shape the path. This part "Shape the Path" discussed three important elements related to environment that are absolutely stunning and insightful. I often feel that each section gives an increased impact with respect to understanding the change, people's behavior and response to change and how it can be tweaked to yield better results. This section is no different.

Want to read all the posts on Switch. Click here

Disclaimer: I neither get commission for a writing review nor using Affiliation of any Bookstore. The whole purpose of these posts is to provide value to my readers and give them information to be better.

Switch (Part 4) - Motivate The Elephant

This is fourth part of my review/learning while reading the book Switch and it forms a critical step for the change process. This post covers - Motivate the Elephant.

Before reading this post, please read previous posts - this, this and this.

If you drive any vehicle, have you ever wondered why it takes more energy to move the vehicle in first gear. Read this in Quora. The simple answer is - "more" energy is needed to overcome inertia. It applies to Change too. When you are about to Switch, the folks who need to undergo a change and responsible for the change have to beat their initial inertia. It needs a lot of motivation to embrace the change as the people are quite comfortable in status quo.

In previous posts, we saw that Elephant is powerhouse and actually works on getting things done. It gives energy to the change process. Without Elephant's energy (and motivation), the change process is very likely to be a failure. In this section, Heaths discusses three important methods of getting started with change and keep it going - Find the Feeling, Shrink the Change and Grow the people.

Find the Feeling - The section on "Find the Feeling" discusses the importance of appealing to Elephant and help Elephant make the first step. It is very difficult to make Elephant move with analytical acumen. We have to appeal to Elephant emotionally by SEE-FEEL-CHANGE. The case study of HopeLab is amazing and it conveys how appealing Elephant changes one's life. It also discussed the effects of "Positive Illusion" with a case study. It is very important to find the feeling - feeling of control and power, determination to fix the issues or undergo the change and being empathetic. For any change that is big, we need to get to the Elephant with positive psychology, fresh thinking, creativity and instill hope and optimism.

Shrink The Change - Why is it important to shrink the change? Because the Elephant feels that it is easier to "do" which is very important to beat the inertia. Not only does it help to beat inertia, it constantly helps Elephant to march towards the destination (remember sequence of bright spots?). The case studies on Hotel Maids and Free Car Wash are excellent examples for a head start and keeping the ball rolling. Two strategies are discussed here - Limit the investment (amount of time required to complete the tiny change) and Small wins (ensure that small wins are meaningful and within immediate reach).

Grow The People - One way to make Elephant to make feel big is to shrink the change. Another way is to actually grow the Elephant big (bigger than the size of change). In both cases, the Elephant feels that it is easier to get it done. The section gives out two models of decision making - consequences model and identity model and discusses why the identity model is so important during a change process. It also discusses building identities leading to people learning new things and why it is important to set expectations of failure when people learning (During the learning process people tend to fail. Every failure will demotivate Elephant and hence set expectation on failure during learning process). It discusses on two mindsets - fixed mindset and growth mindset (pain now, payoff later). The case study of minimally invasive cardiac surgery is simple awesome.

Summary:

Like previous sections, the section is also to the point and centered on critical case studies with some serious takeaway. After reading this chapter, you would certainly feel that you can catalyst a change (the chapter kindles your Elephant)

Want to read all the posts on Switch. Click here

Disclaimer: I neither get commission for a writing review nor using Affiliation of any Bookstore. The whole purpose of these posts is to provide value to my readers and give them information to be better.

Switch (Part 3) - Direct the Rider

This is concluding post on "Direct the Rider".

Review of Chapter 2: "Direct the Rider" - "Script the Critical Moves" and "Point to the Destination". (Click here to read all posts related to Switch")

Are you one like me takes a lot of time to decide when there are lot of choices?

Have you ever tried to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a particular cell phone? Have you ever compared number of different cell phones on variety of parameters - "look and feel", "value for money", "technological features", "emotional feeling of feeling proud", "customer service" and so on. If you are stuck days or weeks in deciding which one to buy - you have been affected by "Rider's" weakness at least once.

The rational side of our brain pushes itself to endless cycle of analysis when there are more options (it doesn't matter whether the options are good or bad). Since the decision making is draining, the Rider quickly runs out of fuel leading to "spinning the wheels" (and taking enormous Elephant for a ride eventually dooming the change). The same happens where there is ambiguity in choices . In these situation the Rider is quite happy to continue with status quo.

How to mitigate this weakness? "Script the Critical Moves" and "Point to The Destination"

Convert the idea to specific behavior that are specific and concrete and provide a vision or compelling destination that is appealing to "Elephant" and engage the "Rider" to think how to reach there.

Another important issue discussed is "Rationalization" - finding excuses when the destination is not inspiring. And how setting Black and White goals would keep change process in tact.

Case Studies to note:

1. Chronic Hip Pain for Arthritis
2. Behring - Brazil Southern Railroad Turnaround
3. Crystal Jones - Third Grader
4. Laura Essermen - Breast Care Center

Summary:

The bright spots helps us to kick start with change process and helps us give the feeling that we are already there (and see it easy). The pointing to destination with prescribing the critical moves help us to keep "Rider" from analysis paralysis.

Impression: Both the sections are to the point and discusses mitigation of "Rider's" weaknesses backed up with case studies. Few of the ideas are higher level and it might take couple of reads to understand it well and apply it.

Another little thing that i feel is that "Point to the destination" should precede "Script the Critical Moves". The reason is when the destination is shown the Rider thinks how to reach there (Rider would get his thinking and scripting his critical moves).

Want to read all the posts on Switch. Click here

Disclaimer: I neither get commission for a writing review nor using Affiliation of any Bookstore. The whole purpose of these posts is to provide value to my readers and give them information to be better.

Switch (Part 2) - Direct the Rider, Find the Bright Spots

Review of Chapter 2, Section 1: Find the Bright Spots

There are more negative emotions words than positive emotions words in the dictionaries. The bad things stick in our minds relatively longer than good things. Bad things spread faster. This trait of human beings put us in disadvantage when it comes to making decisions. The manifestation of this trait during a change process is looking for complex solution for a complex problem. We look at problems - the scale of the problem and try to find a solution of similar scale.

Can the solution be simple? If so, How to make it simpler?

The authors claim that the above shortcomings can be mitigated with "Finding the bright spots". Once we have the bright spots identified, the next step is to learn from bright spots removing any exceptions and cloning bright spots. The entire change process can be sequence of bright spots.

Let us dig it further

There are couple of case studies in this section that are quite powerful. One of the case study is "Jerry Sternin's Solving Malnutrition in Vietnam". Sternin was tasked to address malnutrition of kids in Vietnam. There were numerous papers published before on discussing the problem. But the knowledge were knowledge in piece of paper but nothing changed. 

Sternin identified healthy kids among malnourished kids and there were clear differences in terms of what they eat and how they eat food. Sternin found the bright spot (local wisdom) and made community kitchens for mothers to learn how to keep their kids nourished. Within months, the kids showed marked improvement and this kitchen become laboratory and spread across the country. In this case study the authors clearly bring out why the bright spots are needed. Without bright spots how the Rider derails the change process (spinning the wheels and analysis paralysis). 

This case study and another case studies anchors the subject very well.

To sum up, this section conveys the following

1. Bright spots keep us moving without being stuck in analysis (without moving an inch from problem and not getting started with actual change process)
2. Change is sequence of bright spots
3. Transition from problem focus to solution focus
4. Archaeological problem solving to bright spot evangelizing
5. Solution-focused therapy to change behaviors,
6. Red flag: Focusing on bright spots can be counter-intuitive for business - Talks about Rider's weakness to see initial "good news" as "bad news" or as an anomaly.
7. Red flag: Rider's Weakness - Big Problem needs big solutions attitude

Impression: Very well presented and with some big takeaways. There shouldn't be a second thought to read this book.

Next: Direct the Rider (Part 3)

Want to read all the posts on Switch. Click here

Disclaimer: I neither get commission for a writing review nor using Affiliation of any Bookstore. The whole purpose of these posts is to provide value to my readers and give them information to be better.

Switch (Part 1) - Three Surprises

Review of Chapter 1

This is going to be another post on the book Switch. In this post i am going to quickly cover various ideas and insights in section 1 - Three Surprises. There will be 3-5 more posts on the book. The goal of writing the detailed reviews are as follows:

• Discuss the contents so that you can decide why i am recommending others to spend time on this book
• Internalize the ideas so that my recommendation is based on thorough reading and reflecting. Since i read this book for the second time. First time i did not take any notes. Since the subject and book is interesting, i started making notes.

Enough of reasoning. Let us move on.

The first section talks about "Three Surprises About Change". The section provides motivation to read the book further. I have bought many books in the past and hardly can complete any. But when i read the first section, i get the feeling that I should read this. The first section does a good job of giving an overview on Change - what is a good change pattern and what are common misunderstanding about impediments.

The first section introduces us our brain - "Rider" and "Elephant". Rider analyzes, thinks, provides direction and look into the future. Elephant gives us energy, motivation, love, compassion. It discusses few case studies why it is critical to involve both "Rider" and "Elephant" for the change to be successful. How "Rider" and "Elephant" derail the change.

The first section brilliantly demystifies the following the myths.

Surprise #1: What it looks like people problem is often Situation Problem

Surprise #2: What looks like laziness is often Exhaustion

Surprise #3: What looks like resistance is often Lack of Clarity

The following case studies are used as supporting materials

1. Stale Popcorn in Bigger and Less Bigger Bucket to discuss how the situation changes people's eating behavior
2. Clocky - The Running Rogue Clock to discuss Rider and Elephant fight
3. Chocolate Cookies and Radish to discuss exhaustion
4. Stegner's 242 Gloves to discuss what happens when Rider and Elephant are engaged
5. Making West Virginia to adopt 1% milk to be healthy to discuss the importance of direction
6. Saving 100000 lives by Donald Berwick to discuss what scripted change and a successful change

Sum up: Overall the first chapter is delight and sets the stage to read further.

Next: Switch (Part 2) - Direct the Rider, Find the Bright Spots

Want to read all the posts on Switch. Click here

Disclaimer: I neither get commission for a writing review nor using Affiliation of any Bookstore. The whole purpose of these posts is to provide value to my readers and give them information to be better.

Switch - Book Review after first read

Title: Switch - How to change things when change is hard

Authors: Chip Heath and Dan Heath

I was browsing to find good books on emotional intelligence. While was browsing through the book reviews, i found one of the sites recommending Switch. I did a brief research on authors, their credibility and Amazon reviews. I decided to buy this book. Initially i skim it through about one third and i found that the book was interesting.

After about few weeks, i again started to read the book. Having heard about quotes and perspectives about change like "change is only permanent" and usual boring stuff, i found that this book was interesting. The book talks about change and why it is hard. Some of the myths i had about change are completed busted with sound reasoning. I tend to believe that i can approach a change scientifically if i follow this book (that is after reading only few tens of pages).

The book is split into three parts - Direct the Rider, Motivate the elephant and Shape the path. Each part again split in multiple subsections. First part is how to get started with the change, the second part takes about how to keep going and what to do during the change journey. This book gives you a framework under broader perspective and numerous case studies, success stories and clinics (a quick problem and solution - before reading the solution you are encouraged to solve it on your own)

Are you trying to change something - in life (trying to lose weight, relationships) or at work (take part in change and be a catalyst etc). This book is must read for anyone who wants to understand science of change.

This book deserves another round of reading. I feel i should take notes and use it as a manual, try out in real world and see it working. Books are investment.

I would give a five star (*****)

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Now, it is Brain Rules

For the next few weeks, i m going to read two books which i think will have great impact.

I have already wrote about the book Predictably Irrational here and here. (not in an any journal or magazine, these links are below the current post :-)) I feel that i should read the book again at slightly slower pace.

I just read a chapter in another book which i found equally fascinating and has great insights. The book "Brain Rules" by John Medina. The book talks about various principles on how to keep our brain fit. I think, the book will be useful for those of us who use it. So, first, i got to use my brain in next few weeks and all the principles and then come here to write another review.

If you want to hear the author, here is the website and videos.

Brain Rules Introduction from Pear Press on Vimeo.

If you have noted, both the books are written by researchers and you could see all their points are backed by solid research.

Hope that i start using my brain from next year and then rule it :-)