There is also a long case study about Febreze – no one would buy amazing product when its reward was positioned as “masks bad smells”. “I want to feel beautiful” was not enough to form the habit – it had to be accompanied by a physical sensation that the consumer craved. What set pepsodent apart was they added chemicals to create a tingly sensation in mouth after use which consumers craved.

All other pastes at time used similar approaches. A successful campaign used “film on teeth” as cue, routine of brushing teeth with product, and feeling beautiful as the reward. However, a new habit is only formed if there is fuel to power it craving. Cue, routine and reward are the components that need to be present. Uses several examples from advertising and experiments to develop an argument that the habit loop above in itself is not enough for new habits to form. Observes that although easy to describe, it can often be really hard work to correctly identify each component.Ĭhapter 2: The Craving Brain – How to Create New Habits The absence of any one part of the loop will prevent the habit from forming.

Routine – a specific action or set of actionsīy understanding habits in this way, we can begin to understand the components of what needs to be in place for habits to form.

Proposes that habit forming always follows same pattern: If something is a habit, it saves brain power as don’t need to think about it. Habits are framed as an evolutionary way of saving effort. Possible to see brain activity change as habits are formed. The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change – by Charles Duhigg (Amazon UK link)Ĭhapter 1: The Habit Loop – How Habits WorkĬites various famous cases of patients with brain injuries, and experiments in MIT with rats highlights the importance of specific regions of the brain for habit formation.

To think about what of this we connect onto training we currently deliver locally around The Habits of an Improver (Lucas & Nacer)Īnyway I hope you find the summary of interest.To develop my own QI practice, with a specific mind to the content on willpower, and.To think about how to generate more cohesion and connection in my organisation around QI.I’m using the ideas in the book in three ways at present: If you’ve read the book then I’d love to know your thoughts, and if you’ve done a summary why not share it here? If you are interested in the psychological aspects of QI, then you may find the book a good read. Here is a chapter summary I wrote of The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg.

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