Les Robinson was a social marketer who wondered why his campaigns sometimes fizzled and decided to find out why. In his early years he lent communication finesse to citizen campaigns against sand mining, freeways, landfills and Sydney’s only waste incinerator (now closed), which sparked his interest in social change. He is now Australia’s most experienced and knowledgeable change facilitator, consultant to government agencies and councils – training, facilitating and advising practitioners on behaviour change programmes in areas including health, sustainability, road safety and emergency management. He runs his own business, Enabling Change.

• Introduction: How to change the worldPopular folk theories: Why it’s necessary to slay our assumptionsMethod: Establish a brains trustThe social immune system: Why tell, sell and threaten rarely workIngredient 1: First, start a buzzHow nothing happens without conversationMethod: How to start a buzzIngredient 2: Offer hopeHow frustration motivates changeMethod: Sketch a hopeful futureIngredient 3: Create an enabling environmentIt’s the system, stupidMethod: Making a theory of changeIngredient 4: Design a sticky solutionHow reinvention drives changeMethod: Testing for stickinessIngredient 5: Expanding the comfort zoneHow to help people reduce their fearsMethod: Making a theory of actionIngredient 6: Find the right inviterSome people we just can’t say ‘no’ toMethod: Creating an invitationBringing it all together: The uses of theoryFurther readingReferences and NotesIndex

A beguilingly simple framework for effective social change illustrated with loads of helpful and inspiring examples. Thought provoking at every turn, I finished the book buzzing with new ideas to try out in my own work.