Open Business and The Power of Habit

3 thoughts on “Open Business and The Power of Habit”

  1. Ah, fun! This thinking reminds me of the Heath brothers discussion of the Rider, the Path, and the Elephant.

  2. Thanks Luis – your posts always give me plenty to think about !
    I find it interesting that almost every video or discussion I happen to have come across when talking about Habit and Behaviours and how we might change them – use “smoking” whether graphically or in the narrative.. But no-one seems to mention that despite its association with clear cues and certain routine behaviours the power of this habit is a physical addiction to nicotine – a drug we all know can cause life threatening health problems. Changing that kind of habit involves physical withdrawal symptoms which is why, in extreme circumstances, medical intervention is required. So why is there still a need to use this analogy when trying to talk about changing work related habits?
    Do they carry health warnings too?

    As to the subject of reward – is it not difficult to ask for behavioural changes and habit breaking moves if the reward is “long term”? We live in a world where instant gratification is everything – whether 6 second videos, instant messaging, bitesize information, live coverage etc – a reward every second for doing very little. So how do we persuade people on the basis of long term reward in a culture that screams out the opposite?
    Humans rarely break long term habits in a second – and whatever gamification or reward you offer has limited shelf value and needs to be updated all the time to keep momentum going. So what’s the answer?
    Changing work behaviours involves different patterns of behaviour and a multitude of different people all with their own particular habits – so there is rarely “one suits all method”. But perhaps (not the first time I’ve raised this I know) a constant cycle of demonstrating why social is there, what it’s uses are and how it can benefit – in a constant drip feed method together with celebrating the successes where its proven and as progress is made, is a better more long lasting way than trying to pinpoint rewards – short or long term?

    As always Luis – food for thought – and thanks for providing the excellent fodder!

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