Dan Heath

Dan Heath is a best-selling author, speaker, and strategic advisor who has dedicated his career to helping people and organizations see problems from different angles, zoom in on solutions, and create lasting impact. With his brother and writing partner, Chip, Dan has written four bestsellers: Made to Stick, Switch, Decisive, and The Power of Moments. Through insightful stories and memorable examples, each of these books has helped readers understand how to modify their behavior to create real-world change.

Dan and Chip Heath created Made to Stick in 2007 to help readers understand what makes an idea successful and how to inspire action through effective messaging and memorable stories. This book explains the SUCCESs model – which stands for Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories – and provides a wealth of information about how to shape ideas, create an effective message, and make sure that a message has the desired effect on its audience.

Switch, Dan and Chip Heath’s second book, was published in 2010 and focused on the two sides of behavior change – the rational side, associated with problem-solving, and the emotional side, associated with harnessing the power of motivation. In this book, the authors discussed the concept of a bright spot – a success story – and delved into the concept of “finding the bright spots and cloning them.” This book explained that if you are looking to change behavior, sometimes the path lies more in understanding and celebrating the successes of others rather than focusing entirely on overcoming problems and implementing solutions.

In 2013, Dan and Chip Heath released Decisive, which detailed the four villains of decision-making – narrow framing, confirmation bias, short-term emotion, and overconfidence – and provided practical steps for tackling each. The book also highlighted methods for identifying faulty choices and avoiding them in the future through the WRAP process: Widen your options, Reality-test your assumptions, Attain distance before deciding, and Prepare to be wrong. Decisive helped readers recognize how the decisions they make can have far-reaching consequences and created a framework to help them make the best choices possible.

The Heath brothers’ fourth book, The Power of Moments, was published in 2017 and is focused on how people can use meaningful experiences – from special occasions to unexpected surprises – to build deeper relationships and create lasting change. This book explained the concept of four decades – Elevation, Insight, Pride, and Connection Moments – and shared examples of leaders, teachers, and other people who have used these moments to drive organizational growth, create meaningful connections, and leave lasting impressions.

Dan Heath has been commended for his partnership with Chip, his insatiable curiosity, and his deep commitment to understanding why people do what they do. His most recent book, the best-selling The Power of Moments, has been called “inspirational and practical” and his previous books have been hailed as groundbreaking and influential. Whether discussing how to make an idea stick, how to change behavior, how to make a decision, or how to create special moments, Dan Heath’s work offers exceptional insight and invaluable advice.