Written by Charles Duhigg, published in 2012. Summary and review.

I picked this book in hopes of better understanding… well… The Power of Habits. And in some regard, the book delivers. But only on the surface level. I would argue that most of this book is anecdotal stories that aim to “prove” his points. Which to me feels like Googling something until you find an article that backs up whatever point you want to make.

We get a long story about how the popular song Hey Ya was, on paper, supposed to be a smash hit. It wasn’t. Or at least it wasn’t until radio stations forced it down peoples ear-throats in between other, already popular songs. Thus creating, allegedly, a sense of familiarity and ultimately massive success for the song. Now perhaps I don’t like this argument as I was (and still am) a fan of the song. It hit right in my formative early collegiate years. But was that because of radio play manipulation, mass marketing, or just a good song being a good song? I don’t think the point of his story justifies the end result.

We also get a long story about how Target is really good at manipulating its shoppers… in particular, pregnant women. I do certainly believe that data can help tell a story, and using said data can be highly beneficial for how to structure your business – in this case identify, then target/solicit (specifically soon to be moms). But this story, to me, doesn’t help accomplish what I expected the book to provide. How habits can help me, the individual. I’ll blame myself on that one.

Charles ultimately states that habits can be powerful if we understand how to identify and use them to our advantage. Which is what I wanted the whole damn book to be about. Alas, this is mostly outlined in the last chapter.

• Identify the routine
• Identify what the cue for your routine is
• Identify the reward (and experiment with various rewards)
• Isolate the cue
• Have a plan

I do find these steps useful, but would argue I did not need to read a full book to gain this “perspective”. And I do not beileve this books answers “Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business”.

TLDR: If you enjoy a “self-help” book that mostly provides anecdotal stories, then this is the book for you. If you want a book that provides actionable steps to understanding habits, you’ll be underwhelmed. Would Not Recommend. 2/5 Star.