How to Use Leverage Points to Get Unstuck in Work and Life

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When people get stuck in their job or personal life, the common response is to either work harder or shrug and accept that "that's just the way things are." My guest today has a much better solution to getting moving and making progress again. Dan Heath is a bestselling author whose latest book is Reset: How to Change What's Not Working. Today on the show, Dan shares how to escape from ineffective systems and the inertia of continuing to do things the way they've always been done by pressing on leverage points — places where a little bit of effort yields disproportionate returns. Dan explains why you need "to go and see the work," why meaningful change requires "restacking resources," how short, focused "bursts" of effort often accomplish more than prolonged campaigns, how sometimes being inefficient can actually make us more effective, and more. Along the way, Dan shares plenty of stories and examples that illustrate how to implement these principles into your work, relationships, and family.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.
0:11.6	When people get stuck in their job or personal life, the common response is to either work harder or shrug and accept that.
0:17.0	That's just the way things are.
0:19.0	My guest today has a much better solution to getting moving and making progress again.
0:23.2	Dan Heath is a best-selling author whose latest book is Reset, How to Change What's Not Working.
0:28.1	Today on the show, Dan shares how to escape from ineffective systems in the inertia of
0:31.8	continuing to do things the way they've always been done by pressing on leverage points,
0:35.9	places where a little bit of effort yields disproportionate returns.
0:39.6	Dan explains why you need to go and see the work,
0:42.1	why meaningful change requires restacking resources,
0:45.1	how short, focused burst of effort often accomplish more than prolonged campaigns,
0:49.2	how sometimes being inefficient can actually make us more effective and more.
0:53.1	Along the way, Dan shares plenty of stories and examples that illustrate how to implement
0:56.9	these principles into your work, relationships, and family.
1:00.3	After the show's over, check at our welcome back to the show.
1:18.1	Hey, thanks for having me back, Brett.
1:19.8	So last time we had you on, we were talking about your book upstream.
1:22.9	This was right at the start of the pandemic.
1:24.8	You got a new book out called Reset, which is all about how to
1:28.5	solve problems that seem like are unsolvable. And you start out the book talking about how
1:34.9	just a regular old trip through a Chick-fil-A drive-thru inspired you, basically inspired you
1:42.0	to write this book. So what happened in that Chick-Filly drive-through?
	...

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