Book description
In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times
business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of
scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can
be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill
vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings
to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential
for transformation.
Along the way we learn why some people and companies struggle to
change, despite years of trying, while others seem to remake
themselves overnight. We visit laboratories where neuroscientists
explore how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains.
We discover how the right habits were crucial to the success of
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and
civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. We go inside Procter &
Gamble, Target superstores, Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, NFL
locker rooms, and the nation's largest hospitals and see how
implementing so-called keystone habits can earn billions and mean the
difference between failure and success, life and death.
At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating
argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising
exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary
companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding
how habits work.
Habits aren't destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this
new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.
CHARLES DUHIGG is an investigative reporter for
The
New York Times
. He is a winner of the National Academies of Sciences, National
Journalism and George Polk awards, and was part of a team of finalists
for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. He is a frequent contributor to
This
American Life
, NPR,
PBS NewsHour,
and
Frontline
. A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale College, he lives in
Brooklyn with his wife and two children.
