The Heath brothers have written another phenomenal book that helps us all get ahead. In the Power of Moments, Chip and Dan lead us to define our life through our experiences. Not to be dull, not to be just haphazard with our time spent. But we should embrace situations and find those times which will make memories that last a lifetime. Why should we live a life that is not full of fun and intrigue.

Throughout the book, Dan and Chip give us examples of how we can do more with the moments in our life. They use the acrostic EPIC as a way to remember what we can be. E is evaluate. P is persuade. I is integrate. C is connect. This is a book you’ll want to have in your library to underline and notate along the sides of the book. I plan on

This book has a very interesting premise and concept. There is a science behind how and why we remember certain events better than others! I love the idea of applying it to enhancing my children's childhood memories. However, I found the book a bit too long and receptive and had difficulty getting through it.

Excellent, excellent, excellent book. Those in leadership in nonprofits, churches, and other ministries should read this book. Heath and Heath do an incredible job of reminding us that every moment counts. It begs us to reconsider the way to approach things, the systems we have employed, and what we as individuals and leaders bring to the table. I'm having a leadership group read this book this year. Totally worth it.

Moments hold power and most of us yearn to be part of authentic, feeling moments. The Heath brothers affirm that with some intention and effort, we can create extraordinary moments from the ordinary stuff of daily life. As individuals, we can elevate a conversation from drudgery to a spark of kindness or friendship. In schools, teachers can structure lessons to be memorable, not just rote/boring. In the workplace, small, intentional shifts in attitude and practice can add zing and life to teamwork and to individuals. Even family life can be empowered with attention to elements of surprise.

Case studies throughout this book illustrate key points. In some instances, scripted language guides readers so that they can spark real moments and turn them into valued memories or lasting impact. THE POWER OF MOMENTS is a business book that’s also fun reading packed with ideas about creating incremental, positive changes in our lives. The supportive tone, clear prose, and well-chosen case studies present big ideas in an accessible manner.

There’s a special section on grief, and how to emerge from tragedy to create meaning and move forward. Will appeal to corporate leaders, teachers, therapists, parents, design thinkers, and start-up teams. Also of value to those struggling with “work-life balance”. Every moment I spent reading this book delivered new insights. Essential and inspiring reading for these times.

Like many books of this genre, it is important to read and absorb the content and then apply your interpretaion of the message in ways that are appropriate to you. In this instance, the content is well presented with many good examples of the benefits gained by others in their working and personal lives. Chip and Dan Heath have credibilty and their writing style is easy to follow.Ultimately, their messages are thought-provoking and I would expect many readers to enhance their lives after finishing this book. But remember, the content is just one more tool in the increasingly complex toolkit that you may possess.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of The power of moments is that some episodes of our lives have more power than others: we remember them for a long time, we become more aware of ourselves or we are able to reach unexpected objectives.

Chip and Dan Heath try in this book to define the best recipe to build meaningful events for other people (e.g. employees, students, clients,..) by analyzing four main characteristics: elevation (from normal), insight, pride and connection (with other people).

Every chapter contain some examples and a final case that summarizes all the key elements presented in the book, useful to explain also how to apply the theory to real life situations.

I found more interesting the first two chapters, and on the long run the book did bore me a little; however I think it is an interesting book because it provides useful hints to build successful experiences for people.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me the copy necessary to write this review.

The Heath brothers, authors of Switch, Decisive and Made to Stick, have a new title which will be published soon. It is called THE POWER OF MOMENTS and they will be speaking locally about the book on October 24 at 7:00pm at North Shore Country Day School, an event coordinated with FAN and The Book Stall.

In THE POWER OF MOMENTS, the Heaths describe "'thinking in moments': to recognize where the prose of life needs punctuations." Clearly, these transitions, milestones and pits could be weddings or new jobs, birthdays, even funerals, but also they could be special rituals whether secular or sacred – moments that someone has created. In THE POWER OF MOMENTS, there are numerous stories like the one about the General Electric engineer, Doug Dietz, who designed a new MRI machine to be more powerful and efficient and ultimately re-designed it so that the pediatric patient experience was transformed from something scary to an adventure.

Chip and Dan Heath (who teach and consult at Stanford and Duke, respectively) argue that defining moments have one or more of these four elements:

- Elevation – they are extraordinary, above expectations and often accompanied by added sensory experience or surprise;
- Insight – they help change our understanding of ourselves, of the world, or of our relationship to it;
- Pride – they are moments of achievement, fulfillment, courage; and
- Connection – they are shared with others

At the end of each chapter, the authors offer a clinic such as one on Retail Banking where they ask, "[in your work] are you missing opportunities to offer support, congratulations, or counsel at critical times? Are you thinking in moments?"
4.5 stars for a very engaging and thought-provoking book.

The Power of Moments, authored by brothers Chip and Dan Heath, outlines ways we can introduce defining moments in our lives. Whether at work or home, with individuals or groups, kids or adults, the ideas introduced in the book can be adapted and applied. Broken into four sections: Elevation, Insight, Pride, and Connections, the authors define their terms, give examples of when these work, and steps to implement them in our own lives.

As I read the book I kept imagining what I could do with co-workers, clients, and family members. How could I establish a tradition or create a memory so impactful, it would resonate for years? Some of the ideas are fairly simple and cost effective; others are more elaborate and could be cost prohibitive. Yet, I still felt like the advice is manageable and relevant for a wide array of people. After finishing the book, I discovered a link to a website for additional ideas, a newsletter, and once I signed up for the newsletter, an email address for the authors. I sent a note with a question and to my delight, Chip responded within hours. It is always appreciated when an author answers an email, and even more so, in such a short period of time. I look forward to trying out his personal suggestions based on a situation I described. Lastly, I am a fan of the Freakanomics series, as well as books by Malcolm Gladwell, like the Tipping Point, which resonate with me in similar ways. Based on other reviewers comments, it looks like I will now be reading other books by the Heaths.

( I was provided a copy of the book by Net Galley in order to write an objective review.)

This book helps you get the most out of your defining moments. Whether milestones, transitions, or even pits, your seasons of change deserve to be marked. And this book helps you mark them in meaningful ways.

This fantastic book explains how to capture your own peak moments through these four elements.

* Moments of Elevation
are experiences that rise above the routine
* Moments of Pride
commemorate people’s achievements
* Moments of Insight
deliver realizations and transformations
* Moments of Connection
bond us together

Why create a defining moment around your change? Chip and Dan Heath suggest these reasons:

* To enrich your experience.
* To connect with others.
* To make memories.
* To launch your life or your career or your team in a new direction.

As with all of Chip and Dan Heath’s books, this one is also full of concrete examples to make the ideas stick. You’ll be inspired and motivated to use the material they share, not just let it stay in your head. I highly recommend it.

“Defining moments shape our lives, but we don’t have to wait for them to happen. We can be the author of them.”

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We can all recount moments that changed our lives. This book is about those moments - what they have in common, how to recognise a moment and, most importantly, how to create one. There are a range of examples of how 'moments' can be used to change things - from teaching, to improving sanitation in the developing world, to turning around failing schools.

The writing style is conversational and accessible, but there seems to be sound research behind everything. Because of the storytelling aspects of the book, I found it quite a moving read in places (especially the bit about the guy who wrote his mother a letter).

I heartily recommend this book, especially to anyone who feels like their life is stuck in a rut. It certainly made me think about how I could do things better (or at least differently), so I guess reading it was a moment in itself.

I received a free copy of this from Netgalley/ the publishers in return for an honest review. Thank you!

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have An Extraordinary Impact written by acclaimed NYT bestselling author’s Chip Heath and his brother Dan Heath, is an engaging and exceptional book that combines the latest research from education, teaching, business, to technology with four basic principal concepts. These concepts shape and define our world, and can be applied to every aspect of our personal and professional lives.

The author’s note that our lives are measured in moments—“We all have defining moments in our lives.” Many believe these are the result of fate, luck, or intervention of a higher power. It was surprising to learn that we can increase these important moments, and do not have to wait around or be on stand-by wondering what will happen next. We can create experiences and situations that foster these breakthrough memorable moments that enrich our connections with others that can move us in an entirely new direction or career path.

The four noted elements defined in the book: Moments of Elevation, Moments of Insight, Moments of Pride, Moments of Connection-- were fully explained and how these were applied in this breakthrough ideology. It was interesting to note the ways people remember certain life experiences and forget others. The defining moments of our lives influence us in a multitude of ways and impact our understanding of the people, culture and natural world around us. Every culture has their own special and higher moments: celebrations and parties of all kinds, religious customs/rituals, and political civic events, etc. Research supported that with the combination of negative and positive information “Bad was stronger than Good” People tend to remember and obsess over negative experience/outcomes over more positive and happier times. One example was sport fans remembering losses over wins.

There were many interesting stories. The first was about improvement that led to insight and better education, relief workers that helped primitive isolated villagers with sanitation measures, a leadership conference that stressed that innovation started outside the office, workers were treated respectfully and encouraged to participate in a retreat. A new marketing strategy encouraged the vital importance of going beyond understanding and actually “feel” the customer’s needs. This is a brief review, there was much more to this remarkable fascinating book that truly has the power to change and influence a person’s life and work.
Chip Heath is a professor in Business Education at Stanford University, and has helped launch over 450 businesses. He lives in Los Gatos, CA. Dan Heath is a senior fellow at Duke University, he lives in Durham, N.C. **With thanks and appreciation to Simon & Schuster via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.

#POWEROFMOMENTS

Every person has moments that stand out in their memory. Maybe it was a moment where something unexpected took place, or an occurrence that triggered a raw emotion, or an event that was just particularly special.

Yet while we're well aware that some moments matter more than others, rarely do we ask why. Why do some moments stand out but not others? More importantly, is there a way for us to engineer moments precisely to stand out? These are the questions at the heart of the Heath brothers' book, The Power of Moments.

The Heath brothers have mastered the art of the metaphor as business book, developing mnemonic devices that help with communicating messages that stick, effective change management, or even making better decisions. In The Power of Moments, they avoid going down that route for fear of potentially trivializing the subject matter but articulate a nonetheless cogent paradigm for understanding the characteristics that allow specific moments to have extraordinary impact.

Those characteristics are as follows: elevation, insight, pride, and connection. Elevation takes place when a moment represent an emotional peak compared to others, often arising when one "flips the script" of what is otherwise expected. Insight pertains to how certain moments help deliver meaningful insights. Naturally, moments that bring us pride–from our accomplishments or milestones we have achieved, among others–often stand out in our reminiscences. Finally, moments also become memorable when they allow us to develop a deeper connection with others.

The promise of the book is that by understanding these characteristics it becomes possible for to design moments that stick, which in the context of business (and life, actually) can be a useful differentiator. "We must learn to think in moments," the Heath brothers write, "to spot the occasions that are worthy of investment." This is an important point, lest the key message of The Power of Moments be misunderstood. It's not a how-to book for making every single experience stand out; such would be self-defeating. By definition, moments become special because others are mundane, and therefore expecting to make every moment exceptional is as logical as insisting that everyone can be above average (i.e., it's not, and you can't).

Rather, the right way of looking at things is the other way around: assuming we wanted a specific moment in business or life to really stand out, whether for ourselves or for others, The Power of Moments shares ideas on how to help make this happen.

The Power of Moments is a guide to having more stand-out moments in your life and how those can change you. We all experience moments that catapult us in a direction, but do they have as much of an effect if we aren't paying attention to them?

"This book features captivating stories of people who have created standout moments: The owners who transformed an utterly mediocre hotel into one of the best-loved properties in Los Angeles by conjuring moments of magic for guests. Relief workers who beat a deadly health practice in one village by causing the locals to trip over the truth. The scrappy team that turned around one of the worst elementary schools in the country by embracing an intervention that lasts less than an hour."

Chip and Dan Heath have filled this book with moving stories from people who've taken chances. Who've done big and small things to change the course of their life. Some of the stories are big stories that I would think to myself could never happen for me, but then I would read a story that resonated in me and I would wonder what moment could change the course of my life. Am I missing these moments? Am I closed off to them?

This book made me question choices in my life. Do I take enough risks? What transformation would I need to make for risks to seem less scary? Are big opportunities really just chance?

"We all have defining moments in our lives -- meaningful experiences that stand out in our memory. Many of them owe a great deal to chance: A lucky encounter with someone who becomes the love of your life. A new teacher who spots a talent you didn't know you had. A sudden loss that upends the certainties of your life. A realization that you don't want to spend one more day in your job. These moments seem to be the product of fate or luck or maybe a higher power's interventions. We can't control them."

The Power of Moments helps readers decide what defining moments are and how to create life-changing defining moments.

"In the book, we have two goals: First, we want to examine defining moments and identify the traits they have in common. What, specifically, makes a particular experience memorable and meaningful? Our research shows that defining moments share a set of common elements. Second, we want to show you how you can create defining moments by making use of those elements. Why would you want to create them? To enrich your experiences. To connect with others. To make memories. To launch your life or your career or your team in a new direction."

I won't lie, this book is a little heavy and takes a while to read. I kept finding myself going back and rereading a section that resonated with me. So, if you are looking for a quick read this is not it. But, if you are looking for ways to make your life more defined and are open to new ideas, this book is for you!

This book highlights some interesting ways that companies and organizations are able to create defining moments as a way to take their performance to the next level. The authors provide some data that supports the boost in sales or other performance data that can happen when you succeed in creating those moments. I enjoyed reading the examples that the authors wrote about in the book, but they weren't particularly memorable, and I was left wondering why the authors wouldn't have made some effort in trying to apply their concept to the book that they were writing? The author's premise is to show people how to create defining moments, but beyond writing a book about it, how do the authors attempt to make their book memorable? For me, there was nothing remarkable about this one, and I had to look back through the book at the examples they gave before I wrote this review - I probably won't remember much about it a month from now.

CERTAIN BRIEF EXPERIENCES CAN JOLT US

In THE POWER OF MOMENTS, Chip and Dan Heath suggest an intriguing possibility: We can actually create special moments—we don’t just have to wait for them to happen to us. Instead, “We can be the author of them.”

To create these moments, we have to first understand what makes historical events stand out as special. Chip and Dan cite research that explains which memories really stand out. When we look back at some event, we forget about the duration, and instead recall just 2 main things: The best or worst moment, and the ending.

Knowing what our mind recalls suggests a strategy—we focus on creating a few memorable highlights. Well, just how do we go about making great moments for ourselves? The authors have boiled it down to 4 key things. We can actually synthesize great experiences if we include one or more of these aspects:

1) ELEVATION: Moments that rise above the commonplace
2) INSIGHT: Some new understanding
3) PRIDE: Moments of achievement
4) CONNECTION: Social engagements.

Chip and Dan spend a lot of time explaining each of the 4 keys, and tell lots of funny stories about how companies did something to create a special moment.

I found the chapter on creating elevating moments especially interesting. The authors provide a recipe on creating such a moment:

(1) Boost the sensory appeal;
(2) Raise the stakes; or
(3) Break the script—do something radically difference.

I found THE POWER OF MOMENTS to be a fun read, with lots of practical ideas. I enjoyed the anecdotes that illustrate the principles. Don’t miss the story of how the Ritz Carlton took photos of the forgotten toy “vacationing” around the hotel. Each chapter concludes with a summary called the “Whirlwind review.” I found this summary to be a good recap of the points in each chapter.

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

You already know that actions speak louder than words, but do you know how to create the right actions to have the right lasting impact? The Heath brothers draw on diverse resources to define what makes moments not just memorable but course-changing. If you're a corporate manager or leader, school leader, parent or nonprofit catalyst, try their techniques and see what happens. Rich in examples and practical advice, this book will get you started.

Thanks, NetGalley, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those books that if acted on, can change our lives for the better.. Heath brothers deliver yet another powerful book, wrapped in compelling stories... highly recommended

This is the first book I have read of Dan and Chip Heath, and I loved this book so much, I immediately got a copy of one of their earlier books, Switch, which I am also thoroughly enjoying.

The Power of Moments is about why certain moments and experiences in our life are so powerful that they can change us, and how to create more such moments for ourselves, our children, our employees and our customers.

At first glance, it doesn't seem like this is such an important goal - creating more important moments. But think about it, how many days and specific moments do you remember from high school, or college, or your vacation last summer? What would you like your kids to remember from their Christmas holiday or their vacation with their grandparents, or your customers to remember from their interaction with your product or service?

At a time when word of mouth is essential for marketing, when the practice of recording each meal and experience of our life is mandatory, how will we look back and what will stand out in our memories as something that mattered, even was life-changing? The stories the authors share are varied - from experiences in high school that remained with the students even years later, to a hotel that provided an amazing level of service, to the perfect way to welcome a new employee. There are so many points in our life when with a bit of thinking and planning, we can transform the moment to something we will always remember. This book teaches us how to do that.

This is a very thought provoking book. It really makes you want to make changes!

This latest book by Chip and Dan Heath investigates what the defining moments of our lives have in common and how to create powerful moments for ourselves and others. The book itself has a business focus, but the concepts are interesting and can be applied generally to many situations. This book also includes and reviews other works that relate to this topic. I enjoyed it and would recommend to readers of general non-fiction, self-help or business books.