The Power of Moments

Publisher's Summary

The New York Times best-selling authors of Switch and Made to Stick explore why certain brief experiences can jolt us and elevate us and change us - and how we can learn to create such extraordinary moments in our life and work.

While human lives are endlessly variable, our most memorable positive moments are dominated by four elements: elevation, insight, pride, and connection. If we embrace these elements, we can conjure more moments that matter. What if a teacher could design a lesson that he knew his students would remember 20 years later? What if a manager knew how to create an experience that would delight customers? What if you had a better sense of how to create memories that matter for your children?

This book delves into some fascinating mysteries of experience: Why we tend to remember the best or worst moment of an experience as well as the last moment and forget the rest. Why "we feel most comfortable when things are certain, but we feel most alive when they're not". And why our most cherished memories are clustered into a brief period during our youth.

Listeners discover how brief experiences can change lives, such as the experiment in which two strangers meet in a room, and, 45 minutes later, they leave as best friends. (What happens in that time?) Or the tale of the world's youngest female billionaire, who credits her resilience to something her father asked the family at the dinner table. (What was that simple question?)

Many of the defining moments in our lives are the result of accident or luck - but why would we leave our most meaningful, memorable moments to chance when we can create them? The Power of Moments shows us how to be the author of richer experiences.

©2017 Chip Heath & Dan Heath (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Easy to create your own defining moments

Be prepared to take notes as the book spark ideas for creating your own defining moments. There is story after story about simple situations transformed into memorable experiences with some thought and effort. For example, the first day at work for new employees is usually uneventful. New employees are taken to a desk, equipped with some of the tools they need but probably not all. They are handed a stack of policies and procedures to read and left on their own for the rest of the day. This is an easy opportunity to make a great impression on new employees - assign work buddies, hang a welcome sign on their cubicle, and ask staff members to introduce themselves as they pass the cubicle. Instead of what could have been a defining moment turns out to be a scary first day. A downside of this book, similar to other books written by the Heath brothers, is there doesn't seem to be enough material for a book. The beginning chapters came off strong and insightful. Towards the end, the focus was lost and some of the stories were remotely related to the topic.

22 of 23 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly valuable

I got this book up on a friend’s recommendation but I was not moved by the title. There seemed to be other things that I wanted to get to first. When checking in with that friend (he’s a consultant) about an upcoming meeting he mentioned a story in the book, so I began listening. I was hooked. I like the framework and the stories that show the framework in practice. Beyond the work-value of this book, I am excited about putting these ideas into practice for my family - making memories.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

enlightening, inspiring

enlightening, inspiring, worth listening to multiple times. very much in line with the yogic way of thinking/acting

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Inspirational and Practical!!

I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing, but this is the book I’ve always wanted to write. I believe we can intentionally inspire people… And I think the framework that you have outlined in this book gives us the tools and the mindset we need to have to help create meaningful, inspiring events in our own lives and the lives of others.. I can’t wait to blog about it… And I can’t wait to help work with school administrators on creating a culture and climate built on the power of moments. Thank you for writing such a meaningful text! Every leader should read it!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Brilliant!

I love this book! It's insightful, encouraging and interesting from start to finish. I can not stop giving this book praise to my family and friends. I hope they all read it.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Fabulous book!

So glad I read/listened to this book. It’s given me new ways to look at my life. The basic lesson is to ensure you take action and be intentional in life. Highly recommend!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Inspiring

This book is inspiring and puts life into perspective. I'll be using it at work for training proposes.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A predictable case for not being predictable

Ironically the book is the opposite of what it recommends. Formulaic case studies for banks, pharma and charter schools.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Immediate Impact

This book gave me a framework to immediately make a difference with those I work with. I have been creating moments this whole past week and it has been well received! I plan to buy the book and take better notes this time around. Highly recommended.

Overall worthwhile

1st 20% almost made me stop. After that much better and really good for last half. Very much worth it.