The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Habit formation, change, use and abuse (and some fun stories)
New York Times investigative reporter Charles Duhigg has assembled a compelling set of stories about the overarching influence habit plays in our lives, its neurological underpinnings, how habits develop, how they may be altered, and how they may be used to undermine us. Duhigg’s curiosity leads him to variegated and interesting applications of the concept of habit formation, from Tony Dungy’s quest for a super bowl ring to the selling of Pepsodent, a milestone in advertising history.These stories of corporate manipulation are among Duhigg’s most persuasive. Most appalling was his story of an Iowa housewife who married early and accomplished little, except that she was adept at gambling. Her humdrum life became rewarding when she was able to order comped suites for friends’ weddings because Harrah’s valued her patronage so highly. Her anxiety was always relieved when she sat down at the black jack table. Harrah’s casino showered her with personal attention. Even after she went bankrupt, Harrah’s continued to call, making offers of benefits she could not refuse. Finally, after many hard knocks, she was given a second chance when her parents left a nice inheritance. Of course, she continued to answer Harrah’s calls (they got upset when she declined to come) and gambled the inheritance away.Then there is Boutique Target, spending vast sums to find statistical changes in spending patterns when women get pregnant. Once identified as a likely pregnancy (when her receipts show increased purchases of lotions, expanded waist pants, etc.), a woman begins to receive relevant discount offers, subtly hidden within coupon books. Pregnant women are “a gold mine,” leading to infant, child, and family expenditures worth thousands. The Boutique is going to be sure they get their share of the action. Like Harrah’s, they take advantage of customer habit to influence purchases to their benefit.To the good, Duhigg recounts the story of a young man named Travis whose drug-addicted parents taught him none of the social skills required for success or even for holding down a menial job. He was a bright kid who knew that when the house was clean, that meant mom and dad had switched from heroin to meth and things were about to get seriously out of control. Travis dropped out of school, failed at McDonald’s, then got a break when he was hired as a barista at Starbucks.It seems that Starbucks had determined that world domination was based on convincing large numbers of people to pay four dollars a throw for a cup of coffee. This meant not only the addition of special nutrients such as heavy cream and sugary Italian flavoring, but also the emphatic recognition of the customer’s personal value to the outlet. Starbucks taught its baristas to show care and consideration for customers. Travis took fifty hours of in-house courses, equivalent of a college semester, learning habits of positive customer relations. He wrote out and memorized the LATTE method: Listen to the customer. Acknowledge their complaint. Take action by solving the problem. Explain why the problem occurred. Travis paid attention. At age 26, he managed two Starbucks outlets, had no debt and a 401K. Travis had been socialized by a corporation.The first third of the book deals with habit formation (cue, craving, routine, reward) and an appendix tells the reader how to change habits. The program is a bit reductive and sounds like cognitive behavioral therapy by another name, which it pretty much is. Nuances of interpersonal differences, the effects of various psychological states and diagnoses, the limits imposed by life circumstance, these are not factors that Duhigg treats in detail.To his credit, Duhigg deals with higher functions than the simple changing of unconscious processes, like changing a pattern of cookie eating in the afternoon (a rather facile but helpful piece about his own habit change). His discussion of the success of Alcoholics Anonymous includes speculations that belief is sometimes necessary to overcome a life-long, pervasive habit, such as alcohol addiction. It is insufficient to deal with the physical addiction and to replace the habit with a new routine (e.g., calling a sponsor or going to a meeting instead of a bar).The application of a belief that things can get better has been shown to assist addicts who suffer stress or temptation. Duhigg points out that when the chips were down, Tony Dungy’s football team failed to apply the positive habits that had taken them to the playoffs. They failed to believe that the habits would work in the clutch. After Dungy lost a son, the team thereafter came together for his sake and won the Superbowl. Duhigg attributes the win to belief. It seems equally likely that this success came from increased motivation and affiliation among team members rallying around their beloved coach.In my experience, clients often change when they embrace values more important to them than the rewards of a self-destructive habit. Rather than drinking, the client chooses to establish habits consistent with enhancing a child’s life. A four-decade smoker stops cold turkey when his new love demands kissing sweet breath. It is the researcher’s job to perform the experiments necessary to establish such a point. Duhigg, as a reporter, has done a yeoman’s job of ferreting out the available findings and interviewing the authors. He cannot be held responsible for what social science has not yet ascertained.What Duhigg does best is to spin a fine story, from Paul O’Neill turning Alcoa around by concentrating on habits of safety to the seeming exclusion of everything else (he knew that establishment of habits of safe production would lead to habits of efficient production), to the story of Travis’s socialization at Starbucks. If he goes a bit far afield by shoe horning the Montgomery bus boycott into a story of habit change, so what? It’s still a fun story and well worth reading. The world may not change, but lots of people will be better off for having read this book.

I absolutely love this book!It is well written, clear and incredibly helpful to understand ourselves, and how our brain works.I use this new knowledge every day.Thank you.

الكتاب مهم جدا لان فهمك سيكولوجية العاده و قدرتك على انك توقف عاده زي التدخين او تبني عاده زي الجيم العادات هي الي بتشكل شخصيتك حياتك فلوسك انصح جدا بيه لو الانجليزي بتاعك كويس

Lectura super interesante, te permite entender el ciclo que nuestro cerebro realiza cada vez que una “pista” te lleva a realizar la rutina (el hábito en sí) y la recompensa. Claro recorrido para aquellos que quieren entender un poco más acerca del cerebro humano, sin entrar en la neurociencia técnica y profunda (pero entendiendo a la vez!)