The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
by Charles Duhigg · 2012
In a nutshell
A groundbreaking exploration by New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg of the science behind habit formation and how understanding habits can transform businesses, organizations, and lives.
Overview
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business is a book by Charles Duhigg, a New York Times reporter, published in February 2012 by Random House. The book has sold more than 3 million copies and became a New York Times bestseller.
Core Argument
At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.
The Habit Loop
The Habit loop is a neurological pattern that governs any habit. It consists of three elements:
- Cue: A trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode
- Routine: The behavior itself, which can be physical, mental, or emotional
- Reward: A positive stimulus that tells your brain this particular loop is worth remembering
Understanding these components can help in understanding how to change bad habits or form good ones.
Business Applications
The book includes numerous business examples:
- How Paul O'Neill transformed Alcoa by attacking a single pattern—worker safety—and soon the firm became the top performer in the Dow Jones
- Inside Procter & Gamble's development of Febreze
- How Target identifies and markets to pregnant women before they announce their pregnancy
- How keystone habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death
Impact and Reception
The book reached the best seller list for The New York Times, Amazon.com, and USA Today. It was longlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award in 2012.
Key Insights
Duhigg demonstrates that by understanding how habits function, we can change them, leading to transformations in our personal lives and our organizations.
Typically available for $15-28 at major bookstores.
Reference
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — publisher / official page. Summary adapted from the Awesome Startup Books collection.
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