How to Change What's Not Working

The right book can shift how I think, work, and lead. This month, I read Reset by Dan Heath. It’s his latest book about how to change what isn’t working.

Heath lays out a two-part strategy for making smart, high-impact changes:

1. Find leverage points. Look for small spots where a little effort creates outsized results.

2. Restack resources. Shift your time, energy, or money to push on those points.

The book is filled with stories of teams and leaders who made real progress using these two moves to drive change. As I read, I kept thinking about how this applies not just to organizations but to how we can all grow and improve at work.

Here are four takeaways that hit home, and how you might apply them.

What’s the Goal of the Goal?

Heath shares a story about a car dealership that wanted to improve the customer experience. Their goal was to increase customer satisfaction scores. But the tactic backfired. Salespeople started begging customers for high ratings and even handed out scripts to read on the survey line. The numbers improved. The experience got worse.

The real goal got lost.

That leads to a simple question Heath poses: What’s the goal of the goal?

It sounds obvious. But asking it forces clarity. It makes you step back and think about the outcome you want, not just the metric you’ve been chasing.

Say your goal is to get promoted to Senior XYZ. That might seem like the logical next step. But maybe what you’re really after is more money. Or more influence. Or more flexibility.

A promotion might help. So could a lateral move to a better-paying team. Or a stipend-based consulting project that taps your strengths.

We get so locked on the surface goal that we miss easier, better paths to the outcome we want.

Action: Pick a personal or professional goal you’ve been working toward. Ask yourself what’s the goal of the goal. Then brainstorm three alternative ways to get there. You may find your current goal is the hardest route.

Go and See

In another story, a high school principal tried to improve failing math scores. Nothing worked. Finally, she decided to shadow a student for a full week. That’s when she saw the problem clearly. The double math periods were burnigng students out.

That shift in perspective changed everything.

Going and seeing the work is putting yourself where the work happens. You don’t guess. You look. You experience the work as others do. You see it through their eyes.

It’s something I’m doing this week. I’m reviewing our whole employee experience at Ellevation, from application to offboarding. I know I’ll find broken things. Some of them I probably put in place myself. That’s the point. The goal is to stop assuming and start seeing clearly.

Action: Set aside time to be a consumer of your own work. Try to see it the way others do. If you’re a leader, spend a day with someone on your team. Watch the details. Look for friction.

Do Less and Do More

After the 2008 crash, HBR studied companies that came out stronger. The winners didn’t just cut or just grow. They did both. They trimmed the deadweight and doubled down on what worked.

A nonprofit leader took over a debt-heavy, failing organization. He cut low-impact programs to create focus. But he also invested. He hired a new program manager and moved the team into a nicer, more expensive office. The new manager helped them 5x their fundraising. The office boosted pride and engagement. Within a year, the org had turned around.

Heath offers a simple 2X2 grid

Action: Block 30 minutes this week. Sketch your own 2x2. You don’t need a strategy offsite to spot the obvious. You may discover a breakthrough that can help you accelerate the success of a change.

Accelerate Learning

“The faster you learn, the faster you grow.”

NPR used to develop new shows the traditional way: heavy research, big funding, slow rollout. Then they flipped it. They ran “paper pilots”, quick, low-cost concepts. The best ideas got short runs. Only the winners became full shows.

You can apply the same principle to your own growth.

Thinking of a career shift? Don’t commit to the full leap. Pilot it.

Take on a side project. Volunteer your skills in a new space. Shadow someone who’s already doing the job. These low-risk reps help you learn faster—and avoid wasting a year chasing the wrong next move.

Action: Pick one professional curiosity you’ve been sitting on. Run a pilot. Get real data. Then decide if it’s worth the leap.

The core idea behind Reset is more urgent than ever. In a world of fast change, both politically and technically, how you respond matters. Those who adapt quickly stay valuable. Those who resist get stuck.

If you want to be great at what you do, you need to be change-ready. That doesn’t mean constant motion. It means knowing how to spot leverage points and restack your resources in ways that actually move the needle.

Next up, I’m reading The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism. If it’s worth your time, I’ll share a few lessons in an upcoming issue of The Clear-Eyed View.

Until next time,
Winston