Author: Charles Duhigg
When we look back on history I am sure the first couple of decades in the second millennium are going to stand out in terms of the number of books written on behavioral science or ecomomics. Add this one to the heap of books trying to decipher the inner workings of the mind, by conducting little experiments on unsuspecting volunteers and drawing sweeping conclusions.
Charles tackles the stickiness of habits and what makes them so hard to get rid of. The fundamental premise is that there are three main ingredients that go into creating sticky habit. First there is a cue that triggers the behavior. Then there is the actual behavior itself or routine. Finally the habit culminates in a reward (actual or perceived) that we crave. To break the habit you need to identify all three of them and then, change the routine to something acceptable, while still attaining the reward. Sounds simple in theory, but as people who have trouble giving up smoking, drinking, snacking will attest, is very hard to do in practice.
The book is not profound in any way, and even the stories are not particularly compelling. There are some interesting tidbits of info, especially around how Target targeted pregnant women, in some cases even before some of their families knew about their pregnancies. The stories of how Pepsodent made toothbrushing a habit, and Procter & Gamble got the Febreze scent to be associated with cleanliness, the CEO of Alcoa who made the company successful by simply focusing on safety are all mildly entertaining. They don't necessarily underscore the main hypothesis of the book, but are interesting reads. Overall, the best part of the book is that it is a quick read and you will be happy to learn that habits can be changed. However, the book is unlikely to leave a lasting impression on you.
When we look back on history I am sure the first couple of decades in the second millennium are going to stand out in terms of the number of books written on behavioral science or ecomomics. Add this one to the heap of books trying to decipher the inner workings of the mind, by conducting little experiments on unsuspecting volunteers and drawing sweeping conclusions.
Charles tackles the stickiness of habits and what makes them so hard to get rid of. The fundamental premise is that there are three main ingredients that go into creating sticky habit. First there is a cue that triggers the behavior. Then there is the actual behavior itself or routine. Finally the habit culminates in a reward (actual or perceived) that we crave. To break the habit you need to identify all three of them and then, change the routine to something acceptable, while still attaining the reward. Sounds simple in theory, but as people who have trouble giving up smoking, drinking, snacking will attest, is very hard to do in practice.
The book is not profound in any way, and even the stories are not particularly compelling. There are some interesting tidbits of info, especially around how Target targeted pregnant women, in some cases even before some of their families knew about their pregnancies. The stories of how Pepsodent made toothbrushing a habit, and Procter & Gamble got the Febreze scent to be associated with cleanliness, the CEO of Alcoa who made the company successful by simply focusing on safety are all mildly entertaining. They don't necessarily underscore the main hypothesis of the book, but are interesting reads. Overall, the best part of the book is that it is a quick read and you will be happy to learn that habits can be changed. However, the book is unlikely to leave a lasting impression on you.
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