Despite the title, this is not a self-helpy “rah-rah you can do it” kind of book. While there is
decidedly empowering information from The Power of Habit, the longer subtitle may shed more light on what the book really uncovers: “Why we do what we do in life and business.” And if you don’t like that, the cover design is pretty awesome too, so if you’re pressed for time, just read the cover. You likely won’t get as much out of it as reading the whole book, which I think is a cool ride written by a smart, insightful writer.
Whether you’re reading because you want to know more about your habitual behavior or because you want to gain some insight into how to run your company better, there’s something for everyone in here, I think. The reason for that is this: habits are more than just “bad” habits. According to Duhigg they are pretty much ALL of our behavior from listening to music to exercise to gambling to leadership to community and everything else.
One of the most fascinating stories in the book to me is the Civil Rights Movement story Duhigg tells: lots of black people got arrested on buses before Rosa Parks. But it took Parks—a particular kind of person and part of her community—to be arrested to set off the chain reaction of habitual community behavior. Then there’s the story of Tony Dungy and his rise to being one of the preeminent coaches in all of sport and how he uniquely views the game of football—and how to win it.
So if you want to know more about why you go—or don’t go—to the gym, eat too much, smoke, or want to change a company’s dynamics, The Power of Habit is a habit-handbook that’ll surely help you (like it did me) understand and/or take control of the omnipresent “habit loop”—whether as a leader or in your personal life. After all, the ability to change something starts with knowing what it is and how it works.
And if you don’t like that, well, there’s always the cover.
