Charles Duhigg

I have kind of mixed feelings about this book. It talks about a lot of things that are, in themselves, pretty interesting, from how marketers convinced people to use toothpaste and Fabreze, to how a lack of inter-departmental communication was responsible for a deadly fire in a London Underground station, to why Rosa Parks' unwillingness to give up her seat proved so pivotal to the civil rights movement when others before her had done the same thing with no results.

But I'm not sure all of show more these anecdotes really add up to anything coherent. Duhigg's concept of what constitutes a "habit" -- basically, a prompt leading to an action leading to some expected reward or benefit -- is so broad as to encompass practically all of human behavior, and, rather than a close examination of the concept of habits, the book feels more like a loose collection of stories drawn semi-randomly from the fields of psychology, business and sociology. Which is interesting enough, but not really very satisfying. show less

At the risk of sounding flippant, Duhigg should have been smarter, better and faster at pinpointing strategies for improving productivity.
Some communicators ascribe to the belief that the four most important words in journalism are “tell me a story.” This book takes this principle to an extreme – especially for readers who presumably are bent on becoming more efficient. Scenarios that could have been effectively recounted in a lively but tightly-written page-long anecdote drag on far show more longer than warranted or necessary. I found myself skimming numerous passages until I hit the proverbial “punch lines” or, as Duhigg describes them, “secrets.”
Unfortunately, the “secrets” for becoming more productive could easily be fit on a double-spaced piece of 8 1/2 X 11" paper.
Don’t get me wrong. Some of the ground covered by Duhigg is valuable. His case studies that chronicle the benefits of setting audacious or “stretched” goals offer important insights. The advantages of what he calls “bullet train thinking” can help boost productivity. But other tips fall into the class of “Productivity 101.” Example: pay attention to those goals/tasks that really matter and practice ignoring the less-important goals.
Still, I suspect many readers who are eager to find new tactics for becoming more productive will conclude lessons contained in this book could have been presented in a more efficient manner. show less

Early on while listening to this audiobook, I was ready to eject the disc and forget the whole thing. The content was shaping up to be just another business book on how to maximize profits. Take the story of Claude C. Hopkins for example. He was an American businessman and advertising pioneer who applied the science of habits towards helping clients sell products. Active in the early 20th century, Mr. Hopkins is credited with promoting daily teeth brushing by showing that doing so would show more remove a film that forms naturally on the teeth. Never mind that brushing was overkill (swishing water in your mouth will do the job), people nevertheless bought into the new habit, and millions of dollars were made. Ahh, advertising.

In spite of celebrating the likes of Claude C. Hopkins, I kept listening. After a while I got the impression of a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on. For the most part, this book wants to be a statistical how-to manual for reforming individuals and businesses, but underneath all the rationality lurks a dark side. It's one thing to bite your nails and wish you could stop, but it's another thing entirely to wield the power of habit to manipulate others. More on this in a moment.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg breaks down the structure of a habit into three parts: cue, action and reward. He goes on to show how it's overwhelmingly easier to alter a habit rather than cease doing it entirely. For the bad habits, one need only change the destructive part of the habit, the action, and keep the other parts intact. This works provided an appropriate substitute is found.

The most influential parts for me were the sections on small winds and weak ties. Small winds are like a controlled butterfly effect—small changes leveraged in the present so that bigger changes can be enacted later on. Weak ties relate to the relational bonds between people. There are family and friends and there are complete strangers, and somewhere in between are the weak ties. A surprisingly strong connection, these are the people you may know of, but not very well. Or you may not know them at all even though they belong to your community, church, etc. Movements are born and political campaigns are won using these weak ties.

The section on corporate retailers (Target being the given example) takes us to more uncomfortable territory. Here they mine consumer buying data to predict a customer's future buying needs. Hardly innocuous coupon advertising; this is big brother stuff, and to the book's credit, it admits the same thing. Profits are up! But so are intrusions of privacy! (Jekyll and Hyde.) We all know this is going on, but to what extent?

The last section ventures into the territory of habit versus free will with biting examples of gambling addiction and committing involuntary manslaughter... while asleep! This isn't your feel good biz org manual anymore. It's this dichotomy that seals the deal for The Power of Habit being one of the most important reads this year. show less

I'd heard about The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business by Charles Duhigg from several different sources, always as a recommended book. I finally broke down and bought a copy and then put it in my to-read pile to get to eventually. I wish now I'd put it on the top of my to-read pile. It was that interesting and informative. As I read about cues and routines and rewards, I felt my usual resistance rise up. I suppose I'm a skeptic at heart because I often feel the need to show more be convinced. Duhigg breaks down the studies he references with an ease that makes them read as easy as reading a novel making The Power of Habit a very approachable read. As I read, I began to think about my own habits. I examined which habits are productive for me and which ones aren't. I realized it really isn't always that easy to see one's own cues, routines, or even the rewards without some deep examination. The Power of Habit pushed me to think about the role of habit in everything around me and with everyone around me. show less