The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit (Concentrated Knowledge for the Busy Executive)

by Charles Duhigg

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This instant classic explores how we can change our lives by changing our habits.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Wall Street Journal • Financial Times
 
In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents...

Read more

Reviewed by adamfortuna on

4 of 5 stars

Share
The subtitle for this book could be "How to use habit to direct human behavior". Most of the examples are less about habit on a personal level and more about them on a societal level. One example that I enjoyed was about a time in Iraq where people were collecting in a square everyday. Eventually someone would throw a loud firecracker (or worse) into the mix and everyone would flee -- a dangerous situation. Rather than using force to move people out, they moved the food vendors a block away. Now the crowd couldn't hang around for hours on end, as their food habits caused them to disperse earlier.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 August, 2015: Finished reading
  • 21 August, 2015: Reviewed