The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg starts with a prologue that focuses on a woman named Lisa. She had turned around many negative aspects of her life (losing weight, quitting smoking, advancing professionally) and scientists were studying how she had made these major changes successfully, in a relatively short time. They honed in on her decision to quit smoking as a “keystone habit” that taught her how to reprogram other routines in her life as well.
With this dramatic example, Duhigg lays out the structure of the book and turns to a similarly compelling example that shows how habits can play a major role in organizational and social change as well. His example is from a military officer in Iraq who managed to reduce violence by examining habits and removing the presence of food vendors.
Certainly a compelling introduction – I’m cautiously optimistic about reading the rest of this.
business *is* personal 