THE POWER OF HABIT LOOP

THE POWER OF HABIT -– CHARLES DUHIGG

“Champions don’t do extraordinary things. They do ordinary things, but they do them without thinking, too fast for the other team to react. They follow the habits they’ve learned.”

While I was aware that individuals form habits, this book opened my mind to a completely new perspective of organizational and team habits. It was eye opening to understand how organizations form habits which percolates down to their employees and results in much bigger impact and transformation, lasting much longer. The HABIT LOOP - “First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future”.

“Willpower isn’t just a skill. It’s a muscle, like the muscles in your arms or legs, and it gets tired as it works harder, so there’s less power left over for other things.”

It has been a very rewarding experience ever since I read this book, initially I found it difficult to embrace a change, but gradually with practice, I was able to notice the subtle changes that I am able to make. Like my morning routine has now completely changed, I was never a morning person, but I am NOW. I could use the cue-routine-reward loop to bring in this change. Besides I could recognize how team habits were formed in my past teams and could appreciate and understand the power of cue-routine-reward. Now I try to use this loop, to institutionalize some of the habits that I believe the teams should practice. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone to understand a tiny bit of human brain and form powerful habits.

“A company with dysfunctional habits can’t turn around simply because a leader orders it. Rather, wise executives seek out moments of crisis—or create the perception of crisis—and cultivate the sense that something must change, until everyone is finally ready to overhaul the patterns they live with each day”

Summary:

1. Everyone can change habits, focus on the reward, narrow down on the routine and identify the cues which forces us towards the routine

2. Don’t try to change the world, just focus on one master habit that is central to our behavior and actions

3. Habits are a very powerful tool for institutionalizing high performance in individuals, teams and organizations

4. As a leader, once the outcome is zeroed down, look for the cues that that can trigger the team routines and use them to form successful and lasting habits