ThePowerofHabitisaworkofnonfiction.Nonetheless,somenamesandpersonalcharacteristicsof individualsoreventshavebeenchanged inorder todisguise identities. Any resulting resemblance to persons living or dead isentirelycoincidentalandunintentional.

Copyright©2012byCharlesDuhiggAllrightsreserved.PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyRandomHouse,animprintof

TheRandomHousePublishingGroup,adivisionofRandomHouse, Inc.,NewYork.

RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of RandomHouse,Inc.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData

Duhigg,Charles.

The power of habit : why we do what we do in life and business / byCharlesDuhigg.

p.cm.

Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.

eISBN:978-0-679-60385-6

1. Habit.2. Habit—Socialaspects.3. Change(Psychology)I. Title.

BF335.D762012

158.1—dc232011029545IllustrationonthispagebyAndrewPole

AllotherillustrationsbyAntonIoukhnovetswww.atrandom.com

v3.1

CONTENTSCoverTitlePageCopyrightDedication

PROLOGUE

TheHabitCure

PARTONE

TheHabitsofIndividuals

1.THEHABITLOOP

HowHabitsWork

2.THECRAVINGBRAIN

HowtoCreateNewHabits

3.THEGOLDENRULEOFHABITCHANGE

WhyTransformationOccurs

PARTTWO

TheHabitsofSuccessfulOrganizations

4.KEYSTONEHABITS,ORTHEBALLADOFPAULO’NEILL

WhichHabitsMatterMost

5.STARBUCKSANDTHEHABITOFSUCCESS

WhenWillpowerBecomesAutomatic

6.THEPOWEROFACRISIS

HowLeadersCreateHabitsThroughAccident

andDesign7.HOWTARGETKNOWSWHATYOUWANTBEFOREYOUDO

WhenCompaniesPredict(andManipulate)Habits

PARTTHREE

TheHabitsofSocieties

8.SADDLEBACKCHURCHANDTHEMONTGOMERYBUSBOYCOTT

HowMovementsHappen

9.THENEUROLOGYOFFREEWILL

AreWeResponsibleforOurHabits?

APPENDIX

AReader’sGuidetoUsingTheseIdeasAcknowledgmentsANoteonSourcesNotesPROLOGUE

TheHabitCureShewasthescientists’favoriteparticipant.Lisa Allen, according to her file, was thirty-four years old, had started

smokinganddrinkingwhenshewassixteen,andhadstruggledwithobesityformost of her life. At one point, in her mid-twenties, collection agencies werehoundinghertorecover$10,000indebts.Anoldrésumélistedherlongestjobaslastinglessthanayear.

Thewomaninfrontoftheresearcherstoday,however,wasleanandvibrant,withthetonedlegsofarunner.Shelookedadecadeyoungerthanthephotosinherchartandlikeshecouldout-exerciseanyoneintheroom.Accordingtothemost recent report inher file,Lisahadnooutstandingdebts,didn’tdrink,andwasinherthirty-ninthmonthatagraphicdesignfirm.

“Howlongsinceyourlastcigarette?”oneofthephysiciansasked,startingdownthelistofquestionsLisaansweredeverytimeshecametothislaboratoryoutsideBethesda,Maryland.

“Almost four years,” she said, “and I’ve lost sixty pounds and run amarathonsincethen.”She’dalsostartedamaster’sdegreeandboughtahome.Ithadbeenaneventfulstretch.

Thescientistsintheroomincludedneurologists,psychologists,geneticists,and a sociologist. For the past three years, with funding from the NationalInstitutesofHealth,theyhadpokedandproddedLisaandmorethantwodozenotherformersmokers,chronicovereaters,problemdrinkers,obsessiveshoppers,

andpeoplewithotherdestructivehabits.Alloftheparticipantshadonethingincommon:They had remade their lives in relatively short periods of time.Theresearcherswanted to understand how. So theymeasured subjects’ vital signs,installed video cameras inside their homes to watch their daily routines,sequencedportionsof theirDNA,and,with technologies that allowed them topeerinsidepeople’sskullsinrealtime,watchedasbloodandelectricalimpulsesflowed through their brains while they were exposed to temptations such ascigarette smoke and lavishmeals.prl.1 The researchers’ goal was to figure outhow habits work on a neurological level—and what it took to make themchange.

“Iknowyou’vetoldthisstoryadozentimes,”thedoctorsaidtoLisa,“butsome of my colleagues have only heard it secondhand. Would you minddescribingagainhowyougaveupcigarettes?”

“Sure,”Lisasaid.“ItstartedinCairo.”Thevacationhadbeensomethingofa rash decision, she explained. A few months earlier, her husband had comehomefromworkandannouncedthathewasleavingherbecausehewasinlovewithanotherwoman.IttookLisaawhiletoprocessthebetrayalandabsorbthefact that shewas actually getting a divorce. Therewas a period ofmourning,thenaperiodofobsessivelyspyingonhim,followinghisnewgirlfriendaroundtown, calling her aftermidnight and hanging up. Then there was the eveningLisa showed up at the girlfriend’s house, drunk, pounding on her door andscreamingthatshewasgoingtoburnthecondodown.

“Itwasn’tagreattimeforme,”Lisasaid.“Ihadalwayswantedtoseethepyramids,andmycreditcardsweren’tmaxedoutyet,so…”

OnherfirstmorninginCairo,Lisawokeatdawntothesoundofthecalltoprayer from a nearbymosque. It was pitch black inside her hotel room. Halfblindandjet-lagged,shereachedforacigarette.

Shewas so disoriented that she didn’t realize—until she smelled burningplastic—that shewas trying to light a pen, not aMarlboro. She had spent thepast four months crying, binge eating, unable to sleep, and feeling ashamed,helpless,depressed,andangry,allatonce.Lyinginbed,shebrokedown.“Itwaslikethiswaveofsadness,”shesaid.“IfeltlikeeverythingIhadeverwantedhadcrumbled.Icouldn’tevensmokeright.

“AndthenIstartedthinkingaboutmyex-husband,andhowharditwouldbetofindanotherjobwhenIgotback,andhowmuchIwasgoingtohateitandhowunhealthyIfeltall thetime.Igotupandknockedoverawaterjuganditshatteredonthefloor,andIstartedcryingevenharder.Ifeltdesperate,likeIhadtochangesomething,atleastonethingIcouldcontrol.”

Sheshoweredandleftthehotel.AssherodethroughCairo’sruttedstreetsinataxiandthenontothedirtroadsleadingtotheSphinx,thepyramidsofGiza,andthevast,endlessdesertaroundthem,herself-pity,forabriefmoment,gaveway.Sheneededagoalinherlife,shethought.Somethingtoworktoward.

Soshedecided,sittinginthetaxi,thatshewouldcomebacktoEgyptandtrekthroughthedesert.

Itwasacrazyidea,Lisaknew.Shewasoutofshape,overweight,withnomoneyinthebank.Shedidn’tknowthenameofthedesertshewaslookingatorifsuchatripwaspossible.Noneofthatmattered,though.Sheneededsomethingtofocuson.Lisadecidedthatshewouldgiveherselfoneyeartoprepare.Andtosurvivesuchanexpedition,shewascertainshewouldhavetomakesacrifices.

Inparticular,shewouldneedtoquitsmoking.WhenLisafinallymadeherwayacrossthedesertelevenmonthslater—in

anair-conditionedandmotorizedtourwithahalf-dozenotherpeople,mindyou—the caravan carried so much water, food, tents, maps, global positioningsystems, and two-way radios that throwing in a carton of cigarettes wouldn’thavemademuchofadifference.

Butinthetaxi,Lisadidn’tknowthat.Andtothescientistsatthelaboratory,the details of her trek weren’t relevant. Because for reasons they were justbeginning to understand, that one small shift in Lisa’s perception that day inCairo—theconvictionthatshehadtogiveupsmokingtoaccomplishhergoal—had touchedoff a series of changes thatwould ultimately radiate out to everypart of her life. Over the next six months, she would replace smoking withjogging, and that, in turn, changed how she ate, worked, slept, savedmoney,scheduled her workdays, planned for the future, and so on. She would startrunninghalf-marathons, and thenamarathon,goback to school,buyahouse,and get engaged. Eventually she was recruited into the scientists’ study, andwhenresearchersbeganexaminingimagesofLisa’sbrain, theysawsomethingremarkable: One set of neurological patterns—her old habits—had beenoverriddenbynewpatterns.They could still see the neural activity of her oldbehaviors,butthoseimpulseswerecrowdedoutbynewurges.AsLisa’shabitschanged,sohadherbrain.

It wasn’t the trip to Cairo that had caused the shift, scientists wereconvinced, or the divorce or desert trek. It was that Lisa had focused onchanging just one habit—smoking—at first. Everyone in the study had gonethrough a similar process. By focusing on one pattern—what is known as a“keystonehabit”—Lisahad taughtherselfhowtoreprogramtheother routinesinherlife,aswell.

It’s not just individualswho are capable of such shifts.When companiesfocus on changing habits, whole organizations can transform. Firms such asProcter&Gamble,Starbucks,Alcoa,andTargethaveseizedon this insight toinfluence how work gets done, how employees communicate, and—withoutcustomersrealizingit—thewaypeopleshop.

“Iwanttoshowyouoneofyourmostrecentscans,”aresearchertoldLisanear the end of her exam. He pulled up a picture on a computer screen thatshowed images from inside her head. “When you see food, these areas”—hepointed to a place near the center of her brain—“which are associated withcravingandhunger,arestillactive.Yourbrainstillproducestheurgesthatmadeyouovereat.

“However, there’s new activity in this area”—he pointed to the regionclosest to her forehead—“where we believe behavioral inhibition and self-discipline starts.That activity has becomemore pronounced each timeyou’vecomein.”

Lisawasthescientists’favoriteparticipantbecauseherbrainscansweresocompelling,sousefulincreatingamapofwherebehavioralpatterns—habits—residewithinourminds.“You’rehelpingusunderstandhowadecisionbecomesanautomaticbehavior,”thedoctortoldher.

Everyone in the room felt like they were on the brink of somethingimportant.Andtheywere.

Whenyouwokeupthismorning,whatdidyoudofirst?Didyouhopintheshower,checkyouremail,orgrabadoughnutfromthekitchencounter?Didyoubrushyourteethbeforeorafteryoutoweledoff?Tietheleftorrightshoefirst?Whatdidyousaytoyourkidsonyourwayoutthedoor?Whichroutedidyoudrivetowork?Whenyougottoyourdesk,didyoudealwithemail,chatwithacolleague,or jumpintowritingamemo?Saladorhamburgerfor lunch?Whenyougothome,didyouputonyoursneakersandgoforarun,orpouryourselfadrinkandeatdinnerinfrontoftheTV?

“Allourlife,sofarasithasdefiniteform,isbutamassofhabits,”WilliamJameswrote in1892.prl.2Mostof thechoiceswemakeeachdaymayfeel liketheproductsofwell-considereddecisionmaking,butthey’renot.They’rehabits.Andthougheachhabitmeansrelativelylittleonitsown,overtime,themealswe

order,whatwesaytoourkidseachnight,whetherwesaveorspend,howoftenwe exercise, and the way we organize our thoughts and work routines haveenormousimpactsonourhealth,productivity,financialsecurity,andhappiness.OnepaperpublishedbyaDukeUniversityresearcher in2006foundthatmorethan 40 percent of the actions people performed each day weren’t actualdecisions,buthabits.prl.3

WilliamJames—likecountlessothers,fromAristotletoOprah—spentmuchofhislifetryingtounderstandwhyhabitsexist.Butonlyinthepasttwodecadeshavescientistsandmarketersreallybegununderstandinghowhabitswork—andmoreimportant,howtheychange.

Thisbookisdividedintothreeparts.Thefirstsectionfocusesonhowhabitsemergewithinindividuallives.Itexplorestheneurologyofhabitformation,howtobuildnewhabitsandchangeoldones,andthemethods,forinstance,thatonead man used to push toothbrushing from an obscure practice into a nationalobsession.ItshowshowProcter&GambleturnedaspraynamedFebrezeintoabillion-dollar business by taking advantage of consumers’ habitual urges, howAlcoholicsAnonymousreformslivesbyattackinghabitsatthecoreofaddiction,and how coach Tony Dungy reversed the fortunes of the worst team in theNational Football League by focusing on his players’ automatic reactions tosubtleon-fieldcues.

The second part examines the habits of successful companies andorganizations. It details how an executive named Paul O’Neill—before hebecametreasurysecretary—remadeastrugglingaluminummanufacturerintothetopperformerintheDowJonesIndustrialAveragebyfocusingononekeystonehabit, andhowStarbucks turned a high school dropout into a topmanager byinstillinghabitsdesignedtostrengthenhiswillpower.Itdescribeswhyeventhemost talented surgeons can make catastrophic mistakes when a hospital’sorganizationalhabitsgoawry.

Thethirdpartlooksatthehabitsofsocieties.ItrecountshowMartinLutherKing, Jr., and the civil rights movement succeeded, in part, by changing theingrained social habits of Montgomery, Alabama—and why a similar focushelpedayoungpastornamedRickWarrenbuild thenation’s largest church inSaddlebackValley,California.Finally,itexploresthornyethicalquestions,suchaswhetheramurdererinBritainshouldgofreeifhecanconvincinglyarguethathishabitsledhimtokill.

Eachchapterrevolvesaroundacentralargument:Habitscanbechanged,ifweunderstandhowtheywork.

This book draws on hundreds of academic studies, interviews withmore

than threehundredscientistsandexecutives,andresearchconductedatdozensof companies. (For an index of resources, please see the book’s notes andhttp://www.thepowerofhabit.com.) It focuses on habits as they are technicallydefined:thechoicesthatallofusdeliberatelymakeatsomepoint,andthenstopthinking about but continue doing, often every day. At one point, we allconsciouslydecidedhowmuchtoeatandwhattofocusonwhenwegottotheoffice, how often to have a drink or when to go for a jog. Then we stoppedmakingachoice,andthebehaviorbecameautomatic.It’sanaturalconsequenceofourneurology.Andbyunderstandinghowithappens,youcanrebuildthosepatternsinwhicheverwayyouchoose.

I first became interested in the science of habits eight years ago, as anewspaperreporterinBaghdad.TheU.S.military,itoccurredtomeasIwatchedit in action, is one of the biggest habit-formation experiments in history.prl.4Basictrainingteachessoldierscarefullydesignedhabitsforhowtoshoot,think,and communicate under fire. On the battlefield, every command that’s issueddrawsonbehaviorspracticedtothepointofautomation.Theentireorganizationrelies on endlessly rehearsed routines for building bases, setting strategicpriorities,anddecidinghowtorespondtoattacks.Inthoseearlydaysofthewar,whentheinsurgencywasspreadinganddeathtollsweremounting,commanderswere looking forhabits theycould instill amongsoldiersand Iraqis thatmightcreateadurablepeace.

I had been in Iraq for about two months when I heard about an officerconducting an impromptu habit modification program in Kufa, a small cityninety miles south of the capital. He was an army major who had analyzedvideotapes of recent riots and had identified a pattern: Violence was usuallyprecededbyacrowdofIraqisgatheringinaplazaorotheropenspaceand,overthecourseof severalhours,growing in size.Foodvendorswould showup,aswell as spectators.Then, someonewould throwa rockor a bottle and all hellwouldbreakloose.

When themajormetwithKufa’smayor, hemade an odd request: Couldtheykeep foodvendorsout of theplazas?Sure, themayor said.A fewweekslater,asmallcrowdgatheredneartheMasjidal-Kufa,orGreatMosqueofKufa.Throughout theafternoon, itgrew in size.Somepeople startedchantingangry

slogans.Iraqipolice,sensingtrouble,radioedthebaseandaskedU.S.troopstostandby.Atdusk, thecrowdstartedgettingrestlessandhungry.Peoplelookedforthekebabsellersnormallyfillingtheplaza,buttherewerenonetobefound.The spectators left. The chanters became dispirited. By 8 P.M., everyonewasgone.

When I visited the base near Kufa, I talked to the major. You wouldn’tnecessarilythinkaboutacrowd’sdynamicsintermsofhabits,hetoldme.Buthehadspenthisentirecareergettingdrilledinthepsychologyofhabitformation.

Atbootcamp,hehadabsorbedhabitsforloadinghisweapon,fallingasleepinawarzone,maintainingfocusamidthechaosofbattle,andmakingdecisionswhile exhausted and overwhelmed. He had attended classes that taught himhabits for saving money, exercising each day, and communicating withbunkmates. As he moved up the ranks, he learned the importance oforganizationalhabitsinensuringthatsubordinatescouldmakedecisionswithoutconstantlyaskingpermission,andhowtherightroutinesmadeiteasiertoworkalongsidepeoplehenormallycouldn’tstand.Andnow,asanimpromptunationbuilder, hewas seeing how crowds and cultures abided bymany of the samerules. In some sense, he said, a community was a giant collection of habitsoccurringamongthousandsofpeoplethat,dependingonhowthey’reinfluenced,couldresult inviolenceorpeace.Inadditiontoremovingthefoodvendors,hehad launched dozens of different experiments in Kufa to influence residents’habits.Therehadn’tbeenariotsincehearrived.

“UnderstandinghabitsisthemostimportantthingI’velearnedinthearmy,”themajortoldme.“It’schangedeverythingabouthowIseetheworld.Youwantto fall asleep fast andwake up feeling good? Pay attention to your nighttimepatterns andwhat you automatically do when you get up. Youwant tomakerunningeasy?Createtriggerstomakeitaroutine.Idrillmykidsonthisstuff.MywifeandIwriteouthabitplansforourmarriage.Thisisallwetalkaboutincommandmeetings.NotonepersoninKufawouldhavetoldmethatwecouldinfluencecrowdsbytakingawaythekebabstands,butonceyouseeeverythingasabunchofhabits,it’slikesomeonegaveyouaflashlightandacrowbarandyoucangettowork.”

ThemajorwasasmallmanfromGeorgia.Hewasperpetuallyspittingeithersunflowerseedsorchewingtobaccointoacup.Hetoldmethatpriortoenteringthe military, his best career option had been repairing telephone lines, or,possibly, becoming amethamphetamine entrepreneur, a path some of his highschoolpeershadchosentolesssuccess.Now,heoversaweighthundredtroopsinoneofthemostsophisticatedfightingorganizationsonearth.

“I’mtellingyou,ifahicklikemecanlearnthisstuff,anyonecan.Itellmysoldiersallthetime,there’snothingyoucan’tdoifyougetthehabitsright.”

In thepastdecade,ourunderstandingof theneurologyandpsychologyofhabits and thewaypatternsworkwithinour lives, societies, andorganizationshasexpandedinwayswecouldn’thaveimaginedfiftyyearsago.Wenowknowwhyhabits emerge,how theychange, and the sciencebehind theirmechanics.Weknowhowtobreak themintopartsand rebuild themtoourspecifications.We understand how to make people eat less, exercise more, work moreefficiently,andlivehealthierlives.Transformingahabitisn’tnecessarilyeasyorquick.Itisn’talwayssimple.

Butitispossible.Andnowweunderstandhow.

THEHABITLOOP

HowHabitsWorkI.Inthefallof1993,amanwhowouldupendmuchofwhatweknowabout

habitswalked intoa laboratory inSanDiego fora scheduledappointment.Hewaselderly,ashadeoversixfeettall,andneatlydressedinabluebutton-downshirt.1.1Histhickwhitehairwouldhaveinspiredenvyatanyfiftiethhighschoolreunion. Arthritis caused him to limp slightly as he paced the laboratory’shallways,andheheldhiswife’shand,walkingslowly,asifunsureaboutwhateachnewstepwouldbring.

Aboutayearearlier,EugenePauly,or“E.P.”ashewouldcometobeknowninmedical literature,hadbeenathome inPlayadelRey,preparing fordinner,whenhiswifementionedthattheirson,Michael,wascomingover.

“Who’sMichael?”Eugeneasked.1.2

“Yourchild,”saidhiswife,Beverly.“Youknow,theoneweraised?”Eugenelookedatherblankly.“Whoisthat?”heasked.Thenextday,Eugenestartedvomitingandwrithingwithstomachcramps.

Within twenty-four hours, his dehydrationwas so pronounced that a panickedBeverlytookhimtotheemergencyroom.Histemperaturestartedrising,hitting105 degrees as he sweated a yellow halo of perspiration onto the hospital’ssheets.Hebecamedelirious,thenviolent,yellingandpushingwhennursestriedtoinsertanIVintohisarm.Onlyaftersedationwasaphysicianabletoslidealong needle between two vertebra in the small of his back and extract a fewdropsofcerebrospinalfluid.

Thedoctorperformingtheproceduresensedtroubleimmediately.Thefluidsurroundingthebrainandspinalnervesisabarrieragainstinfectionandinjury.Inhealthyindividuals,itisclearandquickflowing,movingwithanalmostsilkyrushthroughaneedle.ThesamplefromEugene’sspinewascloudyanddrippedoutsluggishly,asiffilledwithmicroscopicgrit.1.3Whentheresultscamebackfrom the laboratory, Eugene’s physicians learned why he was ill: He wassufferingfromviralencephalitis,adiseasecausedbyarelativelyharmlessvirusthatproducescoldsores,feverblisters,andmildinfectionsontheskin.Inrarecases,however,theviruscanmakeitswayintothebrain,inflictingcatastrophicdamage as it chews through the delicate folds of tissue where our thoughts,dreams—andaccordingtosome,souls—reside.

Eugene’sdoctors toldBeverly therewasnothing theycoulddo tocounterthe damage already done, but a large dose of antiviral drugsmight prevent itfromspreading.Eugeneslippedintoacomaandfortendayswasclosetodeath.Gradually, as the drugs fought the disease, his fever receded and the virusdisappeared.Whenhefinallyawoke,hewasweakanddisorientedandcouldn’tswallowproperly.Hecouldn’tformsentencesandwouldsometimesgasp,asifhehadmomentarilyforgottenhowtobreathe.Buthewasalive.

Eventually,Eugenewaswellenoughforabatteryoftests.Thedoctorswereamazedtofind thathisbody—includinghisnervoussystem—appearedlargelyunscathed. He could move his limbs and was responsive to noise and light.Scans of his head, though, revealed ominous shadows near the center of hisbrain.Thevirushaddestroyedanovaloftissueclosetowherehiscraniumandspinal columnmet. “He might not be the person you remember,” one doctorwarnedBeverly.“Youneedtobereadyifyourhusbandisgone.”

Eugenewasmoved toadifferentwingof thehospital.Withinaweek,hewasswallowingeasily.Anotherweek,andhestartedtalkingnormally,askingforJell-O and salt, flipping through television channels and complaining about

boringsoapoperas.Bythetimehewasdischargedtoarehabilitationcenterfiveweekslater,Eugenewaswalkingdownhallwaysandofferingnursesunsolicitedadviceabouttheirweekendplans.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone come back like this,” a doctor toldBeverly.“Idon’twanttoraiseyourhopes,butthisisamazing.”

Beverly,however,remainedconcerned.Intherehabhospitalitbecameclearthat the disease had changedher husband in unsettlingways.Eugene couldn’trememberwhichdayoftheweekitwas,forinstance,orthenamesofhisdoctorsand nurses, nomatter howmany times they introduced themselves. “Why dothey keep asking me all these questions?” he asked Beverly one day after aphysicianlefthisroom.Whenhefinallyreturnedhome,thingsgotevenstranger.Eugene didn’t seem to remember their friends. He had trouble followingconversations.Somemornings,hewouldgetoutofbed,walkintothekitchen,cookhimselfbaconandeggs,thenclimbbackunderthecoversandturnontheradio.Fortyminuteslater,hewoulddothesamething:getup,cookbaconandeggs,climbbackintobed,andfiddlewiththeradio.Thenhewoulddoitagain.

Alarmed,Beverly reached out to specialists, including a researcher at theUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego,whospecializedinmemoryloss.Whichishow,onasunnyfallday,BeverlyandEugenefoundthemselvesinanondescriptbuildingontheuniversity’scampus,holdinghandsastheywalkedslowlydowna hallway. Theywere shown into a small exam room. Eugene began chattingwithayoungwomanwhowasusingacomputer.

“Havingbeeninelectronicsovertheyears,I’mamazedatallthis,”hesaid,gesturing at themachine shewas typing on. “When Iwas younger, that thingwouldhavebeeninacoupleofsix-footracksandtakenupthiswholeroom.”

Thewomancontinuedpeckingatthekeyboard.Eugenechuckled.“That is incredible,” he said. “All those printed circuits and diodes and

triodes.WhenIwas inelectronics, therewouldhavebeenacoupleofsix-footracksholdingthatthing.”

Ascientistenteredtheroomandintroducedhimself.HeaskedEugenehowoldhewas.

“Oh, let’s see, fifty-nine or sixty?” Eugene replied. He was seventy-oneyearsold.

Thescientiststartedtypingonthecomputer.Eugenesmiledandpointedatit. “That is really something,” he said. “You know,when Iwas in electronicstherewouldhavebeenacoupleofsix-footracksholdingthatthing!”

Thescientistwasfifty-two-year-oldLarrySquire,aprofessorwhohadspent

thepastthreedecadesstudyingtheneuroanatomyofmemory.Hisspecialtywasexploringhowthebrainstoresevents.HisworkwithEugene,however,wouldsoon open a new world to him and hundreds of other researchers who havereshapedourunderstandingofhowhabitsfunction.Squire’sstudieswouldshowthatevensomeonewhocan’trememberhisownageoralmostanythingelsecandevelop habits that seem inconceivably complex—until you realize thateveryone relies on similar neurological processes every day. His and others’research would help reveal the subconscious mechanisms that impact thecountlesschoicesthatseemasifthey’retheproductsofwell-reasonedthought,butactuallyareinfluencedbyurgesmostofusbarelyrecognizeorunderstand.

BythetimeSquiremetEugene,hehadalreadybeenstudyingimagesofhisbrainforweeks.ThescansindicatedthatalmostallthedamagewithinEugene’sskullwaslimitedtoafive-centimeterareanearthecenterofhishead.Thevirushadalmostentirelydestroyedhismedial temporal lobe,asliverofcellswhichscientistssuspectedwasresponsibleforallsortsofcognitivetaskssuchasrecallof the past and the regulation of some emotions. The completeness of thedestruction didn’t surprise Squire—viral encephalitis consumes tissue with aruthless, almost surgical, precision. What shocked him was how familiar theimagesseemed.

Thirtyyearsearlier,asaPhDstudentatMIT,Squirehadworkedalongsideagroup studying a man known as “H.M.,” one of the most famous patients inmedicalhistory.WhenH.M.—hisrealnamewasHenryMolaison,butscientistsshroudedhisidentitythroughouthislife—wassevenyearsold,hewashitbyabicycle and landed hard on his head.1.4, 1.5, 1.6 Soon afterward, he developedseizuresandstartedblackingout.Atsixteen,hehadhisfirstgrandmalseizure,thekindthataffectstheentirebrain;soon,hewaslosingconsciousnessuptotentimesaday.

By the time he turned twenty-seven,H.M.was desperate.Anticonvulsivedrugshadn’thelped.Hewassmart,butcouldn’tholdajob.1.7Hestilllivedwithhisparents.H.M.wantedanormalexistence.Sohesoughthelpfromaphysicianwhosetoleranceforexperimentationoutweighedhisfearofmalpractice.Studieshadsuggestedthatanareaofthebraincalledthehippocampusmightplayarolein seizures.When thedoctor proposed cutting intoH.M.’s head, liftingup thefrontportionofhisbrain,and,withasmallstraw,suckingoutthehippocampusandsomesurroundingtissuefromtheinteriorofhisskull,H.M.1.8,1.9gavehisconsent.

The surgery occurred in 1953, and as H.M. healed, his seizures slowed.Almostimmediately,however,itbecameclearthathisbrainhadbeenradically

altered.H.M. knewhis name and that hismotherwas from Ireland.He couldremember the1929stockmarketcrashandnewsreportsabout the invasionofNormandy. But almost everything that came afterward—all the memories,experiences, and struggles from most of the decade before his surgery—hadbeen erased. When a doctor began testing H.M.’s memory by showing himplayingcardsandlistsofnumbers,hediscoveredthatH.M.couldn’tretainanynewinformationformorethantwentysecondsorso.

Fromthedayofhissurgeryuntilhisdeathin2008,everypersonH.M.met,everysongheheard,everyroomheentered,wasacompletelyfreshexperience.His brain was frozen in time. Each day, he was befuddled by the fact thatsomeone could change the television channel by pointing a black rectangle ofplasticat thescreen.He introducedhimself tohisdoctorsandnursesoverandover,dozensoftimeseachday.1.10

“IlovedlearningaboutH.M.,becausememoryseemedlikesuchatangible,excitingwaytostudythebrain,”Squiretoldme.“IgrewupinOhio,andIcanremember, in first grade,my teacher handing everyone crayons, and I startedmixingallthecolorstogethertoseeifitwouldmakeblack.WhyhaveIkeptthatmemory,butIcan’trememberwhatmyteacherlookedlike?Whydoesmybraindecidethatonememoryismoreimportantthananother?”

When Squire received the images of Eugene’s brain, hemarveled at howsimilar it seemed to H.M.’s. There were empty, walnut-sized chunks in themiddle of both their heads. Eugene’s memory—just like H.M.’s—had beenremoved.

As Squire began examiningEugene, though, he saw that this patientwasdifferent fromH.M. in some profound ways.Whereas almost everyone knewwithinminutesofmeetingH.M.thatsomethingwasamiss,Eugenecouldcarryon conversations and perform tasks that wouldn’t alert a casual observer thatanythingwaswrong.TheeffectsofH.M.’ssurgeryhadbeensodebilitatingthathewasinstitutionalizedfortheremainderofhislife.Eugene,ontheotherhand,lived at home with his wife. H.M. couldn’t really carry on conversations.Eugene,incontrast,hadanamazingknackforguidingalmostanydiscussiontoa topic hewas comfortable talking about at length, such as satellites—he hadworkedasatechnicianforanaerospacecompany—ortheweather.

SquirestartedhisexamofEugenebyaskinghimabouthisyouth.EugenetalkedaboutthetownwherehehadgrownupincentralCalifornia,histimeinthemerchantmarines,atriphehadtakentoAustraliaasayoungman.Hecould

remembermostof theevents inhis life thathadoccurredprior toabout1960.WhenSquireaskedabout laterdecades,Eugenepolitelychangedthetopicandsaidhehadtroublerecollectingsomerecentevents.

SquireconductedafewintelligencetestsandfoundthatEugene’sintellectwasstillsharpforamanwhocouldn’trememberthelastthreedecades.What’smore,Eugene stillhadall thehabitshehad formed inhisyouth, sowheneverSquiregavehimacupofwaterorcomplimentedhimonaparticularlydetailedanswer,Eugenewould thankhimandoffer a compliment in return.Wheneversomeoneenteredtheroom,Eugenewouldintroducehimselfandaskabouttheirday.

ButwhenSquireaskedEugenetomemorizeastringofnumbersordescribethehallwayoutside the laboratory’sdoor, thedoctor foundhispatientcouldn’tretainanynewinformationformorethanaminuteorso.WhensomeoneshowedEugenephotosofhisgrandchildren,hehadnoideawhotheywere.WhenSquireaskedifherememberedgettingsick,Eugenesaidhehadnorecollectionofhisillness or the hospital stay. In fact, Eugene almost never recalled that hewassuffering from amnesia. His mental image of himself didn’t include memoryloss, and since he couldn’t remember the injury, he couldn’t conceive ofanythingbeingwrong.

In the months after meeting Eugene, Squire conducted experiments thattestedthelimitsofhismemory.Bythen,EugeneandBeverlyhadmovedfromPlaya del Rey to San Diego to be closer to their daughter, and Squire oftenvisited their home for his exams. One day, Squire asked Eugene to sketch alayoutofhishouse.Eugenecouldn’tdrawarudimentarymapshowingwherethekitchenorbedroomwaslocated.“Whenyougetoutofbedinthemorning,howdoyouleaveyourroom?”Squireasked.

“Youknow,”Eugenesaid,“I’mnotreallysure.”Squiretooknotesonhislaptop,andasthescientisttyped,Eugenebecame

distracted.Heglancedacrosstheroomandthenstoodup,walkedintoahallway,andopenedthedoortothebathroom.Afewminuteslater,thetoiletflushed,thefaucet ran, and Eugene, wiping his hands on his pants, walked back into thelivingroomandsatdownagaininhischairnexttoSquire.Hewaitedpatientlyforthenextquestion.

Atthetime,noonewonderedhowamanwhocouldn’tdrawamapofhishomewasable to find thebathroomwithouthesitation.But thatquestion, andotherslikeit,wouldeventuallyleadtoatrailofdiscoveriesthathastransformedourunderstandingofhabits’power.1.11Itwouldhelpsparkascientificrevolutionthattodayinvolveshundredsofresearcherswhoarelearning,forthefirsttime,

tounderstandallthehabitsthatinfluenceourlives.AsEugenesatatthetable,helookedatSquire’slaptop.“That’s amazing,” he said, gesturing at the computer. “Youknow,when I

wasinelectronics,therewouldhavebeenacoupleofsix-footracksholdingthatthing.”

Inthefirstfewweeksaftertheymovedintotheirnewhouse,BeverlytriedtotakeEugeneoutsideeachday.Thedoctorshadtoldherthatitwasimportantfor him to get exercise, and if Eugene was inside too long he drove Beverlycrazy,askingherthesamequestionsoverandoverinanendlessloop.Soeachmorning and afternoon, she took him on a walk around the block, alwaystogetherandalwaysalongthesameroute.

The doctors hadwarnedBeverly that shewould need tomonitor Eugeneconstantly.Ifheevergotlost,theysaid,hewouldneverbeabletofindhiswayhome.Butonemorning,whileshewasgettingdressed,Eugeneslippedoutthefront door.Hehad a tendency towander from room to room, so it tookher awhiletonoticehewasgone.Whenshedid,shebecamefrantic.Sheranoutsideandscannedthestreet.Shecouldn’tseehim.Shewenttotheneighbors’houseandpoundedonthewindows.Theirhomeslookedsimilar—maybeEugenehadbecome confused and had gone inside? She ran to the door and rang the belluntil someone answered.Eugenewasn’t there. She sprinted back to the street,runninguptheblock,screamingEugene’sname.Shewascrying.Whatifhehadwanderedintotraffic?Howwouldhetellanyonewherehelived?Shehadbeenoutsideforfifteenminutesalready,lookingeverywhere.Sheranhometocallthepolice.

When she burst through the door, she found Eugene in the living room,sitting in front of the television watching the History Channel. Her tearsconfused him. He didn’t remember leaving, he said, didn’t know where he’dbeen,andcouldn’tunderstandwhyshewassoupset.ThenBeverlysawapileofpineconeson the table, like theonesshe’dseen inaneighbor’syarddownthestreet.She camecloser and lookedatEugene’shands.His fingerswere stickywithsap.That’swhensherealizedthatEugenehadgoneforawalkbyhimself.Hehadwandereddownthestreetandcollectedsomesouvenirs.

Andhehadfoundhiswayhome.

Soon, Eugene was going for walks every morning. Beverly tried to stophim,butitwaspointless.

“Even if I told him to stay inside, he wouldn’t remember a fewminuteslater,” she toldme.“I followedhima few times tomakesurehewouldn’tgetlost,buthealwayscameback.”Sometimeshewouldreturnwithpineconesorrocks.Oncehecamebackwithawallet;another timewithapuppy.Heneverrememberedwheretheycamefrom.

When Squire and his assistants heard about these walks, they started tosuspect that something was happening inside Eugene’s head that didn’t haveanythingtodowithhisconsciousmemory.Theydesignedanexperiment.OneofSquire’sassistantsvisitedthehouseonedayandaskedEugenetodrawamapofthe blockwhere he lived.He couldn’t do it.How aboutwhere his housewaslocatedon the street, she asked.Hedoodled abit, then forgot the assignment.She asked him to point outwhich doorway led to the kitchen.Eugene lookedaroundtheroom.Hedidn’tknow,hesaid.SheaskedEugenewhathewoulddoifhewerehungry.Hestoodup,walkedintothekitchen,openedacabinet,andtookdownajarofnuts.

Laterthatweek,avisitorjoinedEugeneonhisdailystroll.Theywalkedforabout fifteenminutes through the perpetual spring of SouthernCalifornia, thescentofbougainvilleaheavyintheair.Eugenedidn’tsaymuch,buthealwaysled the way and seemed to know where he was going. He never asked fordirections.Astheyroundedthecornernearhishouse,thevisitoraskedEugenewhere he lived. “I don’t know, exactly,” he said. Then he walked up hissidewalk, opened his front door,went into the living room, and turned on thetelevision.

It was clear to Squire that Eugene was absorbing new information. Butwhereinsidehisbrainwasthatinformationresiding?Howcouldsomeonefindajarofnutswhenhecouldn’tsaywherethekitchenwaslocated?Orfindhiswayhomewhenhehadnoideawhichhousewashis?How,Squirewondered,werenewpatternsforminginsideEugene’sdamagedbrain?

II.Within the building that houses the Brain and Cognitive Sciences

department of theMassachusetts Institute of Technology are laboratories thatcontain what, to the casual observer, look like dollhouse versions of surgicaltheaters. There are tiny scalpels, small drills, and miniature saws less than aquarterinchwideattachedtoroboticarms.Eventheoperatingtablesaretiny,asifpreparedforchild-sizedsurgeons.Theroomsarealwayskeptatachillysixtydegrees because a slight nip in the air steadies researchers’ fingers during

delicateprocedures.Insidetheselaboratories,neurologistscutintotheskullsofanesthetized rats, implanting tiny sensors that can record the smallest changesinsidetheirbrains.Whentheratswake,theyhardlyseemtonoticethattherearenowdozensofmicroscopicwiresarrayed,likeneurologicalspiderwebs,insidetheirheads.

These laboratorieshavebecome theepicenter foraquiet revolution in thescience of habit formation, and the experiments unfolding here explain howEugene—as well as you, me, and everyone else—developed the behaviorsnecessary tomake it througheachday.The rats in these labshave illuminatedthe complexity that occurs inside our heads whenever we do something asmundaneasbrushourteethorbackthecaroutofthedriveway.AndforSquire,theselaboratorieshelpedexplainhowEugenemanagedtolearnnewhabits.

WhentheMITresearchersstartedworkingonhabitsinthe1990s—ataboutthesametimethatEugenecamedownwithhisfever—theywerecuriousaboutanubofneurologicaltissueknownasthebasalganglia.Ifyoupicturethehumanbrainasanonion,composedoflayeruponlayerofcells,thentheoutsidelayers—those closest to the scalp—are generally themost recent additions from anevolutionary perspective.When you dream up a new invention or laugh at afriend’sjoke,it’stheoutsidepartsofyourbrainatwork.That’swherethemostcomplexthinkingoccurs.

Deeperinsidethebrainandclosertothebrainstem—wherethebrainmeetsthe spinal column—are older, more primitive structures. They control ourautomaticbehaviors, suchasbreathingand swallowing,or the startle responsewefeelwhensomeoneleapsoutfrombehindabush.Towardthecenterof theskull is agolfball–sized lumpof tissue that is similar towhatyoumight findinside the head of a fish, reptile, ormammal.1.12 This is the basal ganglia, anoval of cells that, for years, scientists didn’t understand verywell, except forsuspicionsthatitplayedaroleindiseasessuchasParkinson’s.1.13,1.14

In the early 1990s, the MIT researchers began wondering if the basalganglia might be integral to habits as well. They noticed that animals withinjuredbasalgangliasuddenlydevelopedproblemswith taskssuchas learninghow to run through mazes or remembering how to open food containers.1.15Theydecidedtoexperimentbyemployingnewmicro-technologiesthatallowedthemtoobserve,inminutedetail,whatwasoccurringwithintheheadsofratsastheyperformeddozensof routines. Insurgery,each rathadwhat looked likeasmall joystick and dozens of tiny wires inserted into its skull. Afterward, theanimalwasplacedintoaT-shapedmazewithchocolateatoneend.

Themazewasstructuredsothateachratwaspositionedbehindapartitionthatopenedwhena loudclicksounded.1.16 Initially,whenaratheardtheclickandsawthepartitiondisappear,itwouldusuallywanderupanddownthecenteraisle, sniffing in corners and scratching at walls. It appeared to smell thechocolate,butcouldn’tfigureouthowtofindit.WhenitreachedthetopoftheT,itoftenturnedtotheright,awayfromthechocolate,andthenwanderedleft,sometimespausingfornoobviousreason.Eventually,mostanimalsdiscoveredthereward.Buttherewasnodiscerniblepatternintheirmeanderings.Itseemedasifeachratwastakingaleisurely,unthinkingstroll.

The probes in the rats’ heads, however, told a different story.While eachanimalwanderedthroughthemaze,itsbrain—andinparticular,itsbasalganglia—workedfuriously.Eachtimearatsniffedtheairorscratchedawall,itsbrainexplodedwithactivity,asifanalyzingeachnewscent,sight,andsound.Theratwasprocessinginformationtheentiretimeitmeandered.

The scientists repeated their experiment, again and again, watching howeachrat’sbrainactivitychangedasitmovedthroughthesameroutehundredsoftimes.Aseriesofshiftsslowlyemerged.Theratsstoppedsniffingcornersandmaking wrong turns. Instead, they zipped through the maze faster and faster.And within their brains, something unexpected occurred: As each rat learnedhow to navigate themaze, itsmental activitydecreased.As the route becamemoreandmoreautomatic,eachratstartedthinkinglessandless.

Itwasasifthefirstfewtimesaratexploredthemaze,itsbrainhadtoworkatfullpowertomakesenseofallthenewinformation.Butafterafewdaysofrunningthesameroute, theratdidn’tneedtoscratchthewallsorsmell theairanymore, and so the brain activity associated with scratching and smellingceased.Itdidn’tneedtochoosewhichdirectiontoturn,andsodecision-makingcentersofthebrainwentquiet.Allithadtodowasrecallthequickestpathtothechocolate. Within a week, even the brain structures related to memory hadquieted.Therathadinternalizedhowtosprintthroughthemazetosuchadegreethatithardlyneededtothinkatall.

Butthatinternalization—runstraight,hangaleft,eatthechocolate—relieduponthebasalganglia,thebrainprobesindicated.Thistiny,ancientneurologicalstructureseemedtotakeoverastheratranfasterandfasteranditsbrainworkedlessand less.Thebasalgangliawascentral to recallingpatternsandactingonthem.Thebasalganglia,inotherwords,storedhabitsevenwhiletherestofthebrainwenttosleep.

To see this capacity in action, consider this graph, which shows activitywithinarat’sskullas itencounters themazefor thefirst time.1.17 Initially, thebrainisworkinghardtheentiretime:

After a week, once the route is familiar and the scurrying has become ahabit,therat’sbrainsettlesdownasitrunsthroughthemaze:

This process—in which the brain converts a sequence of actions into anautomatic routine—isknownas “chunking,” and it’s at the rootofhowhabitsform.1.18Therearedozens—ifnothundreds—ofbehavioralchunksthatwerelyon every day. Some are simple: You automatically put toothpaste on yourtoothbrush before sticking it in yourmouth. Some, such as getting dressed ormakingthekids’lunch,arealittlemorecomplex.

Others are so complicated that it’s remarkable a small bit of tissue thatevolvedmillionsof years ago can turn them intohabits at all.Take the act ofbacking your car out of the driveway. When you first learned to drive, thedriveway required a major dose of concentration, and for good reason: Itinvolvesopeningthegarage,unlockingthecardoor,adjustingtheseat,insertingthe key in the ignition, turning it clockwise, moving the rearview and sidemirrorsandcheckingforobstacles,puttingyourfooton thebrake,moving thegearshift into reverse, removingyour foot from thebrake,mentally estimatingthedistancebetweenthegarageandthestreetwhilekeepingthewheelsalignedand monitoring for oncoming traffic, calculating how reflected images in themirrorstranslateintoactualdistancesbetweenthebumper,thegarbagecans,andthehedges, allwhile applying slight pressure to thegaspedal andbrake, and,mostlikely,tellingyourpassengertopleasestopfiddlingwiththeradio.

Nowadays,however,youdoallof thateverytimeyoupullontothestreetwithhardlyanythought.Theroutineoccursbyhabit.

Millionsofpeopleperformthisintricateballeteverymorning,unthinkingly,because as soon as we pull out the car keys, our basal ganglia kicks in,

identifyingthehabitwe’vestoredinourbrainsrelatedtobackinganautomobileintothestreet.Oncethathabitstartsunfolding,ourgraymatter isfree toquietitselforchaseotherthoughts,whichiswhywehaveenoughmentalcapacitytorealizethatJimmyforgothislunchboxinside.

Habits, scientists say, emerge because the brain is constantly looking forwaystosaveeffort.Lefttoitsowndevices,thebrainwilltrytomakealmostanyroutineintoahabit,becausehabitsallowourmindstorampdownmoreoften.Thiseffort-saving instinct isahugeadvantage.Anefficientbrain requires lessroom, which makes for a smaller head, which makes childbirth easier andthereforecausesfewerinfantandmotherdeaths.Anefficientbrainalsoallowsus to stop thinking constantly about basic behaviors, such as walking andchoosing what to eat, so we can devote mental energy to inventing spears,irrigationsystems,and,eventually,airplanesandvideogames.

Butconservingmentaleffortistricky,becauseifourbrainspowerdownatthe wrong moment, we might fail to notice something important, such as apredatorhidinginthebushesoraspeedingcaraswepullontothestreet.Soourbasalgangliahavedevisedacleversystemtodeterminewhentolethabitstakeover.It’ssomethingthathappenswheneverachunkofbehaviorstartsorends.

Toseehowitworks,lookcloselyatthegraphoftherat’sneurologicalhabitagain.Noticethatbrainactivityspikesatthebeginningofthemaze,whentherathearstheclickbeforethepartitionstartsmoving,andagainattheend,whenitfindsthechocolate.

Thosespikesarethebrain’swayofdeterminingwhentocedecontroltoahabit,andwhichhabittouse.Frombehindapartition,forinstance,it’sdifficultforarattoknowifit’sinsideafamiliarmazeoranunfamiliarcupboardwithacatlurkingoutside.Todealwiththisuncertainty,thebrainspendsalotofeffortatthebeginningofahabitlookingforsomething—acue—thatoffersahintastowhichpatterntouse.Frombehindapartition,ifarathearsaclick,itknowstousethemazehabit.Ifithearsameow,itchoosesadifferentpattern.Andattheendoftheactivity,whentherewardappears, thebrainshakesitselfawakeandmakessureeverythingunfoldedasexpected.

Thisprocesswithinourbrains is a three-step loop.First, there is acue,atrigger that tellsyourbrain togo intoautomaticmodeandwhichhabit touse.

Thenthereistheroutine,whichcanbephysicalormentaloremotional.Finally,there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop isworthrememberingforthefuture:

THEHABITLOOPOvertime,thisloop—cue,routine,reward;cue,routine,reward—becomes

more and more automatic. The cue and reward become intertwined until apowerful sense of anticipation and craving emerges. Eventually, whether in achillyMITlaboratoryoryourdriveway,ahabitisborn.1.19

Habits aren’t destiny. As the next two chapters explain, habits can beignored,changed,orreplaced.Butthereasonthediscoveryofthehabitloopissoimportantisthatitrevealsabasictruth:Whenahabitemerges,thebrainstopsfullyparticipatingindecisionmaking.Itstopsworkingsohard,ordivertsfocusto other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit—unless you find newroutines—thepatternwillunfoldautomatically.

However,simplyunderstandinghowhabitswork—learningthestructureofthe habit loop—makes themeasier to control.Once you break a habit into itscomponents,youcanfiddlewiththegears.

“We’vedoneexperimentswherewetrainedratstorundownamazeuntilitwasahabit,andthenweextinguishedthehabitbychangingtheplacementofthereward,” Ann Graybiel, a scientist at MIT who oversaw many of the basalganglia experiments, toldme. “Then one day,we’ll put the reward in the oldplace,andput in therat,and,bygolly, theoldhabitwill reemergerightaway.Habitsneverreallydisappear.They’reencodedintothestructuresofourbrain,and that’s a huge advantage for us, because it would be awful if we had torelearnhowtodriveaftereveryvacation.Theproblemis thatyourbraincan’ttell thedifferencebetweenbadandgoodhabits,andso ifyouhaveabadone,it’salwayslurkingthere,waitingfortherightcuesandrewards.”1.20

This explains why it’s so hard to create exercise habits, for instance, or

changewhatweeat.Oncewedevelopa routineofsittingon thecouch, ratherthan running, or snacking whenever we pass a doughnut box, those patternsalwaysremaininsideourheads.Bythesamerule,though,ifwelearntocreatenewneurologicalroutinesthatoverpowerthosebehaviors—ifwetakecontrolofthehabit loop—wecanforcethosebadtendencies into thebackground, justasLisaAllen did after her Cairo trip.And once someone creates a new pattern,studieshavedemonstrated,goingforajogorignoringthedoughnutsbecomesasautomaticasanyotherhabit.

Without habit loops, our brains would shut down, overwhelmed by theminutiae of daily life. People whose basal ganglia are damaged by injury ordisease often becomementally paralyzed.They have trouble performing basicactivities,suchasopeningadoorordecidingwhattoeat.Theylosetheabilitytoignore insignificant details—one study, for example, found that patients withbasal ganglia injuries couldn’t recognize facial expressions, including fear anddisgust,becausetheywereperpetuallyuncertainaboutwhichpartofthefacetofocuson.Withoutourbasalganglia,weloseaccesstothehundredsofhabitswerelyoneveryday.Didyoupausethismorningtodecidewhethertotieyourleftorrightshoefirst?Didyouhavetroublefiguringout ifyoushouldbrushyourteethbeforeorafteryoushowered?

Ofcoursenot.Thosedecisionsarehabitual,effortless.Aslongasyourbasalganglia is intact and the cues remain constant, the behaviors will occurunthinkingly. (Though when you go on vacation, you may get dressed indifferentwaysorbrushyour teethat adifferentpoint inyourmorning routinewithoutnoticingit.)

At the same time, however, the brain’s dependence on automatic routinescanbedangerous.Habitsareoftenasmuchacurseasabenefit.

TakeEugene, for instance.Habits gave himhis life back after he lost hismemory.Thentheytookeverythingawayagain.

III.As Larry Squire, the memory specialist, spent more and more time with

Eugene,hebecameconvincedhispatientwassomehowlearningnewbehaviors.ImagesofEugene’sbrainshowedthathisbasalgangliahadescapedinjuryfromtheviralencephalitis.Wasitpossible,thescientistwondered,thatEugene,evenwith severe brain damage, could still use the cue-routine-reward loop? CouldthisancientneurologicalprocessexplainhowEugenewasable towalkaroundtheblockandfindthejarofnutsinthekitchen?

TotestifEugenewasformingnewhabits,Squiredevisedanexperiment.Hetooksixteendifferentobjects—bitsofplasticandbrightlycoloredpiecesoftoys

—andgluedthemtocardboardrectangles.Hethendividedthemintoeightpairs:choice A and choice B. In each pairing, one piece of cardboard, chosen atrandom,hadastickerplacedonthebottomthatread“correct.”1.21

Eugenewasseatedata table,givenapairofobjects,andaskedtochooseone.Next, hewas told to turn over his choice to see if therewas a “correct”stickerunderneath.Thisisacommonwaytomeasurememory.Sincethereareonlysixteenobjects,and theyarealwayspresented in thesameeightpairings,mostpeoplecanmemorizewhichitemis“correct”afterafewrounds.Monkeyscanmemorizeallthe“correct”itemsaftereighttotendays.

Eugenecouldn’trememberanyofthe“correct”items,nomatterhowmanytimes he did the test. He repeated the experiment twice a week for months,lookingatfortypairingseachday.

“Do you know why you are here today?” a researcher asked at thebeginningofonesessionafewweeksintotheexperiment.

“Idon’tthinkso,”Eugenesaid.“I’mgoingtoshowyousomeobjects.Doyouknowwhy?”“Am I supposed to describe them to you, or tell youwhat they are used

for?”Eugenecouldn’trecollecttheprevioussessionsatall.But as the weeks passed, Eugene’s performance improved. After twenty-

eightdaysof training,Eugenewaschoosing the“correct”object85percentofthetime.Atthirty-sixdays,hewasright95percentofthetime.Afteronetest,Eugenelookedattheresearcher,bewilderedbyhissuccess.

“HowamIdoingthis?”heaskedher.“Tellmewhatisgoingoninyourhead,”theresearchersaid.“Doyousayto

yourself,‘Irememberseeingthatone’?”“No,”Eugenesaid.“It’sheresomehoworanother”—hepointedtohishead

—“andthehandgoesforit.”ToSquire,however,itmadeperfectsense.Eugenewasexposedtoacue:a

pairofobjectsalwayspresentedinthesamecombination.Therewasaroutine:Hewouldchooseoneobjectand look tosee if therewasastickerunderneath,evenifhehadnoideawhyhefeltcompelledto turn thecardboardover.Thenthere was a reward: the satisfaction he received after finding a stickerproclaiming“correct.”Eventually,ahabitloopemerged.

EUGENE’SHABITLOOPTomakesurethispatternwas,infact,ahabit,Squireconductedonemore

experiment.He took all sixteen items and put them in front of Eugene at thesametime.Heaskedhimtoputallthe“correct”objectsintoonepile.

Eugenehadnoideawheretobegin.“Goshsakes,howtorememberthis?”heasked.Hereachedforoneobjectandstartedtoturnitover.Theexperimenterstoppedhim.No,sheexplained.Thetaskwastoputtheitemsinpiles.Whywashetryingtoturnthemover?

“That’sjustahabit,Ithink,”hesaid.Hecouldn’tdoit.Theobjects,whenpresentedoutsideofthecontextofthe

habitloop,madenosensetohim.HerewastheproofSquirewaslookingfor.Theexperimentsdemonstrated

thatEugenehadtheabilitytoformnewhabits,evenwhentheyinvolvedtasksorobjectshecouldn’trememberformorethanafewseconds.ThisexplainedhowEugenemanaged to go for awalk everymorning. The cues—certain trees oncornersortheplacementofparticularmailboxes—wereconsistenteverytimehewent outside, so though he couldn’t recognize his house, his habits alwaysguided him back to his front door. It also explained why Eugene would eatbreakfastthreeorfourtimesaday,evenifhewasn’thungry.Aslongastherightcueswerepresent—suchashisradioorthemorninglightthroughhiswindows—heautomaticallyfollowedthescriptdictatedbyhisbasalganglia.

What’smore,thereweredozensofotherhabitsinEugene’slifethatnoonenoticed until they started looking for them. Eugene’s daughter, for instance,wouldoftenstopbyhishouse tosayhello.Shewouldtalk toherfather in thelivingroomforabit,thengointothekitchentovisitwithhermother,andthenleave, waving good-bye on herway out the door. Eugene, who had forgottentheir earlier conversationby the time she left,wouldget angry—whywas sheleavingwithoutchatting?—andthenforgetwhyhewasupset.Buttheemotionalhabithadalreadystarted,andsohisangerwouldpersist,redhotandbeyondhisunderstanding,untilitburneditselfout.

“Sometimeshewouldbang the tableorcurse, and ifyouaskedhimwhy,he’d say ‘I don’t know, but I’mmad!’ ”Beverly toldme.Hewould kick hischair, or snap at whoever came into the room. Then, a fewminutes later, hewouldsmileand talkabout theweather.“Itwas like,once itstarted,hehad tofinishthefrustration,”shesaid.

Squire’s new experiment also showed something else: that habits aresurprisingly delicate. IfEugene’s cues changed the slightest bit, his habits fellapart.The few timeshewalkedaround theblock, for instance, and something

was different—the city was doing street repairs or a windstorm had blownbranchesalloverthesidewalk—Eugenewouldgetlost,nomatterhowclosehewas to home, until a kind neighbor showed him the way to his door. If hisdaughter stopped to chatwith him for ten seconds before shewalked out, hisangerhabitneveremerged.

Squire’sexperimentswithEugenerevolutionizedthescientificcommunity’sunderstanding of how the brain works by proving, once and for all, that it’spossibletolearnandmakeunconsciouschoiceswithoutrememberinganythingaboutthelessonordecisionmaking.1.22Eugeneshowedthathabits,asmuchasmemoryandreason,areattherootofhowwebehave.Wemightnotremembertheexperiencesthatcreateourhabits,butoncetheyarelodgedwithinourbrainstheyinfluencehowweact—oftenwithoutourrealization.

SinceSquire’sfirstpaperonEugene’shabitswaspublished,thescienceofhabit formationhasexploded intoamajor fieldofstudy.ResearchersatDuke,Harvard,UCLA,Yale,USC,Princeton, theUniversityofPennsylvania, andatschools in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well ascorporate scientists working for Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Google, andhundreds of other companies are focused on understanding the neurology andpsychologyofhabits,theirstrengthsandweaknesses,andwhytheyemergeandhowtheycanbechanged.

Researchers have learned that cues canbe almost anything, froma visualtriggersuchasacandybaroratelevisioncommercialtoacertainplace,atimeofday,anemotion,asequenceofthoughts,orthecompanyofparticularpeople.Routinescanbeincrediblycomplexorfantasticallysimple(somehabits,suchasthose related to emotions, are measured in milliseconds). Rewards can rangefromfoodordrugsthatcausephysicalsensations,toemotionalpayoffs,suchasthefeelingsofpridethataccompanypraiseorself-congratulation.

And inalmosteveryexperiment, researchershaveseenechoesofSquire’sdiscoveries with Eugene: Habits are powerful, but delicate. They can emergeoutside our consciousness, or can be deliberately designed. They often occurwithoutourpermission,butcanbe reshapedby fiddlingwith theirparts.They

shapeour lives farmore thanwerealize—theyaresostrong, in fact, that theycauseourbrainstoclingtothemattheexclusionofallelse,includingcommonsense.

In one set of experiments, for example, researchers affiliated with theNationalInstituteonAlcoholAbuseandAlcoholismtrainedmicetopressleversin response to certain cues until the behavior became a habit. Themicewerealways rewarded with food. Then, the scientists poisoned the food so that itmade the animals violently ill, or electrified the floor, so that when themicewalkedtowardtheirrewardtheyreceivedashock.Themiceknewthefoodandcageweredangerous—whentheywereofferedthepoisonedpelletsinabowlorsawtheelectrifiedfloorpanels,theystayedaway.Whentheysawtheiroldcues,however, theyunthinkinglypressed the lever andate the food,or theywalkedacrossthefloor,evenastheyvomitedorjumpedfromtheelectricity.Thehabitwassoingrainedthemicecouldn’tstopthemselves.1.23

It’snothardtofindananaloginthehumanworld.Considerfastfood,forinstance. Itmakessense—when thekidsare starvingandyou’redrivinghomeafter a long day—to stop, just this once, atMcDonald’s or BurgerKing. Themealsareinexpensive.It tastessogood.Afterall,onedoseofprocessedmeat,salty fries, and sugary soda poses a relatively small health risk, right? It’s notlikeyoudoitallthetime.

But habits emerge without our permission. Studies indicate that familiesusuallydon’tintend toeat fast foodona regularbasis.Whathappens is thataonceamonthpatternslowlybecomesonceaweek,andthentwiceaweek—asthecuesandrewardscreateahabit—untilthekidsareconsuminganunhealthyamount of hamburgers and fries.When researchers at theUniversity ofNorthTexas andYale tried to understandwhy families gradually increased their fastfoodconsumption,theyfoundaseriesofcuesandrewardsthatmostcustomersneverknewwereinfluencingtheirbehaviors.1.24Theydiscoveredthehabitloop.

EveryMcDonald’s,forinstance,looksthesame—thecompanydeliberatelytriestostandardizestores’architectureandwhatemployeessaytocustomers,soeverything is a consistent cue to trigger eating routines. The foods at somechains are specifically engineered todeliver immediate rewards—the fries, forinstance,aredesignedtobegindisintegratingthemomenttheyhityourtongue,in order to deliver a hit of salt and grease as fast as possible, causing yourpleasurecenters tolightupandyourbraintolockinthepattern.All thebetterfortighteningthehabitloop.1.25

However,eventhesehabitsaredelicate.Whenafastfoodrestaurantclosesdown, the families that previously ate there will often start having dinner at

home,ratherthanseekoutanalternativelocation.Evensmallshiftscanendthepattern.Butsinceweoftendon’t recognize thesehabit loopsas theygrow,weare blind to our ability to control them. By learning to observe the cues andrewards,though,wecanchangetheroutines.

IV.By2000,sevenyearsafterEugene’sillness,hislifehadachievedakindof

equilibrium. He went for a walk every morning. He ate what he wanted,sometimesfiveorsixtimesaday.HiswifeknewthataslongasthetelevisionwastunedtotheHistoryChannel,Eugenewouldsettleintohisplushchairandwatchitregardlessofwhetheritwasairingrerunsornewprograms.Hecouldn’ttellthedifference.

As he got older, however, Eugene’s habits started impacting his life innegativeways.Hewassedentary,sometimeswatchingtelevisionforhoursatatime because he never grew bored with the shows. His physicians becameworriedabouthisheart.ThedoctorstoldBeverlytokeephimonastrictdietofhealthyfoods.Shetried,butitwasdifficulttoinfluencehowfrequentlyheateorwhatheconsumed.Henever recalledheradmonitions.Even if therefrigeratorwasstockedwithfruitsandvegetables,Eugenewouldrootarounduntilhefoundthe bacon and eggs.Thatwas his routine.And asEugene aged andhis bonesbecame more brittle, the doctors said he needed to be more careful walkingaround. In his mind, however, Eugene was twenty years younger. He neverrememberedtostepcarefully.

“AllmylifeIwasfascinatedbymemory,”Squiretoldme.“ThenImetE.P.,andsawhowrichlifecanbeevenifyoucan’trememberit.Thebrainhasthisamazingabilitytofindhappinessevenwhenthememoriesofitaregone.

“It’shardtoturnthatoff,though,whichultimatelyworkedagainsthim.”Beverly tried to use her understanding of habits to help Eugene avoid

problems as he aged. She discovered that she could short-circuit some of hisworst patterns by inserting new cues. If she didn’t keep bacon in the fridge,Eugenewouldn’teatmultiple,unhealthybreakfasts.Whensheputasaladnexttohischair,hewouldsometimespickatit,andasthemealbecameahabit,hestoppedsearchingthekitchenfortreats.Hisdietgraduallyimproved.

Despite these efforts, however, Eugene’s health still declined.One springday,Eugenewaswatchingtelevisionwhenhesuddenlyshouted.Beverlyraninandsawhimclutchinghischest.Shecalledanambulance.Atthehospital,theydiagnosed aminor heart attack.By then the pain had passed andEugenewasfighting to get off his gurney. That night, he kept pulling off the monitorsattached to his chest so he could roll over and sleep.Alarmswould blare and

nurseswouldrushin.Theytriedtogethimtoquitfiddlingwiththesensorsbytapingtheleadsinplaceandtellinghimtheywoulduserestraintsifhecontinuedfussing.Nothingworked.Heforgotthethreatsassoonastheywereissued.

Thenhisdaughtertoldanursetotrycomplimentinghimonhiswillingnesstositstill,andtorepeatthecompliment,overandover,eachtimeshesawhim.“Wewanted to, youknow,get his pride involved,” his daughter,CarolRayes,told me. “We’d say, ‘Oh, Dad, you’re really doing something important forsciencebykeepingthesedoodadsinplace.’”Thenursesstartedtodoteonhim.Helovedit.Afteracoupleofdays,hedidwhatevertheyasked.Eugenereturnedhomeaweeklater.

Then, in the fall of 2008,whilewalking throughhis living room,Eugenetripped on a ledge near the fireplace, fell, and broke his hip. At the hospital,Squire and his team worried that he would have panic attacks because hewouldn’tknowwherehewas.Sotheyleftnotesbyhisbedsideexplainingwhathadhappenedandpostedphotosofhischildrenonthewalls.Hiswifeandkidscameeveryday.

Eugene,however,nevergrewworried.Heneveraskedwhyhewas in thehospital.“Heseemedatpeacewithalltheuncertaintybythatpoint,”saidSquire.“Ithadbeenfifteenyearssincehehadlosthismemory.Itwasasifpartofhisbrain knew therewere some things hewould never understand andwas okaywiththat.”

Beverlycametothehospitaleveryday.“Ispentalongtimetalkingtohim,”shesaid.“ItoldhimthatIlovedhim,andaboutourkidsandwhatagoodlifewehad. I pointed to the pictures and talked about howmuch hewas adored.Weweremarried for fifty-sevenyears, and forty-twoof thosewere a real, normalmarriage. Sometimes it was hard, because I wanted my old husband back somuch.ButatleastIknewhewashappy.”

A fewweeks later,hisdaughtercame tovisit. “What’s theplan?”Eugeneaskedwhenshearrived.Shetookhimoutsideinawheelchair,ontothehospital’slawn.“It’s abeautifulday,”Eugene said. “Prettyniceweather,huh?”She toldhimaboutherkidsandtheyplayedwithadog.Shethoughthemightbeabletocomehomesoon.Thesunwasgoingdown.Shestartedtogetreadytotakehiminside.

Eugenelookedather.“I’mluckytohaveadaughterlikeyou,”hesaid.Shewascaughtoff-guard.

Shecouldn’trememberthelasttimehehadsaidsomethingsosweet.“I’mluckythatyou’remydad,”shetoldhim.

“Gosh, it’s a beautiful day,” he said. “What do you think about theweather?”

Thatnight,atoneo’clockinthemorning,Beverly’sphonerang.Thedoctorsaid Eugene had suffered a massive heart attack and the staff had doneeverythingpossible,buthadn’tbeenabletorevivehim.Hewasgone.Afterhisdeath,hewouldbecelebratedbyresearchers,theimagesofhisbrainstudiedinhundredsoflabsandmedicalschools.

“Iknowhewouldhavebeenreallyproudtoknowhowmuchhecontributedtoscience,”Beverlytoldme.“Hetoldmeonce,prettysoonafterwegotmarried,thathewantedtodosomethingimportantwithhislife,somethingthatmattered.Andhedid.Hejustneverrememberedanyofit.”

THECRAVINGBRAIN

HowtoCreateNewHabitsI.Onedayintheearly1900s,aprominentAmericanexecutivenamedClaude

C. Hopkins was approached by an old friend with a new business idea. Thefriendhaddiscoveredanamazingproduct,heexplained,thathewasconvincedwould be a hit. It was a toothpaste, a minty, frothy concoction he called“Pepsodent.” There were some dicey investors involved—one of them had astringofbustedlanddeals;another,itwasrumored,wasconnectedtothemob—butthisventure,thefriendpromised,wasgoingtobehuge.If,thatis,Hopkinswouldconsenttohelpdesignanationalpromotionalcampaign.2.1

Hopkins,atthetime,wasatthetopofaboomingindustrythathadhardlyexisted a few decades earlier: advertising. Hopkins was the man who hadconvincedAmericanstobuySchlitzbeerbyboastingthatthecompanycleanedtheir bottles “with live steam,” while neglecting to mention that every othercompanyusedtheexactsamemethod.Hehadseducedmillionsofwomenintopurchasing Palmolive soap by proclaiming that Cleopatra hadwashedwith it,despitethesputteringprotestsofoutragedhistorians.HehadmadePuffedWheatfamousbysayingthatitwas“shotfromguns”untilthegrainspuffed“toeight

times normal size.”He had turned dozens of previously unknown products—QuakerOats,Goodyear tires, theBissellcarpetsweeper,VanCamp’sporkandbeans—intohouseholdnames.Andintheprocess,hehadmadehimselfsorichthat his best-selling autobiography, My Life in Advertising, devoted longpassagestothedifficultiesofspendingsomuchmoney.

ClaudeHopkinswasbestknownforaseriesofruleshecoinedexplaininghow to create new habits among consumers. These rules would transformindustries and eventually became conventional wisdom among marketers,educationalreformers,publichealthprofessionals,politicians,andCEOs.Eventoday,Hopkins’srulesinfluenceeverythingfromhowwebuycleaningsuppliesto the tools governments use for eradicating disease. They are fundamental tocreatinganynewroutine.

However,whenhisoldfriendapproachedHopkinsaboutPepsodent,theadmanexpressedonlymildinterest.ItwasnosecretthatthehealthofAmericans’teeth was in steep decline. As the nation had become wealthier, people hadstarted buying larger amounts of sugary, processed foods.2.2 When thegovernmentstarteddraftingmenforWorldWarI,somanyrecruitshadrottingteeththatofficialssaidpoordentalhygienewasanationalsecurityrisk.

Yet asHopkins knew, selling toothpastewas financial suicide. Therewasalreadyanarmyofdoor-to-doorsalesmenhawkingdubious toothpowdersandelixirs,mostofthemgoingbroke.

Theproblemwasthathardlyanyoneboughttoothpastebecause,despitethenation’sdentalproblems,hardlyanyonebrushedtheirteeth.2.3

SoHopkinsgavehis friend’sproposalabitof thought,and thendeclined.He’dstickwithsoapsandcereals,hesaid.“Ididnotseeawaytoeducate thelaity in technical toothpaste theories,”Hopkinsexplained inhisautobiography.Thefriend,however,waspersistent.Hecamebackagainandagain,appealingtoHopkins’sconsiderableegountil,eventually,theadmangavein.

“I finally agreed to undertake the campaign if he gaveme a sixmonths’optiononablockofstock,”Hopkinswrote.Thefriendagreed.

ItwouldbethewisestfinancialdecisionofHopkins’slife.Withinfiveyearsofthatpartnership,HopkinsturnedPepsodentintooneof

the best-known products on earth and, in the process, helped create atoothbrushing habit that moved across America with startling speed. Soon,everyone from Shirley Temple to Clark Gable was bragging about their“Pepsodent smile.”2.4By 1930, Pepsodent was sold in China, South Africa,Brazil,Germany,andalmostanywhereelseHopkinscouldbuyads.2.5Adecade

after the first Pepsodent campaign, pollsters found that toothbrushing hadbecome a ritual for more than half the American population.2.6 Hopkins hadhelpedestablishtoothbrushingasadailyactivity.

Thesecrettohissuccess,Hopkinswouldlaterboast,wasthathehadfoundacertainkindofcueandrewardthatfueledaparticularhabit.It’sanalchemysopowerfulthateventodaythebasicprinciplesarestillusedvideogamedesigners,foodcompanies,hospitals,andmillionsofsalesmenaround theworld.EugenePauly taught us about the habit loop, but it wasClaudeHopkins that showedhownewhabitscanbecultivatedandgrown.

Sowhat,exactly,didHopkinsdo?Hecreatedacraving.Andthatcraving,itturnsout,iswhatmakescuesand

rewardswork.Thatcravingiswhatpowersthehabitloop.

Throughouthiscareer,oneofClaudeHopkins’ssignaturetacticswastofindsimple triggers to convince consumers to use his products every day.He soldQuakerOats, for instance, as a breakfast cereal that could provide energy fortwenty-fourhours—butonlyifyouateabowleverymorning.Hehawkedtonicsthat cured stomachaches, joint pain, bad skin, and “womanly problems”—butonlyifyoudrankthemedicineatsymptoms’firstappearance.Soon,peopleweredevouringoatmealatdaybreakandchuggingfromlittlebrownbottleswhenevertheyfeltahintoffatigue,which,asluckwouldhaveit,oftenhappenedatleastonceaday.

To sell Pepsodent, then, Hopkins needed a trigger that would justify thetoothpaste’sdailyuse.Hesatdownwithapileofdentaltextbooks.“Itwasdryreading,”helaterwrote.“ButinthemiddleofonebookIfoundareferencetothemucinplaquesonteeth,whichIafterwardcalled‘thefilm.’Thatgavemeanappealingidea.Iresolvedtoadvertisethistoothpasteasacreatorofbeauty.Todealwiththatcloudyfilm.”

Infocusingontoothfilm,Hopkinswasignoringthefactthatthissamefilmhasalwayscoveredpeople’steethandhadn’tseemedtobotheranyone.Thefilmisanaturallyoccurringmembranethatbuildsuponteethregardlessofwhatyoueatorhowoftenyoubrush.2.7Peoplehadneverpaidmuchattention to it, andtherewaslittlereasonwhytheyshould:Youcangetridofthefilmbyeatinganapple, running your finger over your teeth, brushing, or vigorously swirling

liquid around your mouth. Toothpaste didn’t do anything to help remove thefilm. In fact, one of the leading dental researchers of the time said that alltoothpastes—particularlyPepsodent—wereworthless.2.8

Thatdidn’t stopHopkins fromexploitinghisdiscovery.Here,hedecided,wasacuethatcouldtriggerahabit.Soon,citieswereplasteredwithPepsodentads.

“Justrunyourtongueacrossyourteeth,”readone.“You’llfeelafilm—that’swhatmakesyourteethlook‘offcolor’andinvitesdecay.”

“Note how many pretty teeth are seen everywhere,” read another ad,featuringsmilingbeauties.“Millionsareusinganewmethodofteethcleansing.Whywould anywomanhavedingy filmonher teeth?Pepsodent removes thefilm!”2.9

Thebrillianceoftheseappealswasthattheyrelieduponacue—toothfilm—that was universal and impossible to ignore. Telling someone to run theirtongue across their teeth, it turned out, was likely to cause them to run theirtongue across their teeth.Andwhen they did, theywere likely to feel a film.Hopkinshadfoundacuethatwassimple,hadexistedforages,andwassoeasytotriggerthatanadvertisementcouldcausepeopletocomplyautomatically.

Moreover, the reward, asHopkins envisioned it,was evenmore enticing.Who,afterall,doesn’twanttobemorebeautiful?Whodoesn’twantaprettiersmile?ParticularlywhenallittakesisaquickbrushwithPepsodent?

HOPKINS’SCONCEPTIONOFTHEPEPSODENTHABITLOOPAfter thecampaign launched,aquietweekpassed.Then two. In the third

week, demand exploded. There were so many orders for Pepsodent that thecompany couldn’t keep up. In three years, the productwent international, andHopkinswas crafting ads in Spanish,German, andChinese.Within a decade,Pepsodent was one of the top-selling goods in the world, and remainedAmerica’sbest-sellingtoothpasteformorethanthirtyyears.2.10,2.11

Before Pepsodent appeared, only 7 percent of Americans had a tube oftoothpasteintheirmedicinechests.AdecadeafterHopkins’sadcampaignwentnationwide,thatnumberhadjumpedto65percent.2.12BytheendofWorldWarII, the military downgraded concerns about recruits’ teeth because so many

soldierswerebrushingeveryday.“Imade formyself amilliondollarsonPepsodent,”Hopkinswrotea few

yearsafter theproductappearedonshelves.Thekey,he said,was thathehad“learned the right human psychology.” That psychologywas grounded in twobasicrules:

First,findasimpleandobviouscue.Second,clearlydefinetherewards.Ifyougetthoseelementsright,Hopkinspromised,itwaslikemagic.Look

at Pepsodent: He had identified a cue—tooth film—and a reward—beautifulteeth—thathadpersuadedmillionstostartadailyritual.Eventoday,Hopkins’srules are a staple ofmarketing textbooks and the foundationofmillions of adcampaigns.

And those same principles have been used to create thousands of otherhabits—oftenwithoutpeoplerealizinghowcloselytheyarehewingtoHopkins’sformula.Studiesofpeoplewhohavesuccessfullystartednewexerciseroutines,for instance, show they are more likely to stick with a workout plan if theychooseaspecificcue,suchasrunningassoonastheygethomefromwork,andaclearreward,suchasabeeroraneveningofguilt-freetelevision.2.13Researchondietingsayscreatingnewfoodhabitsrequiresapredeterminedcue—suchasplanningmenusinadvance—andsimplerewardsfordieterswhentheysticktotheirintentions.2.14

“Thetimehascomewhenadvertisinghasinsomehandsreachedthestatusof a science,”Hopkinswrote. “Advertising, once a gamble, has thus become,underabledirection,oneofthesafestofbusinessventures.”

It’s quite a boast. However, it turns out that Hopkins’s two rules aren’tenough.There’salsoathirdrulethatmustbesatisfiedtocreateahabit—arulesosubtlethatHopkinshimselfreliedonitwithoutknowingitexisted.Itexplainseverythingfromwhyit’ssohardtoignoreaboxofdoughnutstohowamorningjogcanbecomeanearlyeffortlessroutine.

II.ThescientistsandmarketingexecutivesatProcter&Gambleweregathered

aroundabeat-uptableinasmall,windowlessroom,readingthetranscriptofaninterviewwith awomanwhoowned nine cats,when one of them finally saidwhateveryonewasthinking.

“If we get fired, what exactly happens?” she asked. “Do security guardsshowupandwalkusout,ordowegetsomekindofwarningbeforehand?”

The team’s leader,aonetimerisingstarwithin thecompanynamedDrake

Stimson,staredather.“Idon’tknow,”hesaid.Hishairwasamess.Hiseyesweretired.“Inever

thought things would get this bad. They told me running this project was apromotion.”

It was 1996, and the group at the table was finding out, despite ClaudeHopkins’s assertions, howutterlyunscientific theprocessof selling somethingcouldbecome.Theyallworkedforoneofthelargestconsumergoodsfirmsonearth, the company behind Pringles potato chips, Oil of Olay, Bounty papertowels,CoverGirlcosmetics,Dawn,Downy,andDuracell,aswellasdozensofotherbrands.P&Gcollectedmoredatathanalmostanyothermerchantonearthand relied on complex statistical methods to craft their marketing campaigns.Thefirmwasincrediblygoodatfiguringouthowtosellthings.Intheclothes-washingmarket alone, P&G’s products cleaned one out of every two laundryloadsinAmerica.2.15Itsrevenuestopped$35billionperyear.2.16

However,Stimson’steam,whichhadbeenentrustedwithdesigningtheadcampaignforoneofP&G’smostpromisingnewproducts,wasonthebrinkoffailure.Thecompanyhadspentmillionsofdollarsdevelopingaspraythatcouldremove bad smells from almost any fabric. And the researchers in that tiny,windowlessroomhadnoideahowtogetpeopletobuyit.

The sprayhadbeencreated about threeyears earlier,whenoneofP&G’schemistswasworkingwithasubstancecalledhydroxypropylbetacyclodextrin,or HPBCD, in a laboratory. The chemist was a smoker. His clothes usuallysmelled likeanashtray.Oneday,afterworkingwithHPBCD,hiswifegreetedhimatthedoorwhenhegothome.

“Didyouquitsmoking?”sheaskedhim.“No,”hesaid.Hewassuspicious.Shehadbeenharassinghim togiveup

cigarettesforyears.Thisseemedlikesomekindofreversepsychologytrickery.“Youdon’tsmelllikesmoke,isall,”shesaid.The next day, he went back to the lab and started experimenting with

HPBCDandvarious scents.Soon,hehadhundredsofvials containing fabricsthatsmelledlikewetdogs,cigars,sweatysocks,Chinesefood,mustyshirts,anddirtytowels.WhenheputHPBCDinwaterandsprayeditonthesamples, thescentsweredrawnintothechemical’smolecules.Afterthemistdried,thesmellwasgone.

When the chemist explained his findings to P&G’s executives, theywereecstatic.Foryears,marketresearchhadsaidthatconsumerswereclamoringforsomethingthatcouldgetridofbadsmells—notmaskthem,buteradicatethem

altogether.Whenoneteamofresearchershadinterviewedcustomers,theyfoundthatmanyof them left their blouses or slacksoutside after a night at a bar orparty.“MyclothessmelllikecigaretteswhenIgethome,butIdon’twanttopayfordrycleaningeverytimeIgoout,”onewomansaid.

P&G,sensinganopportunity,launchedatop-secretprojecttoturnHPBCDinto a viable product. They spent millions perfecting the formula, finallyproducingacolorless,odorlessliquidthatcouldwipeoutalmostanyfoulodor.ThesciencebehindthespraywassoadvancedthatNASAwouldeventuallyuseittocleantheinteriorsofshuttlesaftertheyreturnedfromspace.Thebestpartwas that itwascheap tomanufacture,didn’t leave stains, andcouldmakeanystinkycouch,oldjacket,orstainedcarinteriorsmell,well,scentless.Theprojecthad been amajor gamble, but P&Gwas now poised to earn billions—if theycouldcomeupwiththerightmarketingcampaign.

They decided to call it Febreze, and asked Stimson, a thirty-one-year-oldwunderkindwith abackground inmathandpsychology, to lead themarketingteam.2.17Stimsonwastallandhandsome,withastrongchin,agentlevoice,anda taste for high-end meals. (“I’d rather my kids smoked weed than ate inMcDonald’s,”heoncetoldacolleague.)BeforejoiningP&G,hehadspentfiveyearsonWallStreetbuildingmathematicalmodels for choosing stocks.WhenherelocatedtoCincinnati,whereP&Gwasheadquartered,hewastappedtohelprunimportantbusinesslines,includingBouncefabricsoftenerandDownydryersheets. But Febreze was different. It was a chance to launch an entirely newcategoryofproduct—toaddsomething toaconsumer’sshoppingcart thathadneverbeentherebefore.AllStimsonneededtodowasfigureouthowtomakeFebrezeintoahabit,andtheproductwouldflyofftheshelves.Howtoughcouldthatbe?

Stimson and his colleagues decided to introduce Febreze in a few testmarkets—Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Boise. They flew in and handed outsamples, and then asked people if they could come by their homes. Over thecourse of two months, they visited hundreds of households. Their first bigbreakthroughcamewhentheyvisitedaparkrangerinPhoenix.Shewasinherlatetwentiesandlivedbyherself.Herjobwastotrapanimalsthatwanderedoutof thedesert.Shecaughtcoyotes,raccoons, theoccasionalmountainlion.Andskunks. Lots and lots of skunks. Which often sprayed her when they werecaught.

“I’msingle,andI’dliketofindsomeonetohavekidswith,”therangertoldStimsonandhiscolleagueswhile theysat inher livingroom.“Igoona lotofdates.Imean,IthinkI’mattractive,youknow?I’msmartandIfeellikeI’ma

goodcatch.”Butherlovelifewascrippled,sheexplained,becauseeverythinginherlife

smelledlikeskunk.Herhouse,hertruck,herclothing,herboots,herhands,hercurtains.Evenherbed.Shehadtriedallsortsofcures.Sheboughtspecialsoapsand shampoos. She burned candles and used expensive carpet shampooingmachines.Noneofitworked.

“When I’monadate, I’llgetawhiffof something that smells likeskunkand I’ll start obsessing about it,” she told them. “I’ll startwondering, does hesmellit?WhatifIbringhimhomeandhewantstoleave?

“Iwentonfourdates lastyearwithareallyniceguy,aguyIreallyliked,andIwaitedforevertoinvitehimtomyplace.Eventually,hecameover,andIthoughteverythingwasgoingreallywell.Thenthenextday,hesaidhewantedto‘takeabreak.’Hewasreallypoliteaboutit,butIkeepwondering,wasitthesmell?”

“Well,I’mgladyougotachancetotryFebreze,”Stimsonsaid.“How’dyoulikeit?”

Shelookedathim.Shewascrying.“Iwanttothankyou,”shesaid.“Thissprayhaschangedmylife.”AftershehadreceivedsamplesofFebreze,shehadgonehomeandsprayed

her couch. She sprayed the curtains, the rug, the bedspread, her jeans, heruniform,theinteriorofhercar.Thebottleranout,soshegotanotherone,andsprayedeverythingelse.

“I’veaskedallofmyfriends tocomeover,” thewomansaid.“Theycan’tsmellitanymore.Theskunkisgone.”

By now, she was crying so hard that one of Stimson’s colleagues waspattingheron the shoulder. “Thankyou somuch,” thewomansaid. “I feel sofree.Thankyou.Thisproductissoimportant.”

Stimsonsniffedtheairinsideherlivingroom.Hecouldn’tsmellanything.We’regoingtomakeafortunewiththisstuff,hethought.

StimsonandhisteamwentbacktoP&Gheadquartersandstartedreviewingthemarketingcampaigntheywereabouttorollout.ThekeytosellingFebreze,theydecided,wasconveyingthatsenseofrelieftheparkrangerfelt.Theyhadto

position Febreze as something that would allow people to rid themselves ofembarrassingsmells.AllofthemwerefamiliarwithClaudeHopkins’srules,orthemodern incarnations that filled business school textbooks.Theywanted tokeeptheadssimple:Findanobviouscueandclearlydefinethereward.

They designed two television commercials. The first showed a womantalkingaboutthesmokingsectionofarestaurant.Wheneversheeatsthere,herjacketsmellslikesmoke.AfriendtellsherifsheusesFebreze,itwilleliminatethe odor. The cue: the smell of cigarettes. The reward: odor eliminated fromclothes.Thesecondadfeaturedawomanworryingaboutherdog,Sophie,whoalwayssitson thecouch.2.18“Sophiewillalwayssmell likeSophie,”shesays,but with Febreze, “now my furniture doesn’t have to.” The cue: pet smells,which are familiar to the seventy million households with animals.2.19 Thereward:ahousethatdoesn’tsmelllikeakennel.

Stimsonandhiscolleaguesbeganairing theadvertisements in1996in thesametestcities.Theygaveawaysamples,putadvertisementsinmailboxes,andpaid grocers to buildmountains of Febreze near cash registers. Then they satback,anticipatinghowtheywouldspendtheirbonuses.

Aweekpassed.Thentwo.Amonth.Twomonths.Salesstartedsmall—andgotsmaller.Panicked,thecompanysentresearchersintostorestoseewhatwashappening.ShelveswerefilledwithFebrezebottlesthathadneverbeentouched.Theystartedvisitinghousewiveswhohadreceivedfreesamples.

“Oh,yes!”oneofthemtoldaP&Gresearcher.“Thespray!Irememberit.Let’ssee.”Thewomangotdownonherkneesinthekitchenandstartedrootingthroughthecabinetunderneaththesink.“Iuseditforawhile,butthenIforgotabout it. I think it’s back here somewhere.” She stood up. “Maybe it’s in thecloset?”Shewalkedoverandpushedasidesomebrooms.“Yes!Hereitis!Intheback!See?It’sstillalmostfull.Didyouwantitback?”

Febrezewasadud.ForStimson,thiswasadisaster.Rivalexecutivesinotherdivisionssensed

anopportunityinhisfailure.Heheardwhispersthatsomepeoplewerelobbyingto kill Febreze and get him reassigned to Nicky Clarke hair products, theconsumergoodsequivalentofSiberia.

One of P&G’s divisional presidents called an emergency meeting andannouncedtheyhadtocuttheirlossesonFebrezebeforeboardmembersstartedasking questions. Stimson’s boss stood up and made an impassioned plea.

“There’s still a chance to turn everything around,”he said. “At thevery least,let’saskthePhDstofigureoutwhat’sgoingon.”P&Ghadrecentlysnappedupscientists from Stanford, CarnegieMellon, and elsewherewhowere supposedexperts in consumer psychology. The division’s president agreed to give theproductalittlemoretime.

SoanewgroupofresearchersjoinedStimson’steamandstartedconductingmore interviews.2.20Their first inklingofwhyFebrezewas failingcamewhentheyvisitedawoman’shomeoutsidePhoenix.Theycould smellherninecatsbeforetheywentinside.Thehouse’sinterior,however,wascleanandorganized.Shewassomewhatofaneatfreak,thewomanexplained.Shevacuumedeveryday and didn’t like to open herwindows, since thewind blew in dust.WhenStimsonandthescientistswalkedintoherlivingroom,wherethecatslived,thescentwassooverpoweringthatoneofthemgagged.

“Whatdoyoudoaboutthecatsmell?”ascientistaskedthewoman.“It’susuallynotaproblem,”shesaid.“Howoftendoyounoticeasmell?”“Oh,aboutonceamonth,”thewomanreplied.Theresearcherslookedatoneanother.“Doyousmellitnow?”ascientistasked.“No,”shesaid.The same pattern played out in dozens of other smelly homes the

researchersvisited.Peoplecouldn’tdetectmostofthebadsmellsintheirlives.Ifyou livewith nine cats, you become desensitized to their scent. If you smokecigarettes, it damages your olfactory capacities so much that you can’t smellsmoke anymore. Scents are strange; even the strongest fade with constantexposure.That’swhynoonewasusingFebreze,Stimsonrealized.Theproduct’scue—the thing that was supposed to trigger daily use—was hidden from thepeople who needed it most. Bad scents simply weren’t noticed frequentlyenoughtotriggeraregularhabit.Asaresult,Febrezeendedupinthebackofacloset.Thepeoplewiththegreatestproclivitytousethesprayneversmelledtheodorsthatshouldhaveremindedthemthelivingroomneededaspritz.

Stimson’steamwentbacktoheadquartersandgatheredinthewindowlessconference room, rereading the transcript of the woman with nine cats. Thepsychologist askedwhat happens if youget fired.Stimsonput his head in hishands.Ifhecouldn’tsellFebrezetoawomanwithninecats,hewondered,whocouldhesellitto?Howdoyoubuildanewhabitwhenthere’snocuetotriggerusage,andwhentheconsumerswhomostneeditdon’tappreciatethereward?

III.ThelaboratorybelongingtoWolframSchultz,aprofessorofneuroscienceat

theUniversityofCambridge,isnotaprettyplace.Hisdeskhasbeenalternatelydescribedbycolleaguesasablackholewheredocumentsarelostforeverandapetridishwhereorganismscangrow,undisturbedandinwildproliferation,foryears.WhenSchultzneedstocleansomething,whichisuncommon,hedoesn’tuse sprays or cleansers.Hewets a paper towel andwipes hard. If his clothessmelllikesmokeorcathair,hedoesn’tnotice.Orcare.

However, theexperiments thatSchultzhasconductedoverthepast twentyyears have revolutionized our understanding of how cues, rewards, and habitsinteract.Hehas explainedwhy somecues and rewardshavemorepower thanothers,andhasprovidedascientificroadmapthatexplainswhyPepsodentwasa hit, how some dieters and exercise buffs manage to change their habits soquickly,and—intheend—whatittooktomakeFebrezesell.

Inthe1980s,Schultzwaspartofagroupofscientistsstudyingthebrainsofmonkeysas they learned toperformcertain tasks, suchaspullingon leversoropening clasps. Their goal was to figure out which parts of the brain wereresponsiblefornewactions.

“Oneday,Inoticedthisthingthatisinterestingtome,”Schultztoldme.HewasborninGermanyandnow,whenhespeaksEnglish,soundsabitlikeArnoldSchwarzeneggeriftheTerminatorwereamemberoftheRoyalSociety.“Afewof the monkeys we watched loved apple juice, and the other monkeys lovedgrape juice, and so I began to wonder, what is going on inside those littlemonkeyheads?Whydodifferentrewardsaffectthebrainindifferentways?”

Schultzbeganaseriesofexperiments todecipherhowrewardsworkonaneurochemicallevel.Astechnologyprogressed,hegainedaccess,inthe1990s,to devices similar to those used by the researchers at MIT. Rather than rats,however,SchultzwasinterestedinmonkeyslikeJulio,aneight-poundmacaquewithhazeleyeswhohadaverythinelectrodeinsertedintohisbrainthatallowedSchultztoobserveneuronalactivityasitoccurred.2.21

Oneday,SchultzpositionedJulioonachairinadimlylitroomandturnedonacomputermonitor.Julio’sjobwastotouchaleverwhenevercoloredshapes—small yellow spirals, red squiggles, blue lines—appeared on the screen. IfJuliotouchedtheleverwhenashapeappeared,adropofblackberryjuicewouldrundownatubehangingfromtheceilingandontothemonkey’slips.

Juliolikedblackberryjuice.At first, Julio was only mildly interested in what was happening on the

screen.Hespentmostofhistimetryingtosquirmoutofthechair.Butoncethe

first dose of juice arrived, Julio became very focused on themonitor. As themonkey came to understand, throughdozens of repetitions, that the shapes onthe screenwere a cue for a routine (touch the lever) that resulted in a reward(blackberryjuice),hestartedstaringat thescreenwitha laserlikeintensity.Hedidn’tsquirm.Whenayellowsquiggleappeared,hewentforthelever.Whenabluelineflashed,hepounced.Andwhenthejuicearrived,Juliowouldlickhislipscontentedly.

JULIO’SREWARDRESPONSEWHENHERECEIVESTHEJUICEAs Schultz monitored the activity within Julio’s brain, he saw a pattern

emerge.WheneverJulioreceivedhisreward,hisbrainactivitywouldspikeinamanner that suggested hewas experiencing happiness.2.22 A transcript of thatneurological activity showswhat it looks likewhen amonkey’s brain says, inessence,“Igotareward!”

SchultztookJuliothroughthesameexperimentagainandagain,recordingtheneurological response each time.Whenever Julio receivedhis juice, the “Igot a reward!” pattern appeared on the computer attached to the probe in themonkey’s head. Gradually, from a neurological perspective, Julio’s behaviorbecameahabit.

JULIO’SHABITLOOPWhatwasmostinterestingtoSchultz,however,washowthingschangedas

theexperimentproceeded.As themonkeybecamemoreandmorepracticedatthe behavior—as the habit became stronger and stronger—Julio’s brain begananticipatingtheblackberryjuice.Schultz’sprobesstartedrecordingthe“Igotareward!”patterntheinstantJuliosawtheshapesonthescreen,beforethejuicearrived:

NOW, JULIO’SREWARDRESPONSEOCCURSBEFORETHE JUICEARRIVES

In otherwords, the shapes on themonitor had become a cue not just forpullingalever,butalsoforapleasureresponseinsidethemonkey’sbrain.Juliostarted expecting his reward as soon as he saw the yellow spirals and redsquiggles.

ThenSchultzadjusted theexperiment.Previously,Juliohadreceivedjuiceassoonashe touched the lever.Now,sometimes, the juicedidn’tarriveatall,even if Julio performed correctly.Or itwould arrive after a slight delay.Or itwouldbewatereddownuntilitwasonlyhalfassweet.

When the juicedidn’t arriveorwas lateordiluted, Juliowouldget angryandmakeunhappynoises,orbecomemopey.AndwithinJulio’sbrain,Schultzwatchedanewpatternemerge:craving.WhenJulioanticipatedjuicebutdidn’treceive it, aneurological pattern associatedwithdesire and frustration eruptedinsidehis skull.When Julio saw the cue, he started anticipating a juice-fueledjoy.Butifthejuicedidn’tarrive,thatjoybecameacravingthat,ifunsatisfied,droveJuliotoangerordepression.

Researchersinotherlabshavefoundsimilarpatterns.Othermonkeysweretrained to anticipate juice whenever they saw a shape on a screen. Then,researchers tried todistract them.Theyopened the lab’sdoor, so themonkeyscouldgooutsideandplaywith their friends.Theyput food inacorner, so themonkeyscouldeatiftheyabandonedtheexperiment.

For thosemonkeys who hadn’t developed a strong habit, the distractionsworked.Theyslidoutoftheirchairs,lefttheroom,andneverlookedback.Theyhadn’t learned to crave the juice. However, once a monkey had developed ahabit—once its brain anticipated the reward—the distractions held no allure.The animalwould sit there,watching themonitor andpressing the lever, overandoveragain,regardlessoftheofferoffoodortheopportunitytogooutside.The anticipation and sense of cravingwas so overwhelming that themonkeysstayedgluedtotheirscreens,thesamewayagamblerwillplayslotslongafterhe’slosthiswinnings.2.23

This explains why habits are so powerful: They create neurologicalcravings.Most of the time, these cravings emerge so gradually thatwe’re notreally aware they exist, so we’re often blind to their influence. But as weassociate cues with certain rewards, a subconscious craving emerges in ourbrainsthatstartsthehabitloopspinning.OneresearcheratCornell,forinstance,

found how powerfully food and scent cravings can affect behavior when henoticedhowCinnabonstoreswerepositionedinsideshoppingmalls.Mostfoodsellerslocatetheirkiosksinfoodcourts,butCinnabontriestolocatetheirstoresaway fromother food stalls.2.24Why?BecauseCinnabon executiveswant thesmell of cinnamon rolls to waft down hallways and around cornersuninterrupted, so that shopperswill start subconsciously cravinga roll.By thetime a consumer turns a corner and sees theCinnabon store, that craving is aroaringmonsterinsidehisheadandhe’llreach,unthinkingly,forhiswallet.Thehabitloopisspinningbecauseasenseofcravinghasemerged.2.25

“There isnothingprogrammed intoourbrains thatmakesus seeaboxofdoughnuts and automaticallywant a sugary treat,”Schultz toldme. “But onceour brain learns that a doughnut box contains yummy sugar and othercarbohydrates, itwillstartanticipating thesugarhigh.Ourbrainswillpushustowardthebox.Then,ifwedon’teatthedoughnut,we’llfeeldisappointed.”

To understand this process, consider how Julio’s habit emerged. First, hesawashapeonthescreen:

Overtime,Juliolearnedthattheappearanceoftheshapemeantitwastimetoexecutearoutine.Sohetouchedthelever:

Asaresult,Julioreceivedadropofblackberryjuice.

That’sbasiclearning.ThehabitonlyemergesonceJuliobeginscravingthejuicewhenheseesthecue.Oncethatcravingexists,Juliowillactautomatically.He’llfollowthehabit:

JULIO’SHABITLOOPThisishownewhabitsarecreated:byputtingtogetheracue,aroutine,and

a reward, and then cultivating a craving that drives the loop.2.26 Take, forinstance,smoking.Whenasmokerseesacue—say,apackofMarlboros—herbrainstartsanticipatingahitofnicotine.Justthesightofcigarettesisenoughforthebraintocraveanicotinerush.Ifitdoesn’tarrive,thecravinggrowsuntilthesmokerreaches,unthinkingly,foraMarlboro.

Or take email.When a computer chimes or a smartphone vibrateswith anew message, the brain starts anticipating the momentary distraction thatopening an email provides. That expectation, if unsatisfied, can build until ameetingisfilledwithantsyexecutivescheckingtheirbuzzingBlackBerrysunderthetable,eveniftheyknowit’sprobablyonlytheirlatestfantasyfootballresults.(Ontheotherhand,ifsomeonedisablesthebuzzing—and,thus,removesthecue—peoplecanworkforhourswithoutthinkingtochecktheirin-boxes.)

Scientistshavestudiedthebrainsofalcoholics,smokers,andovereatersandhavemeasuredhowtheirneurology—thestructuresoftheirbrainsandtheflowof neurochemicals inside their skulls—changes as their cravings becameingrained.Particularlystronghabits,wrotetworesearchersat theUniversityofMichigan, produce addiction-like reactions so that “wanting evolves intoobsessivecraving”thatcanforceourbrainsintoautopilot,“eveninthefaceofstrongdisincentives,includinglossofreputation,job,home,andfamily.”2.27

However,thesecravingsdon’thavecompleteauthorityoverus.Asthenextchapterexplains,therearemechanismsthatcanhelpusignorethetemptations.But to overpower the habit, we must recognize which craving is driving thebehavior.Ifwe’renotconsciousoftheanticipation,thenwe’reliketheshopperswhowander,asifdrawnbyanunseenforce,intoCinnabon.

To understand the power of cravings in creating habits, consider howexercise habits emerge. In 2002 researchers at NewMexico State Universitywanted to understand why people habitually exercise.2.28 They studied 266individuals,most ofwhomworkedout at least three times aweek.What theyfoundwasthatmanyofthemhadstartedrunningorliftingweightsalmostonawhim,orbecausetheysuddenlyhadfreetimeorwantedtodealwithunexpectedstresses in their lives. However, the reason they continued—why it became ahabit—wasbecauseofaspecificrewardtheystartedtocrave.

Inonegroup,92percentofpeoplesaidtheyhabituallyexercisedbecauseitmadethem“feelgood”—theygrewtoexpectandcravetheendorphinsandotherneurochemicalsaworkoutprovided.Inanothergroup,67percentofpeoplesaidthat working out gave them a sense of “accomplishment”—they had come tocravearegularsenseoftriumphfromtrackingtheirperformances,andthatself-rewardwasenoughtomakethephysicalactivityintoahabit.

Ifyouwant tostart runningeachmorning, it’sessential thatyouchooseasimplecue(likealwayslacingupyoursneakersbeforebreakfastorleavingyourrunningclothesnexttoyourbed)andaclearreward(suchasamiddaytreat,asenseofaccomplishmentfromrecordingyourmiles,ortheendorphinrushyouget froma jog).Butcountless studieshaveshown thatacueanda reward,ontheir own, aren’t enough for a new habit to last.Onlywhen your brain startsexpectingthereward—cravingtheendorphinsorsenseofaccomplishment—willit become automatic to lace up your jogging shoes eachmorning.The cue, inaddition to triggering a routine, must also trigger a craving for the reward tocome.2.29

“Letmeaskyouabout aproblem Ihave,” I said toWolframSchultz, theneuroscientist, after he explained tome how craving emerges. “I have a two-year-old, andwhen I’m home feeding him dinner—chicken nuggets and stufflike that—I’ll reach over and eat onemyself without thinking about it. It’s ahabit.AndnowI’mgainingweight.”

“Everybodydoes that,”Schultzsaid.Hehas threechildrenofhisown,alladultsnow.Whentheywereyoung,hewouldpickattheirdinnersunthinkingly.

“Insomeways,”hetoldme,“we’relikethemonkeys.Whenweseethechickenor frieson the table,ourbrainsbeginanticipating that food, even ifwe’renothungry.Ourbrainsarecravingthem.Frankly,Idon’tevenlikethiskindoffood,butsuddenly,it’shardtofightthisurge.AndassoonasIeatit,Ifeelthisrushofpleasureasthecravingissatisfied.It’shumiliating,butthat’showhabitswork.

“Iguess I shouldbe thankful,”hesaid,“because thesameprocesshas letmecreategoodhabits. Iworkhardbecause I expectpride fromadiscovery. Iexercisebecause I expect feelinggood afterward. I justwish I couldpick andchoosebetter.”

IV.Aftertheirdisastrousinterviewwiththecatwoman,DrakeStimson’steam

atP&Gstartedlookingoutsidetheusualchannelsforhelp.Theybeganreadinguponexperimentssuchas thoseconductedbyWolframSchultz.TheyaskedaHarvardBusinessSchoolprofessor toconductpsychological testsofFebreze’sadcampaigns.Theyinterviewedcustomeraftercustomer,lookingforsomethingthatwouldgivethemacluehowtomakeFebrezearegularpartofconsumers’lives.

Oneday,theywenttospeakwithawomaninasuburbnearScottsdale.Shewasinherfortieswithfourkids.Herhousewasclean,butnotcompulsivelytidy.Tothesurpriseoftheresearchers,shelovedFebreze.

“Iuseiteveryday,”shetoldthem.“Youdo?”Stimsonsaid.Thehousedidn’tseemlikethekindofplacewith

smellyproblems.Thereweren’tanypets.Noonesmoked.“How?Whatsmellsareyoutryingtogetridof?”

“I don’t really use it for specific smells,” the woman said. “Imean, youknow, I’vegot boys.They’regoing throughpuberty, and if I don’t clean theirrooms, it smells like a locker. But I don’t really use it that way. I use it fornormalcleaning—acoupleofsprayswhenI’mdoneinaroom.It’sanicewaytomakeeverythingsmellgoodasafinaltouch.”

They asked if they couldwatch her clean the house. In the bedroom, shemadeherbed,plumpedthepillows,tightenedthesheet’scorners,andthentooka Febreze bottle and sprayed the smoothed comforter. In the living room, shevacuumed,pickedupthekids’shoes,straightenedthecoffeetable,andsprayedFebrezeonthefreshlycleanedcarpet.“It’snice,youknow?”shesaid.“Sprayingfeelslikealittlemini-celebrationwhenI’mdonewitharoom.”Attherateshewas using Febreze, Stimson estimated, she would empty a bottle every twoweeks.

P&G had collected thousands of hours of videotapes of people cleaningtheirhomesovertheyears.WhentheresearchersgotbacktoCincinnati,someofthemspentaneveninglookingthroughthetapes.Thenextmorning,oneofthescientistsaskedtheFebrezeteamtojoinhimintheconferenceroom.Hecuedupthe tape of onewoman—a twenty-six-year-oldwith three children—making abed.Shesmoothedthesheetsandadjustedapillow.Then,shesmiledandlefttheroom.

“Didyouseethat?”theresearcheraskedexcitedly.Heput on another clip.Ayounger, brunettewoman spread out a colorful

bedspread,straightenedapillow,andthensmiledatherhandiwork.“Thereitisagain!” theresearchersaid.Thenextclipshowedawoman inworkoutclothestidyingherkitchenandwipingthecounterbeforeeasingintoarelaxingstretch.

Theresearcherlookedathiscolleagues.“Doyouseeit?”heasked.“Each of them is doing something relaxing or happy when they finish

cleaning,”hesaid.“Wecanbuildoffthat!WhatifFebrezewassomethingthathappenedattheendofthecleaningroutine,ratherthanthebeginning?Whatifitwasthefunpartofmakingsomethingcleaner?”

Stimson’steamranonemoretest.Previously,theproduct’sadvertisinghadfocused on eliminating bad smells. The company printed up new labels thatshowedopenwindowsandgusts of fresh air.Moreperfumewas added to therecipe,sothatinsteadofmerelyneutralizingodors,Febrezehaditsowndistinctscent. Television commercials were filmed of women spraying freshly madebeds and spritzing just-laundered clothing. The tagline had been “Gets badsmellsoutoffabrics.”Itwasrewrittenas“Cleanslife’ssmells.”

Each change was designed to appeal to a specific, daily cue: Cleaning aroom.Makingabed.Vacuumingarug.Ineachone,Febrezewaspositionedasthe reward: the nice smell that occurs at the end of a cleaning routine.Mostimportant, each adwas calibrated to elicit a craving: that thingswill smell asniceas they lookwhen thecleaning ritual isdone.The irony is thataproductmanufactured to destroy odors was transformed into the opposite. Instead ofeliminating scents on dirty fabrics, it became an air freshener used as thefinishingtouch,oncethingsarealreadyclean.

When the researcherswentback intoconsumers’homesafter thenewadsaired and the redesigned bottles were given away, they found that somehousewives in the test market had started expecting—craving—the Febrezescent.Onewomansaidthatwhenherbottlerandry,shesquirteddilutedperfumeonherlaundry.“IfIdon’tsmellsomethingniceattheend,itdoesn’treallyseem

cleannow,”shetoldthem.“Thepark rangerwith theskunkproblemsentus in thewrongdirection,”

Stimsontoldme.“ShemadeusthinkthatFebrezewouldsucceedbyprovidingasolutiontoaproblem.Butwhowantstoadmittheirhousestinks?

“Wewerelookingatitallwrong.Noonecravesscentlessness.Ontheotherhand, lots of people crave a nice smell after they’ve spent thirty minutescleaning.”

THEFEBREZEHABITLOOPThe Febreze relaunch took place in the summer of 1998. Within two

months, sales doubled. Within a year, customers had spent more than $230millionontheproduct.2.30Sincethen,Febrezehasspawneddozensofspin-offs—airfresheners,candles,laundrydetergents,andkitchensprays—that,alltold,nowaccountforsalesofmorethan$1billionperyear.Eventually,P&Gbeganmentioningtocustomersthat,inadditiontosmellinggood,Febrezecanalsokillbadodors.

Stimsonwas promoted and his team received their bonuses. The formulahadworked.Theyhadfoundsimpleandobviouscues.Theyhadclearlydefinedthereward.

But only once they created a sense of craving—the desire to makeeverythingsmellasniceasitlooked—didFebrezebecomeahit.ThatcravingisanessentialpartoftheformulaforcreatingnewhabitsthatClaudeHopkins,thePepsodentadman,neverrecognized.

V.Inhisfinalyearsoflife,Hopkinstooktothelecturecircuit.Histalksonthe

“LawsofScientificAdvertising”attractedthousandsofpeople.Fromstages,heoftencomparedhimselftoThomasEdisonandGeorgeWashingtonandspunoutwildforecastsaboutthefuture(flyingautomobilesfeaturedprominently).Buthenevermentionedcravingsortheneurologicalrootsofthehabitloop.Afterall,itwouldbeanotherseventyyearsbeforetheMITscientistsandWolframSchultzconductedtheirexperiments.

SohowdidHopkinsmanagetobuildsuchapowerful toothbrushinghabitwithoutthebenefitofthoseinsights?

Well, it turns out that he actually did take advantage of the principleseventually discovered atMIT and inside Schultz’s laboratory, even if nobodyknewitatthetime.

Hopkins’s experienceswith Pepsodentweren’t quite as straightforward ashe portrays them in his memoirs. Though he boasted that he discovered anamazingcueintoothfilm,andbraggedthathewasthefirsttoofferconsumerstheclearrewardofbeautifulteeth,itturnsoutthatHopkinswasn’ttheoriginatorof those tactics. Not by a long shot. Consider, for instance, some of theadvertisementsforothertoothpastesthatfilledmagazinesandnewspapersevenbeforeHopkinsknewthatPepsodentexisted.

“The ingredients of this preparation are especially intended to preventdepositsoftartarfromaccumulatingaroundthenecksoftheteeth,”readanadforDr.Sheffield’sCrèmeDentifrice thatpredatedPepsodent.“Clean thatdirtylayer!”

“Your white enamel is only hidden by a coating of film,” read anadvertisement that appeared while Hopkins was looking through his dentaltextbooks. “Sanitol Tooth Paste quickly restores the original whiteness byremovingfilm.”

“The charm of a lovely smile depends upon the beauty of your teeth,”proclaimed a third ad. “Beautiful, satin smooth teeth are often the secret of aprettygirl’sattractiveness.UseS.S.WhiteToothpaste!”

DozensofotheradvertisingmenhadusedthesamelanguageasPepsodentyears before Hopkins jumped in the game. All of their ads had promised toremovetoothfilmandhadofferedtherewardofbeautiful,whiteteeth.Noneofthemhadworked.

But once Hopkins launched his campaign, sales of Pepsodent exploded.WhywasPepsodentdifferent?

BecauseHopkins’ssuccesswasdrivenbythesamefactorsthatcausedJuliothemonkeytotouchtheleverandhousewivestosprayFebrezeonfreshlymadebeds.Pepsodentcreatedacraving.

Hopkinsdoesn’tspendanyofhisautobiographydiscussingtheingredientsin Pepsodent, but the recipe listed on the toothpaste’s patent application andcompany records reveals something interesting: Unlike other pastes of theperiod,Pepsodent contained citric acid, aswell as doses ofmint oil andotherchemicals.2.31 Pepsodent’s inventor used those ingredients to make thetoothpastetastefresh,buttheyhadanother,unanticipatedeffectaswell.They’reirritantsthatcreateacool,tinglingsensationonthetongueandgums.

After Pepsodent started dominating the marketplace, researchers atcompeting companies scrambled to figure outwhy.What they foundwas thatcustomerssaid that if they forgot tousePepsodent, they realized theirmistakebecausetheymissedthatcool,tinglingsensationintheirmouths.Theyexpected—theycraved—that slight irritation. If itwasn’t there, theirmouthsdidn’t feelclean.

ClaudeHopkinswasn’t sellingbeautiful teeth.Hewassellingasensation.Oncepeoplecravedthatcooltingling—oncetheyequateditwithcleanliness—brushingbecameahabit.

When other companies discovered what Hopkins was really selling, theystarted imitatinghim.Withinafewdecades,almostevery toothpastecontainedoils andchemicals that causedgums to tingle.Soon,Pepsodent startedgettingoutsold.Eventoday,almostalltoothpastescontainadditiveswiththesolejobofmakingyourmouthtingleafteryoubrush.

THEREALPEPSODENTHABITLOOP“Consumers need some kind of signal that a product is working,” Tracy

Sinclair,whowasabrandmanagerforOral-BandCrestKidsToothpaste, toldme.“Wecanmake toothpaste taste likeanything—blueberries,green tea—andaslongasithasacooltingle,peoplefeelliketheirmouthisclean.Thetinglingdoesn’tmakethetoothpasteworkanybetter.Itjustconvincespeopleit’sdoingthejob.”

Anyonecanusethisbasicformulatocreatehabitsofherorhisown.Wanttoexercisemore?Chooseacue,suchasgoingtothegymassoonasyouwakeup,andareward,suchasasmoothieaftereachworkout.Thenthinkaboutthatsmoothie,orabout theendorphin rushyou’ll feel.Allowyourself toanticipatethereward.Eventually,thatcravingwillmakeiteasiertopushthroughthegymdoorseveryday.

Want to craft a new eating habit? When researchers affiliated with theNationalWeightControlRegistry—aproject involvingmore thansix thousandpeople who have lost more than thirty pounds—looked at the habits ofsuccessful dieters, they found that 78 percent of them ate breakfast everymorning, ameal cued by a time of day.2.32Butmost of the successful dietersalso envisioned a specific reward for sticking with their diet—a bikini they

wanted towearor the senseofpride they feltwhen they steppedon the scaleeachday—somethingtheychosecarefullyandreallywanted.Theyfocusedonthecravingforthatrewardwhentemptationsarose,cultivatedthecravingintoamildobsession.Andtheircravingsforthatreward,researchersfound,crowdedoutthetemptationtodropthediet.Thecravingdrovethehabitloop.2.33

For companies, understanding the science of cravings is revolutionary.There are dozens of daily rituals we ought to perform each day that neverbecomehabits.Weshouldwatchoursaltanddrinkmorewater.Weshouldeatmorevegetablesandfewerfats.Weshould takevitaminsandapplysunscreen.Thefactscouldnotbemoreclearonthislastfront:Dabbingabitofsunscreenon your face each morning significantly lowers the odds of skin cancer. Yet,while everyone brushes their teeth, fewer than 10 percent ofAmericans applysunscreeneachday.2.34Why?

Becausethere’snocravingthathasmadesunscreenintoadailyhabit.Somecompanies are trying to fix that by giving sunscreens a tingling sensation orsomethingthatletspeopleknowthey’veappliedittotheirskin.They’rehopingitwillcueanexpectationthesamewaythecravingforatinglingmouthremindsustobrushourteeth.They’vealreadyusedsimilartacticsinhundredsofotherproducts.

“Foaming is a huge reward,” saidSinclair, the brandmanager. “Shampoodoesn’thave to foam,butweadd foamingchemicalsbecausepeople expect iteach time they wash their hair. Same thing with laundry detergent. Andtoothpaste—noweverycompanyaddssodiumlaurethsulfatetomaketoothpastefoammore. There’s no cleaning benefit, but people feel betterwhen there’s abunchofsudsaroundtheirmouth.Oncethecustomerstartsexpectingthatfoam,thehabitstartsgrowing.”

Cravings arewhat drive habits. And figuring out how to spark a cravingmakes creating a newhabit easier. It’s as true nowas itwas almost a centuryago.Everynight,millionsofpeoplescrub their teeth inorder togeta tinglingfeeling; every morning, millions put on their jogging shoes to capture anendorphinrushthey’velearnedtocrave.

And when they get home, after they clean the kitchen or tidy theirbedrooms,someofthemwillsprayabitofFebreze.

THEGOLDENRULEOFHABITCHANGE

WhyTransformationOccursI.Thegameclockatthefarendofthefieldsaysthereareeightminutesand

nineteensecondsleftwhenTonyDungy,thenewheadcoachoftheTampaBayBuccaneers—one of the worst teams in the National Football League, not tomention the history of professional football—starts to feel a tiny glimmer ofhope.3.1

It’slateonaSundayafternoon,November17,1996.3.2TheBuccaneersareplaying in SanDiego against theChargers, a team that appeared in the SuperBowlthepreviousyear.TheBucsarelosing,17to16.They’vebeenlosingallgame. They’ve been losing all season. They’ve been losing all decade. TheBuccaneershavenotwonagameontheWestCoastinsixteenyears,andmanyoftheteam’scurrentplayerswereingradeschoolthelast timetheBucshadavictoriousseason.Sofarthisyear,theirrecordis2–8.Inoneofthosegames,theDetroitLions—ateamsobaditwouldlaterbedescribedasputtingthe“less”in“hopeless”—beattheBucs21to6,andthen,threeweekslater,beatthemagain,27 to 0.3.3 One newspaper columnist has started referring to the Bucs as“America’sOrangeDoormat.”3.4ESPNispredictingthatDungy,whogothisjobonlyinJanuary,couldbefiredbeforetheyearisdone.

Onthesidelines,however,asDungywatcheshisteamarrangeitselfforthenextplay,itfeelslikethesunhasfinallybrokenthroughtheclouds.Hedoesn’tsmile.Heneverletshisemotionsshowduringagame.Butsomethingistakingplaceon thefield,somethinghe’sbeenworking towardforyears.As the jeersfromthehostilecrowdoffiftythousandraindownuponhim,TonyDungyseessomethingthatnooneelsedoes.Heseesproofthathisplanisstartingtowork.

Tony Dungy had waited an eternity for this job. For seventeen years, heprowledthesidelinesasanassistantcoach,firstattheUniversityofMinnesota,

thenwiththePittsburghSteelers,thentheKansasCityChiefs,andthenbacktoMinnesotawiththeVikings.Fourtimesinthepastdecade,hehadbeeninvitedtointerviewforheadcoachingpositionswithNFLteams.

Allfourtimes,theinterviewshadn’tgonewell.PartoftheproblemwasDungy’scoachingphilosophy.Inhisjobinterviews,

he would patiently explain his belief that the key to winning was changingplayers’ habits. He wanted to get players to stop making so many decisionsduringagame,hesaid.Hewantedthemtoreactautomatically,habitually.Ifhecouldinstilltherighthabits,histeamwouldwin.Period.

“Champions don’t do extraordinary things,”Dungywould explain. “Theydoordinarythings,buttheydothemwithoutthinking,toofastfortheotherteamtoreact.Theyfollowthehabitsthey’velearned.”

How,theownerswouldask,areyougoingtocreatethosenewhabits?Oh,no,hewasn’tgoingtocreatenewhabits,Dungywouldanswer.Players

spenttheirlivesbuildingthehabitsthatgotthemtotheNFL.Noathleteisgoingtoabandonthosepatternssimplybecausesomenewcoachsaysto.

Soratherthancreatingnewhabits,Dungywasgoingtochangeplayers’oldones.Andthesecret tochangingoldhabitswasusingwhatwasalreadyinsideplayers’heads.Habitsareathree-steploop—thecue,theroutine,andthereward—butDungyonlywantedtoattackthemiddlestep,theroutine.Heknewfromexperience that itwas easier to convince someone to adopt a new behavior iftherewassomethingfamiliaratthebeginningandend.3.5

Hiscoachingstrategyembodiedanaxiom,aGoldenRuleofhabitchangethatstudyafterstudyhasshownisamongthemostpowerful toolsforcreatingchange.Dungyrecognizedthatyoucannevertrulyextinguishbadhabits.

Rather, to change a habit, youmust keep theold cue, anddeliver theoldreward,butinsertanewroutine.

That’stherule:Ifyouusethesamecue,andprovidethesamereward,youcan shift the routine and change the habit. Almost any behavior can betransformedifthecueandrewardstaythesame.

The Golden Rule has influenced treatments for alcoholism, obesity,obsessive-compulsive disorders, and hundreds of other destructive behaviors,andunderstandingitcanhelpanyonechangetheirownhabits.(Attemptstogiveupsnacking, for instance,willoftenfailunless there’sanewroutine tosatisfyold cues and rewardurges.A smokerusually can’t quit unless she finds someactivitytoreplacecigaretteswhenhernicotinecravingistriggered.)

Four times Dungy explained his habit-based philosophy to team owners.

Four times they listened politely, thanked him for his time, and then hiredsomeoneelse.

Then, in 1996, thewoeful Buccaneers called. Dungy flew to TampaBayand,onceagain,laidouthisplanforhowtheycouldwin.Thedayafterthefinalinterview,theyofferedhimthejob.

THEGOLDENRULEOFHABITCHANGEYouCan’tExtinguishaBadHabit,YouCanOnlyChangeIt.

HOW IT WORKS: USE THE SAME CUE. PROVIDE THE SAMEREWARD.CHANGETHEROUTINE.

Dungy’s system would eventually turn the Bucs into one of the league’swinningestteams.HewouldbecometheonlycoachinNFLhistorytoreachtheplay-offs in ten consecutive years, the first African American coach to win aSuperBowl,andoneofthemostrespectedfiguresinprofessionalathletics.Hiscoaching techniqueswouldspread throughout the leagueandallof sports.Hisapproachwouldhelpilluminatehowtoremakethehabitsinanyone’slife.

Butallofthatwouldcomelater.Today,inSanDiego,Dungyjustwantedtowin.

Fromthesidelines,Dungylooksupattheclock:8:19remaining.TheBucshavebeenbehindallgameandhavesquanderedopportunityafteropportunity,intypicalfashion.Iftheirdefensedoesn’tmakesomethinghappenrightnow,thisgamewilleffectivelybeover.SanDiegohastheballontheirowntwenty-yardline,andtheChargers’quarterback,StanHumphries,ispreparingtoleadadrivethat,hehopes,willputthegameaway.Theplayclockbegins,andHumphriesispoisedtotakethesnap.

But Dungy isn’t looking at Humphries. Instead, he’s watching his ownplayersalignintoaformationtheyhavespentmonthsperfecting.Traditionally,football is a game of feints and counterfeints, trick plays and misdirection.Coacheswiththethickestplaybooksandmostcomplicatedschemesusuallywin.

Dungy, however, has taken the opposite approach. He isn’t interested incomplication or obfuscation. When Dungy’s defensive players line up, it isobvioustoeveryoneexactlywhichplaytheyaregoingtouse.

Dungy has opted for this approach because, in theory, he doesn’t needmisdirection. He simply needs his team to be faster than everyone else. Infootball, milliseconds matter. So instead of teaching his players hundreds offormations,hehastaughtthemonlyahandful,buttheyhavepracticedoverandoveruntilthebehaviorsareautomatic.Whenhisstrategyworks,hisplayerscanmovewithaspeedthatisimpossibletoovercome.3.6

Butonlywhenitworks.Ifhisplayersthinktoomuchorhesitateorsecond-guess their instincts, the system falls apart. And so far,Dungy’s players havebeenamess.

Thistime,however,astheBucslineuponthetwenty-yardline,somethingisdifferent.TakeReganUpshaw,aBuccaneerdefensiveendwhohassettledintoathree-pointstanceonthescrimmageline.Insteadoflookingupanddowntheline,tryingtoabsorbasmuchinformationaspossible,UpshawislookingonlyatthecuesthatDungytaughthimtofocuson.First,heglancesattheoutsidefootoftheoppositelineman(histoesareback,whichmeansheispreparingtostepbackward and blockwhile the quarterback passes); next,Upshaw looks at thelineman’sshoulders(rotatedslightlyinward),andthespacebetweenhimandthenextplayer(afractionnarrowerthanexpected).

Upshawhaspracticedhowtoreacttoeachofthesecuessomanytimesthat,at this point, he doesn’t have to think about what to do. He just follows hishabits.

San Diego’s quarterback approaches the line of scrimmage and glancesright,thenleft,barksthecountandtakestheball.Hedropsbackfivestepsandstandstall,swivelinghishead,lookingforanopenreceiver.Threesecondshavepassedsincetheplaystarted.Thestadium’seyesandthetelevisioncamerasareonhim.

Somostobserversfail toseewhat’shappeningamongtheBuccaneers.AssoonasHumphries took the snap,Upshawsprang into action.Within the firstsecond of the play, he darted right, across the line of scrimmage, so fast theoffensivelinemancouldn’tblockhim.Withinthenextsecond,Upshawranfourmorepacesdownfield,hisstepsablur.Inthenextsecond,Upshawmovedthreestridesclosertothequarterback,hispathimpossiblefortheoffensivelinemantopredict.

As the play moves into its fourth second, Humphries, the San Diegoquarterback,issuddenlyexposed.Hehesitates,seesUpshawfromthecornerof

hiseye.Andthat’swhenHumphriesmakeshismistake.Hestartsthinking.Humphriesspotsateammate,arookietightendnamedBrianRoche,twenty

yards downfield. There’s another SanDiego receivermuch closer,waving hisarms,callingfortheball.Theshortpassisthesafechoice.Instead,Humphries,underpressure, performs a split-second analysis, cockshis arm, andheaves toRoche.

ThathurrieddecisionispreciselywhatDungywashopingfor.Assoonasthe ball is in the air, a Buccaneer safety named John Lynch starts moving.Lynch’s jobwas straightforward:When the play started, he ran to a particularpointonthefieldandwaitedforhiscue.There’senormouspressuretoimproviseinthissituation.ButDungyhasdrilledLynchuntilhisroutineisautomatic.Andasaresult,whentheball leavesthequarterback’shands,LynchisstandingtenyardsfromRoche,waiting.

Astheballspinsthroughtheair,Lynchreadshiscues—thedirectionofthequarterback’s face mask and hands, the spacing of the receivers—and startsmovingbeforeit’sclearwheretheballwillland.Roche,theSanDiegoreceiver,springs forward, but Lynch cuts around him and intercepts the pass. BeforeRochecanreact,LynchtakesoffdownthefieldtowardtheChargers’endzone.TheotherBuccaneersareperfectlypositionedtoclearhisroute.Lynchruns10,then15,then20,thenalmost25yardsbeforeheisfinallypushedoutofbounds.Theentireplayhastakenlessthantenseconds.

Twominuteslater,theBucsscoreatouchdown,takingtheleadforthefirsttime all game.Fiveminutes later, theykick a fieldgoal. Inbetween,Dungy’sdefense shuts down each of SanDiego’s comeback attempts. TheBuccaneerswin,25to17,oneofthebiggestupsetsoftheseason.

Attheendofthegame,LynchandDungyexitthefieldtogether.“It feels like somethingwasdifferentout there,”Lynchsaysas theywalk

intothetunnel.“We’restartingtobelieve,”Dungyreplies.II.Tounderstandhowacoach’sfocusonchanginghabitscouldremakeateam,

it’s necessary to look outside the world of sports. Way outside, to a dingybasementontheLowerEastSideofNewYorkCityin1934,whereoneofthelargestandmostsuccessfulattemptsatwide-scalehabitchangewasborn.

Sitting in the basement was a thirty-nine-year-old alcoholic named BillWilson.3.7, 3.8 Years earlier, Wilson had taken his first drink during officers’training camp in New Bedford,Massachusetts, where he was learning to fire

machine guns before getting shipped to France and World War I. Prominentfamilieswholivednearthebaseofteninvitedofficerstodinner,andoneSundaynight,Wilson attended a partywhere hewas served rarebit and beer.Hewastwenty-twoyearsoldandhadneverhadalcoholbefore.Theonlypolitething,itseemed,was to drink the glass served to him.A fewweeks later,Wilsonwasinvited toanotherelegantaffair.Menwere in tuxedos,womenwereflirting.AbutlercamebyandputaBronxcocktail—acombinationofgin,dryandsweetvermouth,andorangejuice—intoWilson’shand.Hetookasipandfelt,helatersaid,asifhehadfound“theelixiroflife.”3.9

By the mid-1930s, back from Europe, his marriage falling apart and afortune from selling stocks vaporized,Wilsonwas consuming three bottles ofboozeaday.OnacoldNovemberafternoon,whilehewassittinginthegloom,anolddrinkingbuddycalled.Wilson invitedhimover andmixedapitcherofpineapplejuiceandgin.3.10Hepouredhisfriendaglass.

Hisfriendhandeditback.He’dbeensoberfortwomonths,hesaid.Wilson was astonished. He started describing his own struggles with

alcohol,includingthefighthe’dgottenintoatacountryclubthathadcosthimhisjob.Hehadtriedtoquit,hesaid,butcouldn’tmanageit.He’dbeentodetoxand had taken pills. He’d made promises to his wife and joined abstinencegroups.Noneofitworked.How,Wilsonasked,hadhisfrienddoneit?

“Igotreligion,”thefriendsaid.Hetalkedabouthellandtemptation,sinandthedevil.“Realizeyouarelicked,admitit,andgetwillingtoturnyourlifeovertoGod.”

Wilsonthoughttheguywasnuts.“Lastsummeranalcoholiccrackpot;now,Isuspected,alittlecrackedaboutreligion,”helaterwrote.Whenhisfriendleft,Wilsonpolishedofftheboozeandwenttobed.

A month later, in December 1934, Wilson checked into the Charles B.TownsHospital forDrugandAlcoholAddictions,anupscaleManhattandetoxcenter. A physician started hourly infusions of a hallucinogenic drug calledbelladonna,theninvogueforthetreatmentofalcoholism.Wilsonfloatedinandoutofconsciousnessonabedinasmallroom.

Then, in an episode that has been described at millions of meetings incafeterias,unionhalls,andchurchbasements,Wilsonbeganwrithinginagony.Fordays,hehallucinated.Thewithdrawalpainsmadeit feelas if insectswerecrawlingacrosshisskin.Hewassonauseoushecouldhardlymove,butthepainwastoointensetostaystill.“IfthereisaGod,letHimshowHimself!”Wilsonyelled to his empty room. “I am ready to do anything. Anything!” At thatmoment,helaterwrote,awhitelightfilledhisroom,thepainceased,andhefeltas if hewere on amountaintop, “and that awind not of air but of spiritwasblowing.3.11AndthenitburstuponmethatIwasafreeman.Slowlytheecstasysubsided. I lay on the bed, but now for a time Iwas in anotherworld, a newworldofconsciousness.”

BillWilsonwouldneverhaveanotherdrink.For thenext thirty-sixyears,until he died of emphysema in 1971, he would devote himself to founding,building,andspreadingAlcoholicsAnonymous,untilitbecamethelargest,mostwell-knownandsuccessfulhabit-changingorganizationintheworld.

Anestimated2.1millionpeopleseekhelpfromAAeachyear,andasmanyas10millionalcoholicsmayhaveachievedsobrietythroughthegroup.3.12, 3.13AAdoesn’tworkforeveryone—successratesaredifficult tomeasure,becauseof participants’ anonymity—but millions credit the program with saving theirlives.AA’s foundational credo, the famous twelve steps, havebecomecultural

lodestonesincorporatedintotreatmentprogramsforovereating,gambling,debt,sex,drugs,hoarding,self-mutilation,smoking,videogameaddictions,emotionaldependency,anddozensofotherdestructivebehaviors.Thegroup’stechniquesoffer,inmanyrespects,oneofthemostpowerfulformulasforchange.

Allofwhichissomewhatunexpected,becauseAAhasalmostnogroundinginscienceormostacceptedtherapeuticmethods.

Alcoholism,ofcourse, ismore thanahabit. It’s aphysical addictionwithpsychologicalandperhapsgeneticroots.What’sinterestingaboutAA,however,is that the program doesn’t directly attack many of the psychiatric orbiochemical issues that researchers sayareoftenat thecoreofwhyalcoholicsdrink.3.14Infact,AA’smethodsseemtosidestepscientificandmedicalfindingsaltogether,aswellasthetypesofinterventionmanypsychiatristssayalcoholicsreallyneed.1

WhatAAprovidesinsteadisamethodforattackingthehabitsthatsurroundalcoholuse.3.15AA,inessence,isagiantmachineforchanginghabitloops.Andthough the habits associated with alcoholism are extreme, the lessons AAprovidesdemonstratehowalmost anyhabit—even themost obstinate—canbechanged.

BillWilsondidn’t read academic journals or consultmanydoctors beforefoundingAA.Afewyearsafterheachievedsobriety,hewrotethenow-famoustwelve steps in a rush one nightwhile sitting in bed.3.16He chose the numbertwelvebecausethereweretwelveapostles.3.17Andsomeaspectsoftheprogramarenotjustunscientific,theycanseemdownrightstrange.

Take,forinstance,AA’sinsistencethatalcoholicsattend“ninetymeetingsinninetydays”—astretchoftime,itappears,chosenatrandom.Ortheprogram’sintense focus on spirituality, as articulated in step three, which says thatalcoholicscanachievesobrietybymaking“adecision to turnourwillandourlives over to the care ofGod aswe understand him.”3.18 Seven of the twelvestepsmentionGodorspirituality,whichseemsoddforaprogramfoundedbyaonetimeagnosticwho,throughouthislife,wasopenlyhostiletowardorganizedreligion.AAmeetingsdon’t have aprescribed scheduleor curriculum.Rather,they usually begin with a member telling his or her story, after which otherpeople can chime in. There are no professionalswho guide conversations and

fewrulesabouthowmeetingsaresupposedtofunction.Inthepastfivedecades,as almost every aspect of psychiatry and addiction research has beenrevolutionized by discoveries in behavioral sciences, pharmacology, and ourunderstandingofthebrain,AAhasremainedfrozenintime.

Because of the program’s lack of rigor, academics and researchers haveoftencriticizedit.3.19AA’semphasisonspirituality,someclaimed,madeitmorelikeacultthanatreatment.Inthepastfifteenyears,however,areevaluationhasbegun. Researchers now say the program’s methods offer valuable lessons.Faculty at Harvard, Yale, the University of Chicago, the University of NewMexico, and dozens of other research centers have found a kind of sciencewithinAAthatissimilartotheoneTonyDungyusedonthefootballfield.TheirfindingsendorsetheGoldenRuleofhabitchange:AAsucceedsbecauseithelpsalcoholicsusethesamecues,andgetthesamereward,butitshiftstheroutine.

Researchers say that AA works because the program forces people toidentify the cues and rewards that encourage their alcoholic habits, and thenhelpsthemfindnewbehaviors.WhenClaudeHopkinswassellingPepsodent,hefoundawaytocreateanewhabitbytriggeringanewcraving.Buttochangeanoldhabit,youmustaddressanoldcraving.Youhavetokeepthesamecuesandrewardsasbefore,andfeedthecravingbyinsertinganewroutine.

Takestepsfour(tomake“asearchingandfearlessinventoryofourselves”)andfive(toadmit“toGod,toourselves,andtoanotherhumanbeingtheexactnatureofourwrongs”).

“It’snotobviousfromthewaythey’rewritten,buttocompletethosesteps,someonehastocreatealistofallthetriggersfortheiralcoholicurges,”saidJ.ScottTonigan, a researcher at theUniversity ofNewMexicowhohas studiedAA for more than a decade.3.20 “When you make a self-inventory, you’refiguringoutall thethingsthatmakeyoudrink.Andadmittingtosomeoneelseallthebadthingsyou’vedoneisaprettygoodwayoffiguringoutthemomentswhereeverythingspiraledoutofcontrol.”

Then,AAasksalcoholics tosearchfor therewards theyget fromalcohol.What cravings, the program asks, are driving your habit loop? Often,intoxication itself doesn’t make the list. Alcoholics crave a drink because itoffers escape, relaxation, companionship, the blunting of anxieties, and anopportunity for emotional release. Theymight crave a cocktail to forget theirworries.Buttheydon’tnecessarilycravefeelingdrunk.Thephysicaleffectsofalcoholareoftenoneoftheleastrewardingpartsofdrinkingforaddicts.

“There is a hedonistic element to alcohol,” said Ulf Mueller, a Germanneurologistwhohas studied brain activity among alcoholics. “But people also

usealcoholbecause theywant toforgetsomethingor tosatisfyothercravings,and these relief cravings occur in totally different parts of the brain than thecravingforphysicalpleasure.”

Inordertoofferalcoholicsthesamerewardstheygetatabar,AAhasbuilta system ofmeetings and companionship—the “sponsor” eachmemberworkswith—thatstrivestoofferasmuchescape,distraction,andcatharsisasaFridaynight bender. If someone needs relief, they can get it from talking to theirsponsororattendingagroupgathering,ratherthantoastingadrinkingbuddy.

“AAforcesyoutocreatenewroutinesforwhattodoeachnightinsteadofdrinking,” saidTonigan. “Youcan relax and talk throughyour anxieties at themeetings. The triggers and payoffs stay the same, it’s just the behavior thatchanges.”

KEEP THE CUE, PROVIDE THE SAME REWARD, INSERT A NEWROUTINE

One particularly dramatic demonstration of how alcoholics’ cues andrewardscanbetransferredtonewroutinesoccurredin2007,whenMueller,theGerman neurologist, and his colleagues at the University of Magdeburgimplanted small electricaldevices inside thebrainsof fivealcoholicswhohadrepeatedlytriedtogiveupbooze.3.21Thealcoholicsinthestudyhadeachspentat least six months in rehab without success. One of them had been throughdetoxmorethansixtytimes.

Thedevicesimplantedinthemen’sheadswerepositionedinsidetheirbasalganglia—thesamepartofthebrainwheretheMITresearchersfoundthehabitloop—andemittedanelectricalcharge that interrupted theneurological rewardthattriggershabitualcravings.Afterthemenrecoveredfromtheoperations,theywereexposedtocuesthathadoncetriggeredalcoholicurges,suchasphotosofbeerortripstoabar.Normally,itwouldhavebeenimpossibleforthemtoresistadrink.Butthedevicesinsidetheirbrains“overrode”eachman’sneurologicalcravings.Theydidn’ttouchadrop.

“One of them toldme the craving disappeared as soon as we turned theelectricityon,”Muellersaid.“Then,weturneditoff,andthecravingcamebackimmediately.”

Eradicating the alcoholics’ neurological cravings, however,wasn’t enough

to stop their drinking habits. Four of them relapsed soon after the surgery,usuallyafterastressfulevent.Theypickedupabottlebecausethat’showtheyautomaticallydealtwithanxiety.However,once theylearnedalternateroutinesfordealingwithstress,thedrinkingstoppedforgood.Onepatient,forinstance,attendedAAmeetings.Otherswenttotherapy.Andoncetheyincorporatedthosenew routines for copingwith stress and anxiety into their lives, the successesweredramatic.Themanwhohadgone todetoxsixty timesneverhadanotherdrink. Two other patients had started drinking at twelve, were alcoholics byeighteen,drankeveryday,andnowhavebeensoberforfouryears.

Notice how closely this study hews to the Golden Rule of habit change:Evenwhenalcoholics’brainswerechanged throughsurgery, itwasn’tenough.Theoldcuesandcravingsfor rewardswerestill there,waiting topounce.Thealcoholicsonlypermanentlychangedoncetheylearnednewroutinesthatdrewontheoldtriggersandprovidedafamiliarrelief.“Somebrainsaresoaddictedtoalcoholthatonlysurgerycanstopit,”saidMueller.“Butthosepeoplealsoneednewwaysfordealingwithlife.”

AA provides a similar, though less invasive, system for inserting newroutines intooldhabit loops.As scientistshavebegununderstandinghowAAworks, they’vestartedapplying theprogram’smethods tootherhabits, suchastwo-year-olds’tantrums,sexaddictions,andevenminorbehavioraltics.AsAA’smethods have spread, they’ve been refined into therapies that can be used todisruptalmostanypattern.

In the summer of 2006, a twenty-four-year-old graduate student namedMandywalkedintothecounselingcenteratMississippiStateUniversity.3.22,3.23Formostofherlife,Mandyhadbittenhernails,gnawingthemuntiltheybled.Lotsofpeoplebitetheirnails.Forchronicnailbiters,however,it’saproblemofadifferent scale.Mandywouldoftenbiteuntilhernailspulledaway from theskin underneath. Her fingertipswere coveredwith tiny scabs. The end of herfingers had becomebluntedwithout nails to protect them and sometimes theytingledoritched,asignofnerveinjury.Thebitinghabithaddamagedhersociallife.Shewassoembarrassedaroundher friends thatshekeptherhands inherpocketsand,ondates,wouldbecomepreoccupiedwithballingherfingers intofists. She had tried to stop by painting her nails with foul-tasting polishes or

promising herself, starting right now, that she wouldmuster the willpower toquit. But as soon as she began doing homework or watching television, herfingersendedupinhermouth.

ThecounselingcenterreferredMandytoadoctoralpsychologystudentwhowas studying a treatment known as “habit reversal training.”3.24 Thepsychologist was well acquainted with the Golden Rule of habit change. Heknew that changingMandy’snail bitinghabit required insertinganew routineintoherlife.

“Whatdoyoufeelrightbeforeyoubringyourhanduptoyourmouthtobiteyournails?”heaskedher.

“There’salittlebitoftensioninmyfingers,”Mandysaid.“Ithurtsalittlebithere,attheedgeofthenail.SometimesI’llrunmythumbalong,lookingforhangnails,andwhenIfeelsomethingcatch,I’llbringituptomymouth.ThenI’llgofingerbyfinger,bitingalltheroughedges.OnceIstart,itfeelslikeIhavetodoallofthem.”

Asking patients to describewhat triggers their habitual behavior is calledawareness training,and likeAA’s insistenceonforcingalcoholics to recognizetheircues,it’sthefirststepinhabitreversaltraining.ThetensionthatMandyfeltinhernailscuedhernailbitinghabit.

“Mostpeople’shabitshaveoccurredforsolongtheydon’tpayattentiontowhat causes it anymore,” said Brad Dufrene, who treated Mandy. “I’ve hadstutterers come in, and I’ll ask them which words or situations trigger theirstuttering,andtheywon’tknowbecausetheystoppednoticingsolongago.”

Next,thetherapistaskedMandytodescribewhyshebithernails.Atfirst,shehadtroublecomingupwithreasons.Astheytalked,though,itbecameclearthatshebitwhenshewasbored.Thetherapistputherinsometypicalsituations,such as watching television and doing homework, and she started nibbling.When she had worked through all of the nails, she felt a brief sense ofcompleteness,shesaid.Thatwasthehabit’sreward:aphysicalstimulationshehadcometocrave.

MANDY’SHABITLOOPAt the end of their first session, the therapist sentMandy home with an

assignment: Carry around an index card, and each time you feel the cue—a

tension in your fingertips—make a checkmark on the card. She came back aweeklaterwithtwenty-eightchecks.Shewas,bythatpoint,acutelyawareofthesensationsthatprecededherhabit.Sheknewhowmanytimesitoccurredduringclassorwhilewatchingtelevision.

ThenthetherapisttaughtMandywhatisknownasa“competingresponse.”Whenever she felt that tension in her fingertips, he told her, she shouldimmediatelyputherhandsinherpocketsorunderher legs,orgripapencilorsomething else thatmade it impossible to put her fingers in hermouth. ThenMandy was to search for something that would provide a quick physicalstimulation—such as rubbing her arm or rapping her knuckles on a desk—anythingthatwouldproduceaphysicalresponse.

Thecuesandrewardsstayedthesame.Onlytheroutinechanged.

MANDY’SNEWHABITLOOPTheypracticedinthetherapist’sofficeforaboutthirtyminutesandMandy

wassenthomewithanewassignment:Continuewiththeindexcard,butmakeacheckwhenyou feel the tension inyour fingertipsandahashmarkwhenyousuccessfullyoverridethehabit.

Aweeklater,Mandyhadbittenhernailsonlythreetimesandhadusedthecompetingresponseseventimes.Sherewardedherselfwithamanicure,butkeptusing the note cards. After a month, the nail-biting habit was gone. Thecompetingroutineshadbecomeautomatic.Onehabithadreplacedanother.

“It seems ridiculously simple, but once you’re aware of how your habitworks,onceyourecognizethecuesandrewards,you’rehalfwaytochangingit,”NathanAzrin, oneof thedevelopersof habit reversal training, toldme.3.25 “Itseems like it should be more complex. The truth is, the brain can bereprogrammed.Youjusthavetobedeliberateaboutit.”2

Today, habit reversal therapy is used to treat verbal and physical tics,depression, smoking, gambling problems, anxiety, bedwetting, procrastination,obsessive-compulsivedisorders,andotherbehavioralproblems.3.26, 3.27And itstechniqueslaybareoneofthefundamentalprinciplesofhabits:Often,wedon’treally understand the cravings driving our behaviors until we look for them.Mandy never realized that a craving for physical stimulationwas causing hernailbiting,butonceshedissectedthehabit,itbecameeasytofindanewroutine

thatprovidedthesamereward.

Say you want to stop snacking at work. Is the reward you’re seeking tosatisfy your hunger? Or is it to interrupt boredom? If you snack for a briefrelease, you can easily find another routine—such as taking a quick walk, orgiving yourself three minutes on the Internet—that provides the sameinterruptionwithoutaddingtoyourwaistline.

Ifyouwant to stop smoking, askyourself,doyoudo itbecauseyou lovenicotine,orbecauseitprovidesaburstofstimulation,astructuretoyourday,away to socialize? If you smokebecauseyouneed stimulation, studies indicatethatsomecaffeineintheafternooncanincreasetheoddsyou’llquit.Morethanthreedozenstudiesofformersmokershavefoundthatidentifyingthecuesandrewards they associate with cigarettes, and then choosing new routines thatprovide similar payoffs—a piece of Nicorette, a quick series of push-ups, orsimplytakingafewminutestostretchandrelax—makesitmorelikelytheywillquit.3.28

Ifyouidentifythecuesandrewards,youcanchangetheroutine.At least, most of the time. For some habits, however, there’s one other

ingredientthat’snecessary:belief.III.“Here are the six reasons everyone thinkswe can’twin,”Dungy told his

Buccaneersafterbecomingheadcoachin1996.Itwasmonthsbeforetheseasonstarted and everyonewas sitting in the locker room.Dungy started listing thetheories theyhadall read in thenewspapersorheardon the radio:The team’smanagementwasmessedup.Theirnewcoachwasuntested.Theplayerswerespoiled. The city didn’t care. Key players were injured. They didn’t have thetalenttheyneeded.

“Thosearethesupposedreasons,”Dungysaid.“Nowhereisafact:Nobodyisgoingtooutworkus.”

Dungy’sstrategy,heexplained,wastoshifttheteam’sbehaviorsuntiltheirperformances were automatic. He didn’t believe the Buccaneers needed thethickestplaybook.Hedidn’tthinktheyhadtomemorizehundredsofformations.Theyjusthadtolearnafewkeymovesandgetthemrighteverytime.

However,perfectionishardtoachieveinfootball.“Everyplayinfootball—everyplay—someonemessesup,”saidHermEdwards,oneofDungy’sassistantcoaches in Tampa Bay. “Most of the time, it’s not physical.3.29 It’s mental.”Players mess up when they start thinking too much or second-guessing theirplays.What Dungy wanted was to take all that decision making out of theirgame.

Andtodothat,heneededthemtorecognizetheirexistinghabitsandacceptnewroutines.

Hestartedbywatchinghowhisteamalreadyplayed.“Let’sworkon theUnderDefense,”Dungyshoutedatamorningpractice

oneday.“Numberfifty-five,what’syourread?”“I’mwatchingtherunningbackandguard,”saidDerrickBrooks,anoutside

linebacker.“Whatpreciselyareyoulookingat?Whereareyoureyes?”“I’mlookingatthemovementoftheguard,”saidBrooks.“I’mwatchingthe

QB’slegsandhipsafterhegetstheball.AndI’mlookingforgapsintheline,toseeifthey’regonnapassandiftheQBisgoingtothrowtomysideoraway.”

In football, these visual cues are known as “keys,” and they’re critical toevery play. Dungy’s innovation was to use these keys as cues for reworkedhabits.Heknewthat,sometimes,Brookshesitatedamomenttoolongatthestartof a play. There were so many things for him to think about—is the guardsteppingoutofformation?Doestherunningback’sfootindicatehe’spreparingforarunningorpassingplay?—thatsometimeshesloweddown.

Dungy’s goal was to free Brooks’s mind from all that analysis. LikeAlcoholics Anonymous, he used the same cues that Brooks was alreadyaccustomed to, but gave him different routines that, eventually, occurredautomatically.

“Iwantyoutousethosesamekeys,”DungytoldBrooks.“Butatfirst,focusonly on the running back. That’s it. Do it without thinking. Once you’re inposition,thenstartlookingfortheQB.”

Thiswasa relativelymodest shift—Brooks’s eyeswent to the samecues,

butrather than lookingmultipleplacesatonce,Dungyput theminasequenceand told him, ahead of time, the choice tomakewhen he saw each key. Thebrilliance of this systemwas that it removed the need for decisionmaking. Itallowed Brooks to move faster, because everything was a reaction—andeventuallyahabit—ratherthanachoice.

Dungygaveeveryplayersimilarinstructions,andpracticedtheformationsoverandover. It tookalmostayearforDungy’shabits to takehold.Theteamlostearly,easygames.Sportscolumnistsaskedwhy theBucswerewastingsomuchtimeonpsychologicalquackery.

But slowly, they began to improve. Eventually, the patterns became sofamiliartoplayersthattheyunfoldedautomaticallywhentheteamtookthefield.InDungy’ssecondseasonascoach,theBucswontheirfirstfivegamesandwenttotheplay-offsforthefirsttimeinfifteenyears.In1999,theywonthedivisionchampionship.

Dungy’scoachingstylestarteddrawingnationalattention.Thesportsmediafellinlovewithhissoft-spokendemeanor,religiouspiety,andtheimportanceheplaced on balancing work and family. Newspaper stories described how hebroughthissons,EricandJamie,tothestadiumsotheycouldhangoutduringpractice. They did their homework in his office and picked up towels in thelockerroom.Itseemedlike,finally,successhadarrived.

In2000, theBucsmade it to theplay-offs again, and then again in 2001.Fansnowfilledthestadiumeveryweek.SportscasterstalkedabouttheteamasSuperBowlcontenders.Itwasallbecomingreal.

ButevenastheBucsbecameapowerhouse,atroublingproblememerged.Theyoftenplayedtight,disciplinedgames.However,duringcrucial,high-stressmoments,everythingwouldfallapart.3.30

In1999,afterrackingupsixwinsinarowattheendoftheseason,theBucsblew the conference championship against the St. Louis Rams. In 2000, theywereonegameawayfromtheSuperBowlwhentheydisintegratedagainst thePhiladelphia Eagles, losing 21 to 3. The next year, the same thing happenedagain, and the Bucs lost to the Eagles, 31 to 9, blowing their chance ofadvancing.

“Wewouldpractice,andeverythingwouldcometogetherandthenwe’dget

to a big game and it was like the training disappeared,” Dungy told me.“Afterward,myplayerswouldsay,‘Well,itwasacriticalplayandIwentbacktowhatIknew,’or‘IfeltlikeIhadtostepitup.’Whattheywerereallysayingwas they trustedoursystemmostof the time,butwheneverythingwason theline,thatbeliefbrokedown.”3.31

Attheconclusionofthe2001season,aftertheBucshadmissedtheSuperBowl for thesecondstraightyear, the team’sgeneralmanageraskedDungy tocome to his house.He parked near a huge oak tree,walked inside, and thirtysecondslaterwasfired.

TheBucswouldgoontowintheSuperBowlthenextyearusingDungy’sformationsandplayers,andby relyingon thehabitshehadshaped.Hewouldwatch on television as the coach who replaced him lifted up the Lombarditrophy.Butbythen,hewouldalreadybefaraway.

IV.About sixtypeople—soccermomsand lawyerson lunchbreaks, oldguys

with fading tattoos and hipsters in skinny jeans—are sitting in a church andlisteningtoamanwithaslightpaunchandatiethatcomplementshispaleblueeyes.He looks likea successfulpolitician,with thewarmcharismaofassuredreelection.

“MynameisJohn,”hesays,“andI’manalcoholic.”“Hi,John,”everyonereplies.“ThefirsttimeIdecidedtogethelpwaswhenmysonbrokehisarm,”John

says.He’sstandingbehindapodium.“Iwashavinganaffairwithawomanatwork,andshetoldmethatshewantedtoendit.SoIwenttoabarandhadtwovodkas,andwentbacktomydesk,andatlunchIwenttoChili’swithafriend,andwe each had a fewbeers, and then at about two o’clock,me and anotherfriend leftandfoundaplacewitha two-for-onehappyhour. Itwasmyday topickupthekids—mywifedidn’tknowabouttheaffairyet—soIdrovetotheirschoolandgot them,and Iwasdrivinghomeonastreet Imusthavedrivenathousandtimes,andIslammedintoastopsignattheendoftheblock.Uponthesidewalkand,bam,rightintothesign.Sam—that’smyboy—hadn’tputonhisseatbelt,soheflewagainstthewindshieldandbrokehisarm.TherewasbloodonthedashwherehehithisnoseandthewindshieldwascrackedandIwassoscared.That’swhenIdecidedIneededhelp.

“So I checked into a clinic and then cameout, and everythingwasprettygoodforawhile.Forabout thirteenmonths,everythingwasgreat. I felt like Iwas in control and I went tomeetings every couple of days, but eventually Istarted thinking, I’mnot sucha loser that I need to hangoutwith a bunchof

drunks.SoIstoppedgoing.“Thenmymomgot cancer, and she calledme atwork, almost two years

after Igotsober.Shewasdrivinghomefromthedoctor’soffice,andshesaid,‘Hetoldmewecantreatit,butit’sprettyadvanced.’ThefirstthingIdidafterIhungupisfindabar,andIwasprettymuchdrunkforthenexttwoyearsuntilmywifemovedout, and Iwas supposed topickupmykidsagain. Iwas inareally bad place by then. A friend was teaching me to use coke, and everyafternoonIwoulddoalineinsidemyoffice,andfiveminuteslaterIwouldgetthatlittledripintothebackofmythroatanddoanotherline.

“Anyways,itwasmyturntogetthekids.Iwasonthewaytotheirschooland I felt totally fine, like I was on top of everything, and I pulled into anintersectionwhenthelightwasredandthishugetruckslammedintomycar.Itactuallyflippedthecaronitsside.Ididn’thaveascratchonme.Igotout,andstartedtryingtopushmycarover,becauseIfigured,ifIcanmakeithomeandleave before the cops arrive, I’ll be fine. Of course that didn’t work out, andwhentheyarrestedmeforDUItheyshowedmehowthepassengersideofthecarwascompletelycrushedin.That’swhereSammyusuallysat.Ifhehadbeenthere,hewouldhavebeenkilled.

“SoIstartedgoingtomeetingsagain,andmysponsortoldmethatitdidn’tmatterifIfeltincontrol.Withoutahigherpowerinmylife,withoutadmittingmypowerlessness,noneofitwasgoingtowork.Ithoughtthatwasbull—I’manatheist.ButIknewthatifsomethingdidn’tchange,Iwasgoingtokillmykids.SoIstartedworkingatthat,workingatbelievinginsomethingbiggerthanme.Andit’sworking.Idon’tknowifit’sGodorsomethingelse,butthereisapowerthathashelpedmestaysoberforsevenyearsnowandI’minaweofit.Idon’twakeupsobereverymorning—Imean,Ihaven’thadadrinkinsevenyears,butsomemorningsIwakeupfeelinglikeI’mgonnafalldownthatday.Thosedays,Ilookforthehigherpower,andIcallmysponsor,andmostofthetimewedon’ttalkaboutdrinking.Wetalkaboutlifeandmarriageandmyjob,andbythetimeI’mreadyforashower,myheadisonstraight.”

ThefirstcracksinthetheorythatAlcoholicsAnonymoussucceededsolelyby reprogramming participants’ habits started appearing a little over a decadeago andwere caused by stories from alcoholics like John. Researchers beganfinding that habit replacement worked pretty well for many people until thestressesof life—suchasfindingoutyourmomhascancer,oryourmarriage iscomingapart—gottoohigh,atwhichpointalcoholicsoftenfelloffthewagon.Academicsaskedwhy, ifhabit replacement is soeffective, it seemed to fail atsuch criticalmoments.And as they dug into alcoholics’ stories to answer that

question, they learned that replacement habits only become durable newbehaviorswhentheyareaccompaniedbysomethingelse.

OnegroupofresearchersattheAlcoholResearchGroupinCalifornia,forinstance,noticedapatternininterviews.Overandoveragain,alcoholicssaidthesamething:Identifyingcuesandchoosingnewroutinesisimportant,butwithoutanotheringredient,thenewhabitsneverfullytookhold.

Thesecret,thealcoholicssaid,wasGod.Researchers hated that explanation. God and spirituality are not testable

hypotheses. Churches are filled with drunks who continue drinking despite apious faith. In conversationswith addicts, though, spirituality kept coming upagainandagain.Soin2005,agroupofscientists—thistimeaffiliatedwithUCBerkeley,BrownUniversity,andtheNationalInstitutesofHealth—beganaskingalcoholicsaboutallkindsofreligiousandspiritualtopics.3.32Thentheylookedatthedatatoseeiftherewasanycorrelationbetweenreligiousbeliefandhowlongpeoplestayedsober.3.33

A pattern emerged. Alcoholics who practiced the techniques of habitreplacement,thedataindicated,couldoftenstaysoberuntiltherewasastressfuleventintheirlives—atwhichpoint,acertainnumberstarteddrinkingagain,nomatterhowmanynewroutinestheyhadembraced.

However, thosealcoholicswhobelieved, likeJohninBrooklyn, thatsomehigher power had entered their livesweremore likely tomake it through thestressfulperiodswiththeirsobrietyintact.

Itwasn’tGodthatmattered,theresearchersfiguredout.Itwasbeliefitselfthatmadeadifference.Oncepeople learnedhow tobelieve in something, thatskillstartedspillingovertootherpartsoftheirlives,untiltheystartedbelievingthey could change.Beliefwas the ingredient thatmade a reworkedhabit loopintoapermanentbehavior.

“Iwouldn’thavesaidthisayearago—that’showfastourunderstandingischanging,”saidTonigan, theUniversityofNewMexicoresearcher,“butbeliefseemscritical.Youdon’thavetobelieveinGod,butyoudoneedthecapacitytobelievethatthingswillgetbetter.

“Even if you give people better habits, it doesn’t repairwhy they starteddrinkinginthefirstplace.Eventuallythey’llhaveabadday,andnonewroutineisgoingtomakeeverythingseemokay.Whatcanmakeadifferenceisbelievingthattheycancopewiththatstresswithoutalcohol.”

Byputtingalcoholics inmeetingswherebelief isagiven—where, in fact,beliefisanintegralpartofthetwelvesteps—AAtrainspeopleinhowtobelieve

in something until they believe in the program and themselves. It lets peoplepracticebelievingthatthingswilleventuallygetbetter,untilthingsactuallydo.

“Atsomepoint,peopleinAAlookaroundtheroomandthink,ifitworkedfor that guy, I guess it can work for me,” said Lee Ann Kaskutas, a seniorscientist at the Alcohol Research Group. “There’s something really powerfulabout groups and shared experiences. People might be skeptical about theirability to change if they’re by themselves, but a groupwill convince them tosuspenddisbelief.Acommunitycreatesbelief.”

AsJohnwasleavingtheAAmeeting,Iaskedhimwhytheprogramworkednow,afterithadfailedhimbefore.“WhenIstartedcomingtomeetingsafterthetruck accident, someone asked for volunteers to help put away the chairs,” hetoldme.“Iraisedmyhand.Itwasn’tabigthing,ittooklikefiveminutes,butitfeltgoodtodosomethingthatwasn’tallaboutme.Ithinkthatstartedmeonadifferentpath.

“Iwasn’treadytogiveintothegroupthefirsttime,butwhenIcameback,Iwasreadytostartbelievinginsomething.”

V.WithinaweekofDungy’sfiringbytheBucs,theowneroftheIndianapolis

Coltsleftanimpassionedfifteen-minutemessageonhisansweringmachine.TheColts,despitehavingoneoftheNFL’sbestquarterbacks,PeytonManning,hadjustfinishedadreadfulseason.Theownerneededhelp.Hewastiredoflosing,hesaid.DungymovedtoIndianapolisandbecameheadcoach.

Heimmediatelystartedimplementingthesamebasicgameplan:remakingtheColts’routinesandteachingplayerstouseoldcuestobuildreworkedhabits.Inhisfirstseason,theColtswent10–6andqualifiedfortheplay-offs.Thenextseason,theywent12–4andcamewithinonegameoftheSuperBowl.Dungy’scelebritygrew.Newspaperandtelevisionprofilesappearedaroundthecountry.Fans flew in so they could visit the churchDungy attended.His sons becamefixturesintheColts’lockerroomandonthesidelines.In2005,Jamie,hiseldestboy,graduatedfromhighschoolandwenttocollegeinFlorida.

EvenasDungy’ssuccessesmounted,however,thesametroublingpatternsemerged.TheColtswould play a season of disciplined,winning football, andthenunderplay-offpressure,choke.

“Belief is thebiggestpartofsuccess inprofessional football,”Dungy toldme. “The teamwanted to believe, butwhen thingsgot really tense, theywentbacktotheircomfortzonesandoldhabits.”

The Colts finished the 2005 regular season with fourteen wins and two

losses,thebestrecordinitshistory.Thentragedystruck.ThreedaysbeforeChristmas,TonyDungy’sphoneranginthemiddleofthe

night.Hiswifeansweredandhandedhimthereceiver,thinkingitwasoneofhisplayers.Therewasanurseontheline.Dungy’ssonJamiehadbeenbroughtintothe hospital earlier in the evening, she said, with compression injuries on histhroat.Hisgirlfriendhadfoundhimhanginginhisapartment,abeltaroundhisneck. Paramedics had rushed him to the hospital, but efforts at revival wereunsuccessful.3.34Hewasgone.

AchaplainflewtospendChristmaswiththefamily.“Lifewillneverbethesame again,” the chaplain told them, “but youwon’t always feel like you dorightnow.”

A few days after the funeral,Dungy returned to the sidelines.He neededsomethingtodistracthimself,andhiswifeandteamencouragedhimtogobacktowork.“Iwasoverwhelmedbytheirloveandsupport,”helaterwrote.“Asagroup,wehadalwaysleanedoneachotherindifficulttimes;Ineededthemnowmorethanever.”

Theteamlosttheirfirstplay-offgame,concludingtheirseason.ButintheaftermathofwatchingDungyduringthistragedy,“somethingchanged,”oneofhisplayersfromthatperiodtoldme.“WehadseenCoachthroughthis terriblethingandallofuswantedtohelphimsomehow.”

Itissimplistic,evencavalier,tosuggestthatayoungman’sdeathcanhavean impact on football games. Dungy has always said that nothing is moreimportanttohimthanhisfamily.ButinthewakeofJamie’spassing,astheColtsstarted preparing for the next season, something shifted, his players say. TheteamgaveintoDungy’svisionofhowfootballshouldbeplayedinawaytheyhadn’tbefore.Theystartedtobelieve.

“I had spent a lot of previous seasons worrying about my contract andsalary,” said one player who, like others, spoke about that period on theconditionofanonymity.“WhenCoachcameback,afterthefuneral,IwantedtogivehimeverythingIcould,totakeawayhishurt.Ikindofgavemyselftotheteam.”

“Somemen like hugging each other,” another player toldme. “I don’t. Ihaven’thuggedmysonsinadecade.ButafterCoachcameback,IwalkedoverandIhuggedhimaslongasIcould,becauseIwantedhimtoknowthatIwasthereforhim.”

After the death of Dungy’s son, the team started playing differently. A

conviction emerged among players about the strength of Dungy’s strategy. Inpracticesand scrimmages leadingup to the startof the2006 season, theColtsplayedtight,precisefootball.

“Most football teams aren’t really teams. They’re just guys who worktogether,”athirdplayerfromthatperiodtoldme.“Butwebecameateam.Itfeltamazing.Coachwasthespark,but itwasaboutmorethanhim.Afterhecameback, it felt like we really believed in each other, like we knew how to playtogetherinawaywedidn’tbefore.”

FortheColts,abeliefintheirteam—inDungy’stacticsandtheirabilitytowin—began to emerge out of tragedy. But just as often, a similar belief canemergewithoutanykindofadversity.

Ina1994Harvardstudy thatexaminedpeoplewhohadradicallychangedtheir lives, for instance, researchers found that some people had remade theirhabitsafterapersonaltragedy,suchasadivorceoralife-threateningillness.3.35Others changedafter they sawa friendgo through something awful, the samewaythatDungy’splayerswatchedhimstruggle.

Just as frequently, however, there was no tragedy that preceded people’stransformations. Rather, they changed because they were embedded in socialgroupsthatmadechangeeasier.Onewomansaidherentirelifeshiftedwhenshesigned up for a psychology class and met a wonderful group. “It opened aPandora’sbox,”thewomantoldresearchers.“Icouldnottoleratethestatusquoany longer. I had changed inmy core.”Anotherman said that he found newfriendsamongwhomhecouldpracticebeinggregarious.“WhenIdomaketheeffort to overcomemy shyness, I feel that it is not reallyme acting, that it’ssomeoneelse,”hesaid.Butbypracticingwithhisnewgroup,itstoppedfeelinglikeacting.Hestartedtobelievehewasn’tshy,andthen,eventually,hewasn’tanymore.Whenpeople joingroupswherechangeseemspossible, thepotentialforthatchangetooccurbecomesmorereal.Formostpeoplewhooverhaultheirlives, therearenoseminalmomentsor life-alteringdisasters.Therearesimplycommunities—sometimes of just one other person—who make changebelievable.Onewoman told researchers her life transformed after a day spentcleaningtoilets—andafterweeksofdiscussingwiththerestofthecleaningcrewwhethersheshouldleaveherhusband.

“Changeoccursamongotherpeople,”oneofthepsychologistsinvolvedinthestudy,ToddHeatherton,toldme.“Itseemsrealwhenwecanseeitinotherpeople’seyes.”

The precise mechanisms of belief are still little understood. No one iscertainwhyagroupencountered inapsychologyclasscanconvinceawoman

that everything is different, or why Dungy’s team came together after theircoach’s son passed away. Plenty of people talk to friends about unhappymarriages and never leave their spouses; lots of teams watch their coachesexperienceadversityandnevergel.

Butwedoknowthatforhabitstopermanentlychange,peoplemustbelievethatchangeisfeasible.ThesameprocessthatmakesAAsoeffective—thepowerofagrouptoteachindividualshowtobelieve—happenswheneverpeoplecometogether to help one another change. Belief is easier when it occurs within acommunity.

TenmonthsafterJamie’sdeath,the2006footballseasonbegan.TheColtsplayedpeerless football,winning their first ninegames, and finishing theyear12–4.Theywontheirfirstplay-offgame,andthenbeattheBaltimoreRavensforthedivisionaltitle.Atthatpoint,theywereonestepawayfromtheSuperBowl,playing for theconferencechampionship—thegame thatDungyhad losteighttimesbefore.

The matchup occurred on January 21, 2007, against the New EnglandPatriots, the same team thathad snuffedout theColts’SuperBowlaspirationstwice.

The Colts started the game strong, but before the first half ended, theybegan falling apart.Playerswere afraidofmakingmistakesor so eager togetpast the final Super Bowl hurdle that they lost track of where they weresupposed to be focusing. They stopped relying on their habits and startedthinkingtoomuch.Sloppytacklingledtoturnovers.OneofPeytonManning’spasses was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Their opponents, thePatriots, pulled ahead 21 to 3. No team in the history of the NFL had everovercome so big a deficit in a conference championship. Dungy’s team, onceagain,wasgoingtolose.3.36

Athalftime,theteamfiledintothelockerroom,andDungyaskedeveryonetogatheraround.Thenoisefromthestadiumfilteredthroughthecloseddoors,butinsideeveryonewasquiet.Dungylookedathisplayers.

Theyhadtobelieve,hesaid.“We faced this same situation—against this same team—in2003,”Dungy

toldthem.Inthatgame,theyhadcomewithinoneyardofwinning.Oneyard.

“Getyourswordreadybecausethistimewe’regoingtowin.Thisisourgame.It’sourtime.”3.37

TheColts cameout in the second half and started playing as they had inevery preceding game. They stayed focused on their cues and habits. Theycarefully executed theplays theyhad spent thepast fiveyearspracticinguntilthey had become automatic. Their offense, on the opening drive, ground outseventy-six yards over fourteen plays and scored a touchdown. Then, threeminutesaftertakingthenextpossession,theyscoredagain.

Asthefourthquarterwounddown,theteamstradedpoints.Dungy’sColtstiedthegame,butnevermanagedtopullahead.With3:49leftinthegame,thePatriotsscored,puttingDungy’splayersatathree-pointdisadvantage,34to31.TheColtsgot theball andbegandrivingdown the field.Theymoved seventyyardsinnineteenseconds,andcrossedintotheendzone.Forthefirsttime,theColtshadthelead,38to34.Therewerenowsixtysecondsleftontheclock.IfDungy’steamcouldstopthePatriotsfromscoringatouchdown,theColtswouldwin.

Sixtysecondsisaneternityinfootball.The Patriots’ quarterback, TomBrady, had scored touchdowns in far less

time.Sure enough,within seconds of the start of play,Bradymovedhis teamhalfway down the field.With seventeen seconds remaining, the Patriots werewithin striking distance, poised for a final big play that would hand Dungyanotherdefeatandcrush,yetagain,histeam’sSuperBowldreams.

As thePatriotsapproached the lineofscrimmage, theColts’defensewentintotheirstances.MarlinJackson,aColtscornerback,stoodtenyardsbackfromtheline.Helookedathiscues:thewidthofthegapsbetweenthePatriotlinemenandthedepthoftherunningback’sstance.Bothtoldhimthiswasgoingtobeapassingplay.TomBrady, thePatriots’quarterback, took the snapanddroppedbacktopass.Jacksonwasalreadymoving.Bradycockedhisarmandheavedtheball. His intended target was a Patriot receiver twenty-two yards away, wideopen,nearthemiddleofthefield.Ifthereceivercaughttheball,itwaslikelyhecouldmake it close to the end zone or score a touchdown. The football flewthroughtheair.Jackson,theColtscornerback,wasalreadyrunningatanangle,followinghishabits.Herushedpastthereceiver’srightshoulder,cuttinginfrontof him just as the ball arrived. Jackson plucked the ball out of the air for aninterception,ranafewmorestepsandthenslidtotheground,huggingtheballto his chest. Thewhole play had taken less than five seconds. The gamewasover.DungyandtheColtshadwon.

Twoweekslater,theywontheSuperBowl.Therearedozensofreasonsthat

might explainwhy theColts finally became champions that year.Maybe theygot lucky.Maybe itwas just their time.ButDungy’s players say it’s becausetheybelieved,andbecausethatbeliefmadeeverythingtheyhadlearned—alltheroutinestheyhadpracticeduntiltheybecameautomatic—stick,evenatthemoststressfulmoments.

“We’reproudtohavewonthischampionshipforourleader,CoachDungy,”PeytonManningtoldthecrowdafterward,cradlingtheLombardiTrophy.

Dungyturnedtohiswife.“Wedidit,”hesaid.

Howdohabitschange?Thereis,unfortunately,nospecificsetofstepsguaranteedtoworkforevery

person. We know that a habit cannot be eradicated—it must, instead, bereplaced.AndweknowthathabitsaremostmalleablewhentheGoldenRuleofhabit change is applied: Ifwekeep the samecue and the same reward, anewroutinecanbeinserted.

But that’s not enough. For a habit to stay changed, people must believechangeispossible.Andmostoften,thatbeliefonlyemergeswiththehelpofagroup.

Ifyouwant toquitsmoking,figureoutadifferentroutinethatwillsatisfythecravingsfilledbycigarettes.Then,findasupportgroup,acollectionofotherformersmokers,oracommunity thatwillhelpyoubelieveyoucanstayawayfromnicotine,andusethatgroupwhenyoufeelyoumightstumble.

Ifyouwant to loseweight,studyyourhabits todeterminewhyyoureallyleaveyourdeskforasnackeachday,andthenfindsomeoneelsetotakeawalkwithyou, togossipwithat theirdesk rather than in thecafeteria, agroup thattracksweight-lossgoalstogether,orsomeonewhoalsowantstokeepastockofapples,ratherthanchips,nearby.

The evidence is clear: If you want to change a habit, you must find analternative routine, and your odds of success go up dramatically when youcommittochangingaspartofagroup.Beliefisessential,anditgrowsoutofacommunalexperience,evenifthatcommunityisonlyaslargeastwopeople.

Weknow that changecan happen.Alcoholics can stopdrinking.Smokerscanquit puffing.Perennial losers canbecome champions.You can stopbitingyour nails or snacking at work, yelling at your kids, staying up all night, or

worrying over small concerns. And as scientists have discovered, it’s not justindividual lives that can shift when habits are tended to. It’s also companies,organizations,andcommunities,asthenextchaptersexplain.

1Thelineseparatinghabitsandaddictionsisoftendifficulttomeasure.Forinstance, theAmericanSociety ofAddictionMedicine defines addiction as “aprimary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and relatedcircuitry.… Addiction is characterized by impairment in behavioral control,craving,inabilitytoconsistentlyabstain,anddiminishedrelationships.”

By that definition, some researchers note, it is difficult to determinewhyspending fifty dollars a week on cocaine is bad, but fifty dollars a week oncoffeeisokay.Someonewhocravesalatteeveryafternoonmayseemclinicallyaddicted to an observer who thinks five dollars for coffee demonstrates an“impairment in behavioral control.” Is someone whowould prefer running tohavingbreakfastwithhiskidsaddictedtoexercise?

In general, saymany researchers,while addiction is complicated and stillpoorly understood, many of the behaviors that we associate with it are oftendriven by habit. Some substances, such as drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol, cancreate physical dependencies. But these physical cravings often fade quicklyafteruseisdiscontinued.Aphysicaladdictiontonicotine,forinstance,lastsonlyaslongasthechemicalisinasmoker’sbloodstream—aboutonehundredhoursafterthelastcigarette.Manyofthelingeringurgesthatwethinkofasnicotine’saddictivetwingesarereallybehavioralhabitsassertingthemselves—wecraveacigarette at breakfast a month later not because we physically need it, butbecause we remember so fondly the rush it once provided each morning.Attacking the behaviors we think of as addictions by modifying the habitssurrounding them has been shown, in clinical studies, to be one of the mosteffectivemodes of treatment. (Though it isworth noting that some chemicals,such as opiates, can cause prolonged physical addictions, and some studiesindicate that a small group of people seem predisposed to seek out addictivechemicals,regardlessofbehavioralinterventions.Thenumberofchemicalsthatcause long-term physical addictions, however, is relatively small, and thenumberofpredisposedaddictsisestimatedtobemuchlessthanthenumberofalcoholicsandaddictsseekinghelp.)

2 It is important to note that though the process of habit change is easilydescribed,itdoesnotnecessarilyfollowthatitiseasilyaccomplished.Itisfaciletoimplythatsmoking,alcoholism,overeating,orotheringrainedpatternscanbe

upended without real effort. Genuine change requires work and self-understanding of the cravings driving behaviors. Changing any habit requiresdetermination.Noonewillquitsmokingcigarettessimplybecausetheysketchahabitloop.

However,byunderstandinghabits’mechanisms,wegaininsightsthatmakenewbehaviorseasier tograsp.Anyonestrugglingwithaddictionordestructivebehaviorscanbenefitfromhelpfrommanyquarters,includingtrainedtherapists,physicians, social workers, and clergy. Even professionals in those fields,though, agree thatmost alcoholics, smokers, and other people strugglingwithproblematicbehaviorsquiton theirown, away from formal treatment settings.Muchofthetime,thosechangesareaccomplishedbecausepeopleexaminethecues, cravings, and rewards that drive their behaviors and then find ways toreplace their self-destructive routines with healthier alternatives, even if theyaren’tfullyawareofwhattheyaredoingatthetime.Understandingthecuesandcravingsdrivingyourhabitswon’tmake themsuddenlydisappear—but itwillgiveyouawaytoplanhowtochangethepattern.

KEYSTONEHABITS,ORTHEBALLADOFPAULO’NEILL

WhichHabitsMatterMostI.On a blustery October day in 1987, a herd of prominent Wall Street

investorsandstockanalystsgatheredintheballroomofaposhManhattanhotel.TheyweretheretomeetthenewCEOoftheAluminumCompanyofAmerica—or Alcoa, as it was known—a corporation that, for nearly a century, hadmanufacturedeverythingfromthefoilthatwrapsHershey’sKissesandthemetalinCoca-Colacanstotheboltsthatholdsatellitestogether.4.1

Alcoa’sfounderhadinventedtheprocessforsmeltingaluminumacentury

earlier, and since then the company had become one of the largest on earth.Many of the people in the audience had investedmillions of dollars inAlcoastock and had enjoyed a steady return. In the past year, however, investorgrumblings started. Alcoa’s management had made misstep after misstep,unwisely trying to expand into new product lines while competitors stolecustomersandprofitsaway.

SotherehadbeenapalpablesenseofreliefwhenAlcoa’sboardannounceditwas time fornew leadership.That relief, though, turned touneasewhen thechoicewasannounced:thenewCEOwouldbeaformergovernmentbureaucratnamedPaulO’Neill.ManyonWallStreethadneverheardofhim.WhenAlcoascheduled thismeetandgreetat theManhattanballroom,everymajor investoraskedforaninvitation.

Afewminutesbeforenoon,O’Neilltookthestage.Hewasfifty-oneyearsold,trim,anddressedingraypinstripesandaredpowertie.Hishairwaswhiteandhisposturemilitarystraight.Hebouncedupthestepsandsmiledwarmly.Helookeddignified,solid,confident.Likeachiefexecutive.

Thenheopenedhismouth.“Iwanttotalktoyouaboutworkersafety,”hesaid.“Everyyear,numerous

Alcoaworkers are injured so badly that theymiss a day of work. Our safetyrecordisbetterthanthegeneralAmericanworkforce,especiallyconsideringthatouremployeesworkwithmetalsthatare1500degreesandmachinesthatcanripaman’s arm off. But it’s not good enough. I intend tomakeAlcoa the safestcompanyinAmerica.Iintendtogoforzeroinjuries.”

Theaudiencewasconfused.Thesemeetingsusuallyfollowedapredictablescript: A new CEO would start with an introduction, make a faux self-deprecating joke—something about how he slept his way through HarvardBusiness School—then promise to boost profits and lower costs. Next wouldcomeanexcoriationoftaxes,businessregulations,andsometimes,withafervorthatsuggestedfirsthandexperienceindivorcecourt,lawyers.Finally,thespeechwould end with a blizzard of buzzwords—“synergy,” “rightsizing,” and “co-opetition”—atwhichpointeveryonecouldreturntotheiroffices,reassuredthatcapitalismwassafeforanotherday.

O’Neillhadn’tsaidanythingaboutprofits.Hedidn’tmentiontaxes.Therewas no talk of “using alignment to achieve a win-win synergistic marketadvantage.”Forallanyoneintheaudienceknew,givenhistalkofworkersafety,O’Neill might be pro-regulation. Or, worse, a Democrat. It was a terrifyingprospect.

“Now,beforeIgoanyfurther,”O’Neillsaid,“Iwanttopointoutthesafety

exitsinthisroom.”Hegesturedtotherearoftheballroom.“There’sacoupleofdoors in the back, and in the unlikely event of a fire or other emergency, youshouldcalmlywalkout,godownthestairstothelobby,andleavethebuilding.”

Silence.Theonlynoisewasthehumoftrafficthroughthewindows.Safety?Fireexits?Wasthisajoke?OneinvestorintheaudienceknewthatO’NeillhadbeeninWashington,D.C.,duringthesixties.Guymusthavedonealotofdrugs,hethought.

Eventually, someone raised a hand and asked about inventories in theaerospacedivision.Anotheraskedaboutthecompany’scapitalratios.

“I’mnot certain youheardme,”O’Neill said. “If youwant to understandhowAlcoa is doing, you need to look at our workplace safety figures. If webringourinjuryratesdown,itwon’tbebecauseofcheerleadingorthenonsenseyousometimeshearfromotherCEOs.Itwillbebecausetheindividualsatthiscompanyhaveagreedtobecomepartofsomethingimportant:They’vedevotedthemselves to creating a habit of excellence. Safety will be an indicator thatwe’remakingprogressinchangingourhabitsacrosstheentireinstitution.That’showweshouldbejudged.”

The investors in the room almost stampeded out the doors when thepresentationended.Onejoggedtothelobby,foundapayphone,andcalledhistwentylargestclients.

“I said, ‘Theboardputacrazyhippie inchargeandhe’sgoing tokill thecompany,’ ” that investor told me. “I ordered them to sell their stockimmediately, before everyone else in the room started calling their clients andtellingthemthesamething.

“ItwasliterallytheworstpieceofadviceIgaveinmyentirecareer.”WithinayearofO’Neill’sspeech,Alcoa’sprofitswouldhitarecordhigh.

BythetimeO’Neillretiredin2000,thecompany’sannualnetincomewasfivetimeslargerthanbeforehearrived,anditsmarketcapitalizationhadrisenby$27billion.SomeonewhoinvestedamilliondollarsinAlcoaonthedayO’Neillwashiredwouldhave earned anothermilliondollars individendswhileheheadedthecompany,and thevalueof their stockwouldbe five timesbiggerwhenheleft.

What’smore,allthatgrowthoccurredwhileAlcoabecameoneofthesafestcompaniesintheworld.BeforeO’Neill’sarrival,almosteveryAlcoaplanthadat least one accident per week. Once his safety plan was implemented, somefacilitieswouldgoyearswithoutasingleemployeelosingaworkdayduetoanaccident. The company’s worker injury rate fell to one-twentieth the U.S.average.

SohowdidO’Neillmakeoneofthelargest,stodgiest,andmostpotentiallydangerouscompaniesintoaprofitmachineandabastionofsafety?

By attacking one habit and thenwatching the changes ripple through theorganization.

“IknewIhad to transformAlcoa,”O’Neill toldme.“Butyoucan’torderpeopletochange.That’snothowthebrainworks.SoIdecidedIwasgoingtostartbyfocusingononething.IfIcouldstartdisruptingthehabitsaroundonething,itwouldspreadthroughouttheentirecompany.”

O’Neillbelievedthatsomehabitshavethepowertostartachainreaction,changing other habits as theymove through an organization. Some habits, inotherwords,mattermorethanothersinremakingbusinessesandlives.Theseare“keystone habits,” and they can influence how people work, eat, play, live,spend, and communicate. Keystone habits start a process that, over time,transformseverything.

Keystone habits say that success doesn’t depend on getting every singlethingright,butinsteadreliesonidentifyingafewkeyprioritiesandfashioningthemintopowerfullevers.Thisbook’sfirstsectionexplainedhowhabitswork,howtheycanbecreatedandchanged.However,whereshouldawould-behabitmaster start?Understandingkeystonehabitsholds theanswer to thatquestion:Thehabitsthatmattermostaretheonesthat,whentheystart toshift,dislodgeandremakeotherpatterns.

KeystonehabitsexplainhowMichaelPhelpsbecameanOlympicchampionandwhysomecollegestudentsoutperformtheirpeers.Theydescribewhysomepeople,afteryearsof trying, suddenly lose fortypoundswhilebecomingmoreproductiveatworkandstillgettinghomeintimefordinnerwiththeirkids.AndkeystonehabitsexplainhowAlcoabecameoneofthebestperformingstocksintheDowJonesindex,whilealsobecomingoneofthesafestplacesonearth.

WhenAlcoafirstapproachedO’NeillaboutbecomingCEO,hewasn’tsurehe wanted the job. He’d already earned plenty of money, and his wife likedConnecticut, where they lived. They didn’t know anything about Pittsburgh,where Alcoa was headquartered. But before turning down the offer, O’Neillasked for some time to think it over. To help himself make the decision, hestartedworkingona listofwhatwouldbehisbiggestpriorities ifheaccepted

thepost.O’Neillhadalwaysbeenabigbelieverinlists.Listswerehowheorganized

hislife.IncollegeatFresnoState—wherehefinishedhiscoursesinabitoverthreeyears,whilealsoworkingthirtyhoursaweek—O’Neillhaddraftedalistofeverythinghehopedtoaccomplishduringhislifetime,including,nearthetop,“Make a Difference.” After graduating in 1960, at a friend’s encouragement,O’Neillpickedupanapplication fora federal internshipand,alongwith threehundred thousand others, took the government employment exam. Threethousand people were chosen for interviews. Three hundred of them wereofferedjobs.O’Neillwasone.4.2

HestartedasamiddlemanagerattheVeteransAdministrationandwastoldto learn about computer systems.All thewhile,O’Neill keptwriting his lists,recording why some projects were more successful than others, whichcontractorsdeliveredontimeandwhichdidn’t.Hewaspromotedeachyear.Andas he rose through the VA’s ranks, he made a name for himself as someonewhoselistsalwaysseemedtoincludeabulletpointthatgotaproblemsolved.

By themid-1960s, such skills were in high demand inWashington, D.C.RobertMcNamarahadrecentlyremadethePentagonbyhiringacropofyoungmathematicians, statisticians, and computer programmers. President Johnsonwantedsomewhizkidsofhisown.SoO’Neillwasrecruitedtowhateventuallybecame known as theOffice ofManagement andBudget, one ofD.C.’smostpowerful agencies. Within a decade, at age thirty-eight, he was promoted todeputydirectorandwas,suddenly,amongthemostinfluentialpeopleintown.

That’swhenO’Neill’seducationinorganizationalhabitsreallystarted.Oneofhisfirstassignmentswastocreateananalyticalframeworkforstudyinghowthegovernmentwasspendingmoneyonhealthcare.Hequicklyfiguredoutthatthe government’s efforts,which should have been guided by logical rules anddeliberatepriorities,were insteaddrivenbybizarre institutionalprocesses that,in many ways, operated like habits. Bureaucrats and politicians, rather thanmakingdecisions,were responding tocueswithautomatic routines inorder toget rewards such as promotions or reelection. It was the habit loop—spreadacrossthousandsofpeopleandbillionsofdollars.

For instance,afterWorldWarII,Congresshadcreatedaprogramtobuildcommunityhospitals.Aquartercenturylater,itwasstillchuggingalong,andsowhenever lawmakersallocatednewhealth-care funds,bureaucrats immediatelystarted building. The towns where the new hospitals were located didn’tnecessarilyneedmore patient beds, but that didn’tmatter.Whatmatteredwaserecting a big structure that a politician could point to while stumping for

votes.4.3

Federal workers would “spend months debating blue or yellow curtains,figuring out if patient rooms should contain one or two televisions, designingnurses’stations,realpointlessstuff,”O’Neilltoldme.“Mostofthetime,nooneeveraskedifthetownwantedahospital.Thebureaucratshadgottenintoahabitofsolvingeverymedicalproblembybuildingsomethingsothatacongressmancouldsay,‘Here’swhatIdid!’Itdidn’tmakeanysense,buteverybodydidthesamethingagainandagain.”

Researchershavefoundinstitutionalhabitsinalmosteveryorganizationorcompany they’ve scrutinized. “Individuals have habits; groups have routines,”wrote the academic Geoffrey Hodgson, who spent a career examiningorganizationalpatterns.“Routinesaretheorganizationalanalogueofhabits.”4.4

To O’Neill, these kinds of habits seemed dangerous. “We were basicallyceding decisionmaking to a process that occurredwithout actually thinking,”O’Neill said. But at other agencies, where change was in the air, goodorganizationalhabitswerecreatingsuccess.

SomedepartmentsatNASA,forinstance,wereoverhaulingthemselvesbydeliberatelyinstitutingorganizationalroutinesthatencouragedengineerstotakemore risks. When unmanned rockets exploded on takeoff, department headswouldapplaud,sothateveryonewouldknowtheirdivisionhadtriedandfailed,butatleasttheyhadtried.Eventually,missioncontrolfilledwithapplauseeverytimesomethingexpensiveblewup.Itbecameanorganizationalhabit.4.5Ortakethe Environmental ProtectionAgency, whichwas created in 1970. The EPA’sfirstadministrator,WilliamRuckelshaus,consciouslyengineeredorganizationalhabits that encouraged his regulators to be aggressive on enforcement.Whenlawyers asked for permission to file a lawsuit or enforcement action, it wentthroughaprocessforapproval.4.6Thedefaultwasauthorizationtogoahead.Themessagewasclear:AttheEPA,aggressiongetsrewarded.By1975,theEPAwasissuingmorethanfifteenhundrednewenvironmentalrulesayear.4.7

“Every time I looked at a different part of the government, I found thesehabits that seemed to explain why things were either succeeding or failing,”O’Neilltoldme.“Thebestagenciesunderstoodtheimportanceofroutines.Theworst agencies were headed by people who never thought about it, and then

wonderedwhynoonefollowedtheirorders.”In 1977, after sixteen years inWashington, D.C., O’Neill decided it was

timetoleave.Hewasworkingfifteenhoursaday,sevendaysaweek,andhiswifewastiredofraisingfourchildrenonherown.O’Neillresignedandlandedajobwith International Paper, the world’s largest pulp and paper company. Heeventuallybecameitspresident.

Bythen,someofhisoldgovernmentfriendswereonAlcoa’sboard.Whenthecompanyneededanewchiefexecutive,theythoughtofhim,whichishowheendedupwritingalistofhisprioritiesifhedecidedtotakethejob.

At the time, Alcoa was struggling. Critics said the company’s workersweren’tnimbleenoughandthequalityofitsproductswaspoor.ButatthetopofO’Neill’slisthedidn’twrite“quality”or“efficiency”ashisbiggestpriorities.Ata company as big and as old as Alcoa, you can’t flip a switch and expecteveryone to work harder or produce more. The previous CEO had tried tomandate improvements, and fifteen thousandemployeeshadgoneon strike. Itgot so bad they would bring dummies to the parking lots, dress them likemanagers,andburnthemineffigy.“Alcoawasnotahappyfamily,”onepersonfrom that period toldme. “It wasmore like theManson family, but with theadditionofmoltenmetal.”

O’Neill figured his top priority, if he took the job, would have to besomethingthateverybody—unionsandexecutives—couldagreewasimportant.He needed a focus that would bring people together, that would give himleveragetochangehowpeopleworkedandcommunicated.

“Iwenttobasics,”hetoldme.“Everyonedeservestoleaveworkassafelyastheyarrive,right?Youshouldn’tbescaredthatfeedingyourfamilyisgoingto kill you. That’s what I decided to focus on: changing everyone’s safetyhabits.”

AtthetopofO’Neill’slisthewrotedown“SAFETY”andsetanaudaciousgoal:zeroinjuries.Notzerofactoryinjuries.Zeroinjuries,period.Thatwouldbehiscommitmentnomatterhowmuchitcost.

O’Neilldecidedtotakethejob.

“I’m really glad to be here,” O’Neill told a room full of workers at asmeltingplantinTennesseeafewmonthsafterhewashired.Noteverythinghad

gone smoothly. Wall Street was still panicked. The unions were concerned.SomeofAlcoa’s vice presidentsweremiffed at being passed over for the topjob.AndO’Neillkepttalkingaboutworkersafety.

“I’mhappytonegotiatewithyouaboutanything,”O’Neillsaid.Hewasona tour of Alcoa’s American plants, after which he was going to visit thecompany’s facilities in thirty-one other countries. “But there’s one thing I’mnevergoingtonegotiatewithyou,andthat’ssafety.Idon’teverwantyoutosaythatwehaven’ttakeneverysteptomakesurepeopledon’tgethurt.Ifyouwanttoarguewithmeaboutthat,you’regoingtolose.”

Thebrillianceofthisapproachwasthatnoone,ofcourse,wantedtoarguewith O’Neill about worker safety. Unions had been fighting for better safetyrules for years. Managers didn’t want to argue about it, either, since injuriesmeantlostproductivityandlowmorale.

What most people didn’t realize, however, was that O’Neill’s plan forgettingtozeroinjuriesentailedthemostradicalrealignmentinAlcoa’shistory.The key to protecting Alcoa employees, O’Neill believed, was understandingwhy injuries happened in the first place. And to understand why injurieshappened,youhadtostudyhowthemanufacturingprocesswasgoingwrong.Tounderstandhowthingsweregoingwrong,youhadtobringinpeoplewhocouldeducateworkersaboutqualitycontrolandthemostefficientworkprocesses,sothat itwould be easier to do everything right, since correctwork is also saferwork.

Inotherwords,toprotectworkers,Alcoaneededtobecomethebest,moststreamlinedaluminumcompanyonearth.

O’Neill’ssafetyplan,ineffect,wasmodeledonthehabitloop.Heidentifiedasimplecue:anemployeeinjury.Heinstitutedanautomaticroutine:Anytimesomeonewasinjured,theunitpresidenthadtoreportittoO’Neillwithintwenty-four hours and present a plan for making sure the injury never happenedagain.4.8,4.9And therewasa reward:Theonlypeoplewhogotpromotedwerethosewhoembracedthesystem.

Unit presidents were busy people. To contact O’Neill within twenty-fourhours of an injury, they needed to hear about an accident from their vicepresidents as soonas it happened.Sovicepresidentsneeded tobe in constantcommunicationwithfloormanagers.Andfloormanagersneededtogetworkerstoraisewarningsassoonastheysawaproblemandkeepalistofsuggestionsnearby,sothatwhenthevicepresidentaskedforaplan,therewasanideaboxalreadyfullofpossibilities.Tomakeallof thathappen,eachunithad tobuildnewcommunicationsystemsthatmadeiteasierforthelowliestworkertogetan

idea to the loftiest executive, as fast as possible.Almost everything about thecompany’s rigid hierarchy had to change to accommodate O’Neill’s safetyprogram.Hewasbuildingnewcorporatehabits.

ALCOA’SINSTITUTIONALHABITLOOPAs Alcoa’s safety patterns shifted, other aspects of the company started

changing with startling speed, as well. Rules that unions had spent decadesopposing—such as measuring the productivity of individual workers—weresuddenly embraced, because such measurements helped everyone figure outwhen part of the manufacturing process was getting out of whack, posing asafety risk. Policies that managers had long resisted—such as giving workersautonomytoshutdownaproductionlinewhenthepacebecameoverwhelming—were nowwelcomed, because thatwas the bestway to stop injuries beforetheyoccurred.Thecompanyshiftedsomuchthatsomeemployeesfoundsafetyhabitsspillingintootherpartsoftheirlives.

“Twoorthreeyearsago,I’minmyoffice,lookingattheNinthStreetbridgeoutthewindow,andthere’ssomeguysworkingwhoaren’tusingcorrectsafetyprocedures,”saidJeffShockey,Alcoa’scurrentsafetydirector.Oneofthemwasstanding on top of the bridge’s guardrail, while the other held on to his belt.Theyweren’tusingsafetyharnessesorropes.“Theyworkedforsomecompanythat has nothing to dowith us, butwithout thinking about it, I got out ofmychair, went down five flights of stairs, walked over the bridge and told theseguys, hey, you’re risking your life, you have to use your harness and safetygear.”Themenexplainedtheirsupervisorhadforgottentobringtheequipment.So Shockey called the local Occupational Safety and Health Administrationofficeandturnedthesupervisorin.

“Anotherexecutivetoldmethatoneday,hestoppedatastreetexcavationnear his house because they didn’t have a trench box, and gave everyone alecture on the importance of proper procedures. It was the weekend, and hestoppedhis car,withhiskids in theback, to lecturecityworkersabout trenchsafety.That isn’tnatural,but that’skindof thepoint.Wedo this stuffwithoutthinkingaboutitnow.”

O’Neill never promised that his focus on worker safety would increaseAlcoa’sprofits.However,ashisnewroutinesmoved through theorganization,

costscamedown,qualitywentup,andproductivityskyrocketed.Ifmoltenmetalwasinjuringworkerswhenitsplashed,thenthepouringsystemwasredesigned,which led to fewer injuries. It also savedmoney becauseAlcoa lost less rawmaterials in spills. If a machine kept breaking down, it was replaced, whichmeanttherewaslessriskofabrokengearsnagginganemployee’sarm.Italsomeant higher quality products because, as Alcoa discovered, equipmentmalfunctionswereachiefcauseofsubparaluminum.

Researchers have found similar dynamics in dozens of other settings,includingindividuals’lives.

Take, for instance, studies from thepastdecadeexamining the impactsofexerciseondaily routines.4.10Whenpeoplestarthabituallyexercising,evenasinfrequentlyasonceaweek,theystartchangingother,unrelatedpatternsintheirlives,oftenunknowingly.Typically,peoplewhoexercisestarteatingbetterandbecomingmoreproductive atwork.They smoke less and showmorepatiencewithcolleaguesandfamily.Theyuse theircreditcards less frequentlyandsaythey feel less stressed. It’s not completely clear why. But for many people,exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change. “Exercise spillsover,”saidJamesProchaska,aUniversityofRhodeIslandresearcher.“There’ssomethingaboutitthatmakesothergoodhabitseasier.”

Studies have documented that familieswho habitually eat dinner togetherseem to raise children with better homework skills, higher grades, greateremotionalcontrol, andmoreconfidence.4.11Makingyourbedeverymorning iscorrelatedwith better productivity, a greater sense ofwell-being, and strongerskillsatstickingwithabudget.4.12It’snotthatafamilymealoratidybedcausesbetter grades or less frivolous spending.But somehow those initial shifts startchainreactionsthathelpothergoodhabitstakehold.

If you focus on changing or cultivating keystone habits, you can causewidespreadshifts.However,identifyingkeystonehabitsistricky.Tofindthem,youhavetoknowwheretolook.Detectingkeystonehabitsmeanssearchingoutcertain characteristics. Keystone habits offer what is known within academicliterature as “small wins.” They help other habits to flourish by creating newstructures,andtheyestablishcultureswherechangebecomescontagious.

ButasO’Neillandcountlessothershave found,crossing thegapbetweenunderstandingthoseprinciplesandusingthemrequiresabitofingenuity.

II.WhenMichaelPhelps’salarmclockwentoffat6:30A.M.onthemorning

ofAugust13,2008,hecrawledoutofbedintheOlympicVillageinBeijingand

fellrightintohisroutine.Hepulledonapairofsweatpantsandwalkedtobreakfast.Hehadalready

won three goldmedals earlier thatweek—giving him nine in his career—andhadtworacesthatday.By7A.M.4.13,hewasinthecafeteria,eatinghisregularrace-daymenuofeggs,oatmeal,andfourenergyshakes,thefirstofmorethansixthousandcalorieshewouldconsumeoverthenextsixteenhours.

Phelps’s first race—the 200-meter butterfly, his strongest event—wasscheduledforteno’clock.Twohoursbeforethestartinggunfired,hebeganhisusual stretching regime, starting with his arms, then his back, then workingdowntohisankles,whichweresoflexibletheycouldextendmorethanninetydegrees, farther thanaballerina’senpointe.Ateight-thirty,heslipped into thepoolandbeganhisfirstwarm-uplap,800metersofmixedstyles,followedby600metersofkicking,400meterspullingabuoybetweenhislegs,200metersof stroke drills, and a series of 25-meter sprints to elevate his heart rate. Theworkouttookpreciselyforty-fiveminutes.

Atnine-fifteen,heexitedthepoolandstartedsqueezingintohisLZRRacer,abodysuit so tight it required twentyminutesof tugging toput iton.Thenheclampedheadphonesoverhisears,crankedupthehip-hopmixheplayedbeforeeveryrace,andwaited.

Phelpshadstartedswimmingwhenhewassevenyearsoldtoburnoffsomeof the energy that was driving his mom and teachers crazy. When a localswimmingcoachnamedBobBowmansawPhelps’s longtorso,bighands,andrelativelyshortlegs(whichofferedlessdraginthewater),heknewPhelpscouldbecomeachampion.ButPhelpswasemotional.Hehad troublecalmingdownbeforeraces.Hisparentsweredivorcing,andhehadproblemscopingwiththestress. Bowman purchased a book of relaxation exercises and asked Phelps’smom to read them aloud every night. The book contained a script—“Tightenyourrighthandintoafistandrelease it. Imagine the tensionmeltingaway”—thattensedandrelaxedeachpartofPhelps’sbodybeforehefellasleep.

Bowman believed that for swimmers, the key to victorywas creating therightroutines.Phelps,Bowmanknew,hadaperfectphysiqueforthepool.Thatsaid, everyone who eventually competes at the Olympics has perfectmusculature. Bowman could also see that Phelps, even at a young age, had acapacity forobsessiveness thatmadehiman idealathlete.Thenagain,alleliteperformersareobsessives.

WhatBowmancouldgivePhelps,however—whatwouldsethimapartfromother competitors—were habits that would make him the strongest mentalswimmerinthepool.Hedidn’tneedtocontroleveryaspectofPhelps’slife.All

he needed to dowas target a few specific habits that had nothing to dowithswimmingandeverythingtodowithcreatingtherightmind-set.Hedesignedaseries of behaviors that Phelps could use to become calm and focused beforeeachrace,tofindthosetinyadvantagesthat,inasportwherevictorycancomeinmilliseconds,wouldmakeallthedifference.

When Phelps was a teenager, for instance, at the end of each practice,Bowmanwouldtellhimtogohomeand“watchthevideotape.Watchitbeforeyougotosleepandwhenyouwakeup.”

The videotape wasn’t real. Rather, it was a mental visualization of theperfectrace.Eachnightbeforefallingasleepandeachmorningafterwakingup,Phelps would imagine himself jumping off the blocks and, in slow motion,swimmingflawlessly.Hewouldvisualizehisstrokes,thewallsofthepool,histurns, and the finish. Hewould imagine thewake behind his body, thewaterdrippingoffhislipsashismouthclearedthesurface,whatitwouldfeelliketoripoffhiscapattheend.Hewouldlieinbedwithhiseyesshutandwatchtheentire competition, the smallest details, again and again, until he knew eachsecondbyheart.

Duringpractices,whenBowmanorderedPhelpstoswimatracespeed,hewouldshout,“Putinthevideotape!”andPhelpswouldpushhimself,ashardashecould. Italmost feltanticlimacticashecut through thewater.Hehaddonethissomanytimes inhishead that,bynow, it felt rote.But itworked.Hegotfasterandfaster.Eventually,allBowmanhadtodobeforearacewaswhisper,“Get the videotape ready,” and Phelps would settle down and crush thecompetition.

AndonceBowmanestablishedafewcoreroutines inPhelps’s life,all theotherhabits—hisdietandpracticeschedules,thestretchingandsleeproutines—seemedtofallintoplaceontheirown.Atthecoreofwhythosehabitsweresoeffective, why they acted as keystone habits, was something known withinacademicliteratureasa“smallwin.”

Smallwinsareexactlywhattheysoundlike,andarepartofhowkeystonehabitscreatewidespreadchanges.Ahugebodyofresearchhasshownthatsmallwins have enormous power, an influence disproportionate to theaccomplishments of the victories themselves. “Small wins are a steady

applicationofasmalladvantage,”oneCornellprofessorwrotein1984.“Onceasmall win has been accomplished, forces are set inmotion that favor anothersmall win.”4.14Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tinyadvantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements arewithinreach.4.15

For example, when gay rights organizations started campaigning againsthomophobia in the late 1960s, their initial efforts yielded only a string offailures.Theypushed to repeal lawsused to prosecute gays andwere roundlydefeatedinstatelegislatures.Teacherstriedtocreatecurriculumstocounselgayteens,andwerefiredforsuggestingthathomosexualityshouldbeembraced.Itseemedlikethegaycommunity’slargergoals—endingdiscriminationandpoliceharassment, convincing theAmerican PsychiatricAssociation to stop defininghomosexualityasamentaldisease—wereoutofreach.4.16

Then,intheearly1970s,theAmericanLibraryAssociation’sTaskForceonGayLiberationdecidedtofocusononemodestgoal:convincingtheLibraryofCongress to reclassifybooksabout thegay liberationmovement fromHQ71–471 (“Abnormal Sexual Relations, Including Sexual Crimes”) to another, lesspejorativecategory.4.17

In1972,afterreceivingaletterrequestingthereclassification,theLibraryofCongress agreed to make the shift, reclassifying books into a newly createdcategory, HQ 76.5 (“Homosexuality, Lesbianism—Gay LiberationMovement,Homophile Movement”). It was a minor tweak of an old institutional habitregardinghowbookswereshelved,buttheeffectwaselectrifying.Newsofthenewpolicyspreadacrossthenation.Gayrightsorganizations,citingthevictory,started fund-raising drives. Within a few years, openly gay politicians wererunningforpoliticalofficeinCalifornia,NewYork,Massachusetts,andOregon,manyofthemcitingtheLibraryofCongress’sdecisionasinspiration.In1973,theAmericanPsychiatricAssociation,afteryearsofinternaldebate,rewrotethedefinitionofhomosexualitysoitwasnolongeramentalillness—pavingthewayfor thepassageofstate laws thatmade it illegal todiscriminateagainstpeoplebecauseoftheirsexualorientation.

Anditallbeganwithonesmallwin.“Smallwins do not combine in a neat, linear, serial form,with each step

being a demonstrable step closer to some predetermined goal,” wrote KarlWeick, a prominent organizational psychologist. “More common is thecircumstancewheresmallwinsarescattered…likeminiatureexperimentsthattest implicit theories about resistance and opportunity and uncover bothresourcesandbarriersthatwereinvisiblebeforethesituationwasstirredup.”

Which is precisely what happened with Michael Phelps. When BobBowmanstartedworkingwithPhelpsandhismotheronthekeystonehabitsofvisualizationandrelaxation,neitherBowmannorPhelpshadanyideawhattheywere doing. “We’d experiment, try different things until we found stuff thatworked,” Bowman told me. “Eventually we figured out it was best toconcentrate on these tiny moments of success and build them into mentaltriggers.Weworkedthemintoaroutine.There’saseriesofthingswedobeforeeveryracethataredesignedtogiveMichaelasenseofbuildingvictory.

“IfyouweretoaskMichaelwhat’sgoingoninhisheadbeforecompetition,hewould say he’s not really thinking about anything. He’s just following theprogram.Butthat’snotright.It’smorelikehishabitshavetakenover.Whentheracearrives,he’smorethanhalfwaythroughhisplanandhe’sbeenvictoriousateverystep.All thestretcheswent likeheplanned.Thewarm-uplapswerejustlike he visualized.His headphones are playing exactlywhat he expected.Theactual race is justanotherstep inapattern thatstartedearlier thatdayandhasbeennothingbutvictories.Winningisanaturalextension.”

Back inBeijing, itwas9:56A.M.—fourminutesbefore the race’s start—andPhelpsstoodbehindhisstartingblock,bouncingslightlyonhistoes.Whenthe announcer said his name,Phelps steppedonto the block, as he alwaysdidbeforearace,andthensteppeddown,ashealwaysdid.Heswunghisarmsthreetimes,ashehadbeforeeveryracesincehewastwelveyearsold.Hesteppedupontheblocksagain,gotintohisstance,and,whenthegunsounded,leapt.

Phelpsknewthatsomethingwaswrongassoonashehit thewater.Therewasmoistureinsidehisgoggles.Hecouldn’ttell if theywereleakingfromthetop or bottom, but as he broke the water’s surface and began swimming, hehopedtheleakwouldn’tbecometoobad.4.18

By the second turn, however, everything was getting blurry. As heapproachedthethirdturnandfinallap,thecupsofhisgoggleswerecompletelyfilled.Phelpscouldn’tseeanything.Notthelinealongthepool’sbottom,nottheblackTmarkingtheapproachingwall.Hecouldn’tseehowmanystrokeswereleft. Formost swimmers, losing your sight in themiddle of anOlympic finalwouldbecauseforpanic.

Phelpswascalm.Everythingelse thatdayhadgoneaccording toplan.The leakinggoggles

wereaminordeviation,butoneforwhichhewasprepared.BowmanhadoncemadePhelpsswiminaMichiganpoolinthedark,believingthatheneededtobeready for any surprise. Some of the videotapes in Phelps’smind had featuredproblemslikethis.Hehadmentallyrehearsedhowhewouldrespondtoagoggle

failure.Ashestartedhis last lap,Phelpsestimatedhowmanystrokes thefinalpush would require—nineteen or twenty, maybe twenty-one—and startedcounting.Hefelttotallyrelaxedasheswamatfullstrength.Midwaythroughthelaphebeganto increasehiseffort,afinaleruptionthathadbecomeoneofhismain techniques in overwhelming opponents. At eighteen strokes, he startedanticipatingthewall.Hecouldhearthecrowdroaring,butsincehewasblind,hehad no idea if theywere cheering for him or someone else.Nineteen strokes,then twenty. It felt like he needed onemore.That’swhat the videotape in hisheadsaid.Hemadeatwenty-first,hugestroke,glidedwithhisarmoutstretched,andtouchedthewall.Hehadtimeditperfectly.Whenherippedoffhisgogglesandlookedupatthescoreboard,itsaid“WR”—worldrecord—nexttohisname.He’dwonanothergold.

Aftertherace,areporteraskedwhatithadfeltliketoswimblind.“ItfeltlikeIimagineditwould,”Phelpssaid.Itwasoneadditionalvictory

inalifetimefullofsmallwins.4.19

Sixmonths after PaulO’Neill becameCEOofAlcoa, he got a telephonecall in the middle of the night. A plant manager in Arizona was on the line,panicked,talkingabouthowanextrusionpresshadstoppedoperatingandoneoftheworkers—ayoungmanwho had joined the company a fewweeks earlier,eagerforthejobbecauseitofferedhealthcareforhispregnantwife—hadtriedarepair. He had jumped over a yellow safety wall surrounding the press andwalkedacrossthepit.Therewasapieceofaluminumjammedintothehingeona swinging six-foot arm. The young man pulled on the aluminum scrap,removing it. The machine was fixed. Behind him, the arm restarted its arc,swingingtowardhishead.Whenithit,thearmcrushedhisskull.Hewaskilledinstantly.4.20

Fourteenhourslater,O’Neillorderedalltheplant’sexecutives—aswellasAlcoa’stopofficersinPittsburgh—intoanemergencymeeting.Formuchoftheday, theypainstakingly re-created theaccidentwithdiagramsandbywatchingvideotapesagainandagain.Theyidentifieddozensoferrorsthathadcontributedto the death, including two managers who had seen the man jump over thebarrierbutfailedtostophim;atrainingprogramthathadn’temphasizedtotheman that hewouldn’t be blamed for a breakdown; lackof instructions that he

shouldfindamanagerbeforeattemptingarepair;andtheabsenceofsensorstoautomaticallyshutdownthemachinewhensomeonesteppedintothepit.

“Wekilledthisman,”agrim-facedO’Neilltoldthegroup.“It’smyfailureofleadership.Icausedhisdeath.Andit’sthefailureofallofyouinthechainofcommand.”

The executives in the roomwere taken aback.Sure, a tragic accident hadoccurred,buttragicaccidentswerepartoflifeatAlcoa.Itwasahugecompanywithemployeeswhohandledred-hotmetalanddangerousmachines.“Paulhadcomeinasanoutsider,andtherewasalotofskepticismwhenhetalkedaboutsafety,” said Bill O’rourke, a top executive. “We figured it would last a fewweeks, and then hewould start focusing on something else. But thatmeetingreallyshookeveryoneup.Hewasseriousaboutthisstuff,seriousenoughthathewould stay up nights worrying about some employee he’d never met. That’swhenthingsstartedtochange.”

Withinaweekofthatmeeting,allthesafetyrailingsatAlcoa’splantswererepainted bright yellow, and new policies were written up. Managers toldemployees not to be afraid to suggest proactive maintenance, and rules wereclarified so thatnoonewouldattemptunsafe repairs.Thenewfoundvigilanceresultedinashort-term,noticeabledeclineintheinjuryrate.Alcoaexperiencedasmallwin.

ThenO’Neillpounced.“I want to congratulate everyone for bringing down the number of

accidents, even just for two weeks,” he wrote in a memo that made its waythroughtheentirecompany.“Weshouldn’tcelebratebecausewe’vefollowedtherules, or brought down a number.We should celebrate becausewe are savinglives.”

Workers made copies of the note and taped it to their lockers. SomeonepaintedamuralofO’Neillononeofthewallsofasmeltingplantwithaquotefrom the memo inscribed underneath. Just as Michael Phelps’s routines hadnothingtodowithswimmingandeverythingtodowithhissuccess,soO’Neill’sefforts began snowballing into changes that were unrelated to safety, buttransformativenonetheless.

“I said to the hourlyworkers, ‘If yourmanagement doesn’t follow up onsafety issues, then call me at home, here’s my number,’ ” O’Neill told me.“Workers started calling, but they didn’t want to talk about accidents. Theywantedtotalkaboutalltheseothergreatideas.”

The Alcoa plant that manufactured aluminum siding for houses, forinstance, had been struggling for years because executives would try to

anticipate popular colors and inevitably guess wrong. They would payconsultantsmillionsofdollarstochooseshadesofpaintandsixmonthslater,thewarehousewouldbeoverflowingwith“sunburstyellow”andoutofsuddenlyin-demand“huntergreen.”Oneday,alow-levelemployeemadeasuggestionthatquicklyworkeditswaytothegeneralmanager:Iftheygroupedallthepaintingmachinestogether,theycouldswitchoutthepigmentsfasterandbecomemorenimble in responding to shifts in customer demand.Within a year, profits onaluminumsidingdoubled.

ThesmallwinsthatstartedwithO’Neill’sfocusonsafetycreatedaclimateinwhichallkindsofnewideasbubbledup.

“It turnsout thisguyhadbeensuggesting thispainting idea foradecade,buthadn’ttoldanyoneinmanagement,”anAlcoaexecutivetoldme.“Thenhefigures,sincewekeeponaskingforsafetyrecommendations,whynottellthemaboutthisotheridea?Itwaslikehegaveusthewinninglotterynumbers.”

III.WhenayoungPaulO’Neillwasworkingforthegovernmentandcreatinga

framework for analyzing federal spending on health care, one of the foremostissuesconcerningofficialswas infantmortality.TheUnitedStates,at the time,wasoneofthewealthiestcountriesonearth.Yetithadahigherinfantmortalityrate than most of Europe and some parts of South America. Rural areas, inparticular,sawastaggeringnumberofbabiesdiebeforetheirfirstbirthdays.4.21

O’Neillwastaskedwithfiguringoutwhy.Heaskedotherfederalagenciestostartanalyzinginfantmortalitydata,andeachtimesomeonecamebackwithan answer, he’d ask another question, trying to get deeper, to understand theproblem’srootcauses.WheneversomeonecameintoO’Neill’sofficewithsomediscovery,O’Neillwouldstart interrogatingthemwithnewinquiries.Hedrovepeoplecrazywithhisnever-endingpushtolearnmore,tounderstandwhatwasreallygoingon.(“IlovePaulO’Neill,butyoucouldnotpaymeenoughtoworkforhimagain,”oneofficialtoldme.“Themanhasneverencounteredananswerhecan’tturnintoanothertwentyhoursofwork.”)

Some research, for instance, suggested that the biggest cause of infantdeathswasprematurebirths.Andthereasonbabieswereborntooearlywasthatmothers suffered from malnourishment during pregnancy. So to lower infantmortality, improvemothers’ diets. Simple, right? But to stopmalnourishment,womenhad to improve their dietsbefore theybecamepregnant.Whichmeantthe government had to start educating women about nutrition before theybecame sexually active. Which meant officials had to create nutritioncurriculumsinsidehighschools.

However, when O’Neill began asking about how to create thosecurriculums,hediscoveredthatmanyhighschoolteachersinruralareasdidn’tknowenoughbasicbiologytoteachnutrition.Sothegovernmenthadtoremakehow teachers were getting educated in college, and give them a strongergroundinginbiologysotheycouldeventuallyteachnutritiontoteenagegirls,sothoseteenagerswouldeatbetterbeforetheystartedhavingsex,and,eventually,besufficientlynourishedwhentheyhadchildren.

Poorteachertraining,theofficialsworkingwithO’Neillfinallyfiguredout,wasarootcauseofhighinfantmortality.Ifyouaskeddoctorsorpublichealthofficials for a plan to fight infant deaths, none of themwould have suggestedchanginghowteachersaretrained.Theywouldn’thaveknowntherewasalink.However,by teachingcollegestudentsaboutbiology,youmade itpossible forthem to eventually pass on that knowledge to teenagers, who started eatinghealthier,andyearslatergivebirthtostrongerbabies.Today,theU.S.4.22infantmortalityrateis68percentlowerthanwhenO’Neillstartedthejob.

O’Neill’s experiences with infant mortality illustrate the second way thatkeystonehabitsencouragechange:bycreatingstructuresthathelpotherhabitstoflourish. In the case of premature deaths, changing collegiate curriculums forteachersstartedachainreactionthateventuallytrickleddowntohowgirlswereeducatedinruralareas,andwhethertheyweresufficientlynourishedwhentheybecamepregnant.AndO’Neill’shabitofconstantlypushingotherbureaucratstocontinue researchinguntil they foundaproblem’s root causesoverhauledhowthegovernmentthoughtaboutproblemslikeinfantmortality.

The same thing can happen in people’s lives. For example, until abouttwentyyearsago,conventionalwisdomheldthatthebestwayforpeopletoloseweightwastoradicallyaltertheirlives.Doctorswouldgiveobesepatientsstrictdietsandtellthemtojoinagym,attendregularcounselingsessions—sometimesas often as every day—and shift their daily routines bywalking up stairs, forinstance, instead of taking the elevator. Only by completely shaking upsomeone’slife,thethinkingwent,couldtheirbadhabitsbereformed.

But when researchers studied the effectiveness of these methods overprolonged periods, they discovered theywere failures. Patients would use thestairsforafewweeks,butbytheendofthemonth,itwastoomuchhassle.Theybegandietsandjoinedgyms,butafter the initialburstofenthusiasmworeoff,they slid back into their old eating and TV-watching habits.4.23 Piling on somuchchangeatoncemadeitimpossibleforanyofittostick.

Then, in 2009 a groupof researchers fundedby theNational Institutes ofHealth published a study of a different approach toweight loss.4.24 They had

assembled a group of sixteen hundred obese people and asked them toconcentrateonwritingdowneverythingtheyateatleastonedayperweek.

Itwashardatfirst.Thesubjectsforgottocarrytheirfoodjournals,orwouldsnackandnotnoteit.Slowly,however,peoplestartedrecordingtheirmealsonceaweek—andsometimes,moreoften.Manyparticipantsstartedkeepingadailyfoodlog.Eventually,itbecameahabit.Then,somethingunexpectedhappened.Theparticipantsstartedlookingat theirentriesandfindingpatternstheydidn’tknowexisted.Somenoticedtheyalwaysseemedtosnackatabout10A.M.,sotheybegankeepinganappleorbananaontheirdesksformidmorningmunchies.Othersstartedusingtheirjournalstoplanfuturemenus,andwhendinnerrolledaround,theyatethehealthymealtheyhadwrittendown,ratherthanjunkfoodfromthefridge.

Theresearchershadn’tsuggestedanyof thesebehaviors.Theyhadsimplyaskedeveryonetowritedownwhattheyateonceaweek.Butthiskeystonehabit—food journaling—createda structure thathelpedotherhabits to flourish.Sixmonths into the study, people who kept daily food records had lost twice asmuchweightaseveryoneelse.

“Afterawhile,thejournalgotinsidemyhead,”onepersontoldme.4.25“Istartedthinkingaboutmealsdifferently.Itgavemeasystemforthinkingaboutfoodwithoutbecomingdepressed.”

SomethingsimilarhappenedatAlcoaafterO’Neill tookover.Justasfoodjournalsprovidedastructureforotherhabitstoflourish,O’Neill’ssafetyhabitscreatedanatmosphereinwhichotherbehaviorsemerged.Earlyon,O’Neilltooktheunusual stepoforderingAlcoa’soffices around theworld to linkup in anelectronic network. This was in the early 1980s, when large, internationalnetworks weren’t usually connected to people’s desktop computers. O’Neilljustifiedhisorderbyarguingthatitwasessentialtocreateareal-timesafetydatasystem that managers could use to share suggestions. As a result, Alcoadevelopedoneofthefirstgenuinelyworldwidecorporateemailsystems.

O’Neillloggedoneverymorningandsentmessagestomakesureeveryoneelsewasloggedonaswell.Atfirst,peopleusedthenetworkprimarilytodiscusssafety issues. Then, as email habits became more ingrained and comfortable,theystartedpostinginformationonallkindsofothertopics,suchaslocalmarketconditions, salesquotas, andbusinessproblems.High-rankingexecutiveswererequired to send ina report everyFriday,whichanyone in thecompanycouldread.Amanager inBrazil used the network to send a colleague inNewYorkdataonchangesinthepriceofsteel.TheNewYorkertookthatinformationandturnedaquickprofitforthecompanyonWallStreet.Prettysoon,everyonewas

using the system to communicate about everything. “I would send in myaccident report, and I knew everyone else read it, so I figured,why not sendpricinginformation,orintelligenceonothercompanies?”onemanagertoldme.“Itwaslikewehaddiscoveredasecretweapon.Thecompetitioncouldn’tfigureouthowweweredoingit.”

When the Web blossomed, Alcoa was perfectly positioned to takeadvantage. O’Neill’s keystone habit—worker safety—had created a platformthatencouragedanotherpractice—email—yearsaheadofcompetitors.

By 1996, Paul O’Neill had been at Alcoa for almost a decade. Hisleadershiphadbeen studiedby theHarvardBusinessSchool and theKennedySchool of Government. He was regularlymentioned as a potential commercesecretaryorsecretaryofdefense.Hisemployeesandtheunionsgavehimhighmarks.Underhiswatch,Alcoa’sstockpricehadrisenmorethan200percent.Hewas,atlast,auniversallyacknowledgedsuccess.

InMay of that year, at a shareholdermeeting in downtown Pittsburgh, aBenedictine nun stoodupduring the question-and-answer session and accusedO’Neill of lying. Sister Mary Margaret represented a social advocacy groupconcernedaboutwagesandconditions insideanAlcoaplant inCiudadAcuña,Mexico.Shesaid thatwhileO’NeillextolledAlcoa’ssafetymeasures,workersinMexicowerebecomingsickbecauseofdangerousfumes.

“It’suntrue,”O’Neilltoldtheroom.Onhislaptop,hepulledupthesafetyrecords from the Mexican plant. “See?” he said, showing the room its highscoresonsafety,environmentalcompliance,andemployeesatisfactionsurveys.Theexecutiveinchargeofthefacility,RobertBarton,wasoneofAlcoa’smostsenior managers. He had been with the company for decades and wasresponsibleforsomeoftheirlargestpartnerships.Thenunsaidthattheaudienceshouldn’ttrustO’Neill.Shesatdown.

After the meeting, O’Neill asked her to come to his office. The nun’sreligiousorderownedfiftyAlcoashares,andformonths theyhadbeenaskingfor a shareholder vote on a resolution to review the company’s Mexicanoperations. O’Neill asked Sister Mary if she had been to any of the plantsherself. No, she told him. To be safe, O’Neill asked the company’s head ofhumanresourcesandgeneralcounseltoflytoMexicotoseewhatwasgoingon.

Whentheexecutivesarrived,theypokedthroughtheAcuñaplant’srecords,andfoundreportsofanincidentthathadneverbeensenttoheadquarters.Afewmonths earlier, there had been a buildup of fumeswithin a building. Itwas arelativelyminorevent.Theplant’sexecutive,Barton,hadinstalledventilatorstoremovethegases.Thepeoplewhohadbecomeillhadfullyrecoveredwithinadayortwo.

ButBartonhadneverreportedtheillnesses.When the executives returned to Pittsburgh and presented their findings,

O’Neillhadaquestion.“DidBobBartonknowthatpeoplehadgottensick?”“Wedidn’tmeetwithhim,”theyanswered.“But,yeah, it’sprettyclearhe

knew.”Twodayslater,Bartonwasfired.Theexitshockedoutsiders.Bartonhadbeenmentionedinarticlesasoneof

thecompany’smostvaluableexecutives.Hisdeparturewasablowtoimportantjointventures.

WithinAlcoa,however,noonewassurprised.ItwasseenasaninevitableextensionoftheculturethatO’Neillhadbuilt.

“Bartonfiredhimself,”oneofhiscolleaguestoldme.“Therewasn’tevenachoicethere.”

Thisisthefinalwaythatkeystonehabitsencouragewidespreadchange:bycreating cultures where new values become ingrained. Keystone habits maketoughchoices—suchasfiringatopexecutive—easier,becausewhenthatpersonviolatestheculture,it’scleartheyhavetogo.Sometimestheseculturesmanifestthemselvesinspecialvocabularies,theuseofwhichbecomes,itself,ahabitthatdefinesanorganization.AtAlcoa,forinstance,therewere“CorePrograms”and“Safety Philosophies,” phrases that acted like suitcases, containing wholeconversationsaboutpriorities,goals,andwaysofthinking.

“Itmighthavebeenhardatanothercompanytofiresomeonewhohadbeenthere so long,”O’Neill toldme. “Itwasn’t hard forme. Itwas clearwhatourvaluesdictated.Hegotfiredbecausehedidn’treporttheincident,andsonooneelsehadtheopportunitytolearnfromit.Notsharinganopportunitytolearnisacardinalsin.”

Cultures grow out of the keystone habits in every organization, whetherleaders are aware of them or not. For instance, when researchers studied anincoming class of cadets at West Point, they measured their grade pointaverages, physical aptitude, military abilities, and self-discipline. When they

correlated those factors with whether students dropped out or graduated,however, they found that all of them mattered less than a factor researchersreferred to as “grit,”which theydefined as the tendency towork “strenuouslytoward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure,adversity,andplateausinprogress.”4.26,4.27

What’s most interesting about grit is how it emerges. It grows out of aculturethatcadetscreateforthemselves,andthatcultureoftenemergesbecauseofkeystonehabitstheyadoptatWestPoint.“There’ssomuchaboutthisschoolthat’s hard,” one cadet toldme. “They call the first summer ‘BeastBarracks,’becausetheywanttogrindyoudown.Tonsofpeoplequitbeforetheschoolyearstarts.

“But I found this group of guys in the first couple of days here, andwestartedthisthingwhere,everymorning,wegettogethertomakesureeveryoneisfeelingstrong.IgotothemifI’mfeelingworriedordown,andIknowthey’llpumpmebackup.There’sonlynineofus,andwecallourselvesthemusketeers.Withoutthem,Idon’tthinkIwouldhavelastedamonthhere.”

Cadets who are successful atWest Point arrive at the school armedwithhabitsofmentalandphysicaldiscipline.Thoseassets,however,onlycarryyousofar.Tosucceed,theyneedakeystonehabitthatcreatesaculture—suchasadaily gathering of like-minded friends—to help find the strength to overcomeobstacles.Keystonehabitstransformusbycreatingculturesthatmakeclearthevalues that, in the heat of a difficult decision or amoment of uncertainty,wemightotherwiseforget.

In2000,O’NeillretiredfromAlcoa,andattherequestofthenewlyelectedpresidentGeorgeW.Bush,becamesecretaryof the treasury.1He left thatposttwo years later, and today spendsmost of his time teaching hospitals how tofocusonworkersafetyandkeystonehabitsthatcanlowermedicalerrorrates,aswellasservingonvariouscorporateboards.

Companies and organizations across America, in the meantime, haveembracedtheideaofusingkeystonehabitstoremakeworkplaces.AtIBM,forinstance,LouGerstnerrebuiltthefirmbyinitiallyconcentratingononekeystonehabit:IBM’sresearchandsellingroutines.AttheconsultingfirmMcKinsey&Company, a culture of continuous improvement is created through a keystone

habitofwide-ranginginternalcritiquesthatareatthecoreofeveryassignment.Within Goldman Sachs, a keystone habit of risk assessment undergirds everydecision.

AndatAlcoa,O’Neill’slegacyliveson.Eveninhisabsence,theinjuryratehascontinuedtodecline.In2010,82percentofAlcoalocationsdidn’tloseoneemployeedayduetoinjury,closetoanall-timehigh.Onaverage,workersaremorelikelytogetinjuredatasoftwarecompany,animatingcartoonsformoviestudios, or doing taxes as an accountant than handling molten aluminum atAlcoa.

“When I was made a plant manager,” said Jeff Shockey, the Alcoaexecutive, “the first day I pulled into the parking lot I saw all these parkingspacesnearthefrontdoorswithpeople’stitlesonthem.Theheadguyforthisorthat.Peoplewhowereimportantgotthebestparkingspots.ThefirstthingIdidwastellamaintenancemanagertopaintoverallthetitles.Iwantedwhoevergottowork earliest toget thebest spot.Everyoneunderstood themessage:Everyperson matters. It was an extension of what Paul was doing around workersafety.Itelectrifiedtheplant.Prettysoon,everyonewasgettingtoworkearliereachday.”

1O’Neill’stenureatTreasurywasnotassuccessfulashiscareeratAlcoa.Almost immediately after taking office he began focusing on a couple of keyissues, including worker safety, job creation, executive accountability, andfightingAfricanpoverty,amongotherinitiatives.

However,O’Neill’s politics did not line upwith those of PresidentBush,and he launched an internal fight opposingBush’s proposed tax cuts.Hewasasked to resign at the end of 2002. “What I thought was the right thing foreconomic policywas the opposite ofwhat theWhiteHousewanted,”O’Neilltoldme.“That’snotgoodforatreasurysecretary,soIgotfired.”

STARBUCKSANDTHEHABITOFSUCCESS

WhenWillpowerBecomesAutomaticI.

ThefirsttimeTravisLeachsawhisfatheroverdose,hewasnineyearsold.Hisfamilyhadjustmovedintoasmallapartmentattheendofanalleyway,thelatestinaseeminglyendlessseriesofrelocationsthathadmostrecentlycausedthem to abandon their previous home in the middle of the night, throwingeverything they owned into black garbage bags after receiving an evictionnotice.Toomanypeoplecomingandgoing too lateatnight, the landlordsaid.Toomuchnoise.

Sometimes,athisoldhouse,Traviswouldcomehomefromschoolandfindthe rooms neatly cleaned, leftovers meticulously wrapped in the fridge andpacketsofhotsauceandketchupinTupperwarecontainers.Heknewthismeanthisparentshad temporarilyabandonedheroin forcrankandspent theday inacleaningfrenzy.Thoseusuallyendedbadly.Travisfeltsaferwhenthehousewasmessy and his parents were on the couch, their eyes half-lidded, watchingcartoons.Thereisnochaosattheendofaheroinfog.

Travis’sfatherwasagentlemanwholovedtocookand,exceptforastintinthe navy, spent his entire life within a few miles of his parents in Lodi,California. Travis’s mother, by the time everyone moved into the alleywayapartment, was in prison for heroin possession and prostitution. His parentswere, essentially, functional addicts and the family maintained a veneer ofnormalcy.TheywentcampingeverysummerandonmostFridaynightsattendedhissisterandbrother’ssoftballgames.WhenTraviswasfouryearsold,hewenttoDisneylandwithhisdadandwasphotographedforthefirsttimeinhislife,bya Disney employee. The family camera had been sold to a pawn shop yearsbefore.

Onthemorningoftheoverdose,Travisandhisbrotherwereplayinginthelivingroomontopofblanketstheylaidoutontheflooreachnightforsleeping.Travis’s fatherwas getting ready tomake pancakeswhen he stepped into thebathroom. He was carrying the tube sock that contained his needle, spoon,lighter, and cotton swabs. A few moments later, he came out, opened therefrigeratortogettheeggs,andcrashedtothefloor.Whenthekidsranaroundthecorner,theirfatherwasconvulsing,hisfaceturningblue.

Travis’ssiblingshadseenanoverdosebeforeandknewthedrill.Hisbrotherrolledhimontohisside.Hissisteropenedhismouthtomakesurehewouldn’tchokeonhistongue,andtoldTravistorunnextdoor,asktousetheneighbor’sphone,anddial911.

“My name is Travis, my dad is passed out, and we don’t know whathappened.He’snotbreathing,”Travis lied to thepoliceoperator.Evenatnineyearsold,heknewwhyhisfatherwasunconscious.Hedidn’twanttosayitin

front of theneighbor.Threeyears earlier, oneof his dad’s friendshaddied intheirbasementaftershootingup.Whentheparamedicshadtakenthebodyaway,neighborsgawkedatTravisandhissisterwhiletheyheldthedooropenforthegurney.Oneoftheneighborshadacousinwhosesonwasinhisclass,andsooneveryoneinschoolhadknown.

Afterhangingupthephone,Traviswalkedto theendof thealleywayandwaited for the ambulance.His fatherwas treated at the hospital thatmorning,chargedatthepolicestationintheafternoon,andhomeagainbydinnertime.Hemadespaghetti.Travisturnedtenafewweekslater.

WhenTraviswas sixteen, he dropped out of high school. “Iwas tired ofbeing called a faggot,” he said, “tired of people following me home andthrowingthingsatme.Everythingseemedreallyoverwhelming.Itwaseasiertoquitandgosomewhereelse.”Hemovedtwohourssouth, toFresno,andgotajobatacarwash.Hewasfiredforinsubordination.HegotjobsatMcDonald’sand Hollywood Video, but when customers were rude—“I wanted ranchdressing,youmoron!”—hewouldlosecontrol.

“Get out of my drive-through!” he shouted at one woman, throwing thechickennuggetsathercarbeforehismanagerpulledhiminside.

Sometimeshe’dgetsoupset thathewouldstartcrying in themiddleofashift.Hewasoftenlate,orhe’dtakeadayofffornoreason.Inthemorning,hewouldyellathisreflectioninthemirror,orderhimselftobebetter,tosuckitup.Buthecouldn’tgetalongwithpeople,andhewasn’tstrongenoughtoweatherthesteadydripofcriticismsandindignities.Whenthelineathisregisterwouldget too long and themanagerwould shout at him, Travis’s handswould startshakingandhe’d feel likehecouldn’t catchhisbreath.Hewondered if this iswhat his parents felt like, so defenseless against life, when they started usingdrugs.

One day, a regular customer at Hollywood Video who’d gotten to knowTravisalittlebitsuggestedhethinkaboutworkingatStarbucks.“We’reopeninganewstoreonFortWashington,andI’mgoingtobeanassistantmanager,”theman said. “You should apply.” A month later, Travis was a barista on themorningshift.

Thatwassixyearsago.Today,attwenty-five,Travisisthemanageroftwo

Starbuckswhere he oversees forty employees and is responsible for revenuesexceeding$2millionperyear.Hissalaryis$44,000andhehasa401(k)andnodebt.He’sneverlatetowork.Hedoesnotgetupsetonthejob.Whenoneofhisemployeesstartedcryingafteracustomerscreamedather,Travistookheraside.

“Yourapron isashield,”he toldher.“Nothinganyonesayswilleverhurtyou.Youwillalwaysbeasstrongasyouwanttobe.”

He picked up that lecture in one of his Starbucks training courses, aneducation program that began on his first day and continues throughout anemployee’s career. The program is sufficiently structured that he can earncollege credits by completing the modules. The training has, Travis says,changedhislife.Starbuckshastaughthimhowtolive,howtofocus,howtogettoworkontime,andhowtomasterhisemotions.Mostcrucially, ithas taughthimwillpower.

“Starbucks is themost important thing that has everhappened tome,”hetoldme.“Ioweeverythingtothiscompany.”

For Travis and thousands of others, Starbucks—like a handful of othercompanies—has succeeded in teaching the kind of life skills that schools,families, and communities have failed to provide. With more than 137,000current employees and more than one million alumni, Starbucks is now, in asense,oneofthenation’slargesteducators.Allofthoseemployees,intheirfirstyearalone,spentatleastfiftyhoursinStarbucksclassrooms,anddozensmoreathomewithStarbucks’workbooksandtalkingtotheStarbucksmentorsassignedtothem.

Atthecoreofthateducationisanintensefocusonanall-importanthabit:willpower.Dozensofstudiesshowthatwillpower is thesinglemost importantkeystone habit for individual success.5.1 In a 2005 study, for instance,researchers from the University of Pennsylvania analyzed 164 eighth-gradestudents,measuringtheirIQsandotherfactors,includinghowmuchwillpowerthestudentsdemonstrated,asmeasuredbytestsoftheirself-discipline.

Students who exerted high levels of willpower were more likely to earnhigher grades in their classes and gain admission intomore selective schools.Theyhadfewerabsencesandspentlesstimewatchingtelevisionandmorehourson homework. “Highly self-disciplined adolescents outperformed their more

impulsive peers on every academic-performance variable,” the researcherswrote.“Self-disciplinepredictedacademicperformancemorerobustly thandidIQ. Self-discipline also predicted which students would improve their gradesover thecourseof theschoolyear,whereas IQdidnot.…Self-disciplinehasabiggereffectonacademicperformancethandoesintellectualtalent.”5.2

Andthebestwaytostrengthenwillpowerandgivestudentsalegup,studiesindicate, is tomake it intoahabit. “Sometimes it looks likepeoplewithgreatself-controlaren’tworkinghard—butthat’sbecausethey’vemadeitautomatic,”AngelaDuckworth,oneof theUniversityofPennsylvaniaresearchers toldme.“Theirwillpoweroccurswithoutthemhavingtothinkaboutit.”

For Starbucks, willpower is more than an academic curiosity. When thecompanybeganplottingitsmassivegrowthstrategyinthelate1990s,executivesrecognizedthatsuccessrequiredcultivatinganenvironmentthatjustifiedpayingfour dollars for a fancy cup of coffee. The company needed to train itsemployees to deliver a bit of joy alongside lattes and scones. So early on,Starbucksstartedresearchinghowtheycouldteachemployeestoregulatetheiremotions andmarshal their self-discipline todeliver aburst ofpepwith everyserving. Unless baristas are trained to put aside their personal problems, theemotionsofsomeemployeeswillinevitablyspillintohowtheytreatcustomers.However,ifaworkerknowshowtoremainfocusedanddisciplined,evenattheendofaneight-hourshift,they’lldeliverthehigherclassoffastfoodservicethatStarbuckscustomersexpect.

The company spent millions of dollars developing curriculums to trainemployeesonself-discipline.Executiveswroteworkbooksthat, ineffect,serveas guides to how to make willpower a habit in workers’ lives.5.3 Thosecurriculums are, in part, why Starbucks has grown from a sleepy Seattlecompany into a behemoth with more than seventeen thousand stores andrevenuesofmorethan$10billionayear.

SohowdoesStarbucksdoit?HowdotheytakepeoplelikeTravis—thesonof drug addicts and a high school dropout who couldn’t muster enough self-controltoholddownajobatMcDonald’s—andteachhimtooverseedozensofemployees and tens of thousands of dollars in revenue each month? What,precisely,didTravislearn?

II.Everyone who walked into the room where the experiment was being

conductedatCaseWesternReserveUniversityagreedononething:Thecookiessmelleddelicious.Theyhadjustcomeoutoftheovenandwerepiledinabowl,oozing with chocolate chips. On the table next to the cookies was a bowl of

radishes.Alldaylong,hungrystudentswalkedin,satinfrontofthetwofoods,andsubmitted,unknowingly, toa testof theirwillpower thatwouldupendourunderstandingofhowself-disciplineworks.

At the time, there was relatively little academic scrutiny into willpower.Psychologists considered such subjects to be aspects of something they called“self-regulation,”butitwasn’tafieldthatinspiredgreatcuriosity.Therewasonefamousexperiment,conductedinthe1960s,inwhichscientistsatStanfordhadtestedthewillpowerofagroupoffour-year-olds.Thekidswerebroughtintoaroom and presented with a selection of treats, includingmarshmallows. Theywere offered a deal: They could eat onemarshmallow right away, or, if theywaitedafewminutes,theycouldhavetwomarshmallows.Thentheresearcherlefttheroom.Somekidsgaveintotemptationandatethemarshmallowassoonas theadult left.About30percentmanaged to ignore theirurges,anddoubledtheirtreatswhentheresearchercamebackfifteenminuteslater.Scientists,whowerewatchingeverything frombehinda two-waymirror,keptcareful trackofwhichkidshadenoughself-controltoearnthesecondmarshmallow.

Years later, they tracked downmany of the study’s participants. By now,they were in high school. The researchers asked about their grades and SATscores,abilitytomaintainfriendships,andtheircapacityto“copewithimportantproblems.”Theydiscoveredthatthefour-year-oldswhocoulddelaygratificationthelongestendedupwiththebestgradesandwithSATscores210pointshigher,onaverage,thaneveryoneelse.Theyweremorepopularanddidfewerdrugs.Ifyou knew how to avoid the temptation of amarshmallow as a preschooler, itseemed, you also knew how to get yourself to class on time and finish yourhomeworkonceyougotolder, aswell ashow tomake friends and resistpeerpressure. Itwas as if themarshmallow-ignoring kids had self-regulatory skillsthatgavethemanadvantagethroughouttheirlives.5.4

Scientistsbeganconductingrelatedexperiments,tryingtofigureouthowtohelp kids increase their self-regulatory skills. They learned that teaching themsimpletricks—suchasdistractingthemselvesbydrawingapicture,orimaginingaframearoundthemarshmallow,soitseemedmorelikeaphotoandlesslikearealtemptation—helpedthemlearnself-control.Bythe1980s,atheoryemergedthat becamegenerally accepted:Willpower is a learnable skill, something thatcan be taught the sameway kids learn to domath and say “thank you.” Butfundingfortheseinquirieswasscarce.Thetopicofwillpowerwasn’tinvogue.ManyoftheStanfordscientistsmovedontootherareasofresearch.

WHENKIDSLEARNHABITSFORDELAYINGTHEIRCRAVINGS…

THOSEHABITSSPILLOVERTOOTHERPARTSOFLIFEHowever,whenagroupofpsychologyPhDcandidatesatCaseWestern—

including one named Mark Muraven—discovered those studies in the mid-nineties, they started asking questions the previous research didn’t seem toanswer. To Muraven, this model of willpower-as-skill wasn’t a satisfyingexplanation.Askill,afterall,issomethingthatremainsconstantfromdaytoday.IfyouhavetheskilltomakeanomeletonWednesday,you’llstillknowhowtomakeitonFriday.

In Muraven’s experience, though, it felt like he forgot how to exertwillpower all the time. Some evenings he would come home from work andhavenoproblemgoingforajog.Otherdays,hecouldn’tdoanythingbesideslieonthecouchandwatchtelevision.Itwasasifhisbrain—or,atleast,thatpartofhisbrain responsible formakinghimexercise—had forgottenhow to summonthewillpowertopushhimoutthedoor.Somedays,heatehealthily.Otherdays,when he was tired, he raided the vending machines and stuffed himself withcandyandchips.

If willpower is a skill, Muraven wondered, then why doesn’t it remainconstant fromday today?Hesuspected therewasmore towillpower than theearlierexperimentshadrevealed.Buthowdoyoutestthatinalaboratory?

Muraven’s solution was the lab containing one bowl of freshly bakedcookiesandonebowlofradishes.Theroomwasessentiallyaclosetwithatwo-waymirror, outfitted with a table, a wooden chair, a hand bell, and a toasteroven.Sixty-sevenundergraduateswererecruitedandtoldtoskipameal.Onebyone,theundergradssatinfrontofthetwobowls.

“Thepointofthisexperimentistotesttasteperceptions,”aresearchertold

eachstudent,whichwasuntrue.Thepointwastoforcestudents—butonlysomestudents—to exert their willpower. To that end, half the undergraduates wereinstructedtoeatthecookiesandignoretheradishes;theotherhalfweretoldtoeat the radishes and ignore the cookies. Muraven’s theory was that ignoringcookiesishard—ittakeswillpower.Ignoringradishes,ontheotherhand,hardlyrequiresanyeffortatall.

“Remember,”theresearchersaid,“eatonlythefoodthathasbeenassignedtoyou.”Thenshelefttheroom.

Once the students were alone, they started munching. The cookie eaterswere inheaven.The radisheaterswere inagony.Theyweremiserable forcingthemselves to ignore the warm cookies. Through the two-way mirror, theresearcherswatchedoneoftheradisheaterspickupacookie,smellitlongingly,andthenputitbackinthebowl.Anothergrabbedafewcookies,putthemdown,andthenlickedmeltedchocolateoffhisfingers.

After five minutes, the researcher reentered the room. By Muraven’sestimation,theradisheaters’willpowerhadbeenthoroughlytaxedbyeatingthebittervegetableandignoringthetreats;thecookieeatershadhardlyusedanyoftheirself-discipline.

“Weneedtowaitaboutfifteenminutesforthesensorymemoryofthefoodyouatetofade,”theresearchertoldeachparticipant.Topassthetime,sheaskedthem to complete a puzzle. It looked fairly simple: trace a geometric patternwithout liftingyourpencil fromthepageorgoingover thesame line twice. Ifyou want to quit, the researcher said, ring the bell. She implied the puzzlewouldn’ttakelong.

Intruth,thepuzzlewasimpossibletosolve.Thispuzzlewasn’tawaytopasstime;itwasthemostimportantpartofthe

experiment. It took enormous willpower to keep working on the puzzle,particularly when each attempt failed. The scientists wondered, would thestudentswhohadalreadyexpendedtheirwillpowerbyignoringthecookiesgiveuponthepuzzlefaster?Inotherwords,waswillpowerafiniteresource?

From behind their two-way mirror, the researchers watched. The cookieeaters, with their unused reservoirs of self-discipline, started working on thepuzzle. In general, they looked relaxed. One of them tried a straightforwardapproach,hitaroadblock,andthenstartedagain.Andagain.Andagain.Someworkedforoverhalfanhourbeforetheresearchertoldthemtostop.Onaverage,thecookieeatersspentalmostnineteenminutesapiecetryingtosolvethepuzzlebeforetheyrangthebell.

Theradisheaters,withtheirdepletedwillpower,actedcompletelydifferent.

Theymuttered as they worked. They got frustrated. One complained that thewholeexperimentwasawasteoftime.Someofthemputtheirheadsonthetableandclosedtheireyes.Onesnappedattheresearcherwhenshecamebackin.Onaverage, theradisheatersworkedforonlyabouteightminutes,60percent lesstimethanthecookieeaters,beforequitting.Whentheresearcheraskedafterwardhow they felt, one of the radish eaters said he was “sick of this dumbexperiment.”

“Bymakingpeopleusealittlebitoftheirwillpowertoignorecookies,wehadputthemintoastatewheretheywerewillingtoquitmuchfaster,”Muraventoldme.“There’sbeenmore than twohundredstudieson this ideasince then,andthey’veallfoundthesamething.Willpowerisn’tjustaskill.It’samuscle,like themuscles in your arms or legs, and it gets tired as itworks harder, sothere’slesspowerleftoverforotherthings.”

Researchers have built on this finding to explain all sorts of phenomena.Somehavesuggestedithelpsclarifywhyotherwisesuccessfulpeoplesuccumbtoextramaritalaffairs(whicharemostlikelytostartlateatnightafteralongdayof using willpower at work) or why good physicians make dumb mistakes(whichmostoftenoccurafteradoctorhasfinishedalong,complicatedtaskthatrequiresintensefocus).5.5“Ifyouwanttodosomethingthatrequireswillpower—likegoingforarunafterwork—youhavetoconserveyourwillpowermuscleduring theday,”Muraven toldme.“Ifyouuse itup tooearlyon tedious taskslikewritingemailsorfillingoutcomplicatedandboringexpenseforms,allthestrengthwillbegonebythetimeyougethome.”5.6

Buthow fardoes this analogyextend?Will exercisingwillpowermusclesmakethemstrongerthesamewayusingdumbbellsstrengthenbiceps?

In2006,twoAustralianresearchers—MeganOatenandKenCheng—triedto answer that question by creating a willpower workout. They enrolled twodozen people between the ages of eighteen and fifty in a physical exerciseprogram and, over two months, put them through an increasing number ofweight lifting, resistance training, and aerobic routines.5.7 Week after week,people forced themselves to exercise more frequently, using more and morewillpowereachtimetheyhitthegym.

After twomonths, the researchers scrutinized the rest of the participants’

lives to see if increasedwillpower at the gym resulted in greaterwillpower athome. Before the experiment began, most of the subjects were self-professedcouch potatoes. Now, of course, they were in better physical shape. But theywerealsohealthierinotherpartsoftheirlives,aswell.Themoretimetheyspentatthegym,thefewercigarettestheysmokedandthelessalcohol,caffeine,andjunk food they consumed.Theywere spendingmore hours on homework andfewerwatchingTV.Theywerelessdepressed.

Maybe,Oaten andChengwondered, those results had nothing to dowithwillpower.What ifexercise justmakespeoplehappierandlesshungryforfastfood?

Sotheydesignedanotherexperiment.5.8This time, theysignedup twenty-nine people for a four-month money management program. They set savingsgoals and asked participants to deny themselves luxuries, such as meals atrestaurants or movies. Participants were asked to keep detailed logs ofeverything they bought, which was annoying at first, but eventually peopleworkeduptheself-disciplinetojotdowneverypurchase.

People’sfinancesimprovedastheyprogressedthroughtheprogram.Moresurprising,theyalsosmokedfewercigarettesanddranklessalcoholandcaffeine—onaverage,twofewercupsofcoffee,twofewerbeers,and,amongsmokers,fifteen fewer cigarettes each day.5.9 They ate less junk food and were moreproductive at work and school. It was like the exercise study: As peoplestrengthenedtheirwillpowermusclesinonepartoftheirlives—inthegym,oramoneymanagement program—that strength spilled over intowhat they ate orhowhardtheyworked.Oncewillpowerbecamestronger,ittouchedeverything.

Oaten and Cheng did one more experiment. They enrolled forty-fivestudents in an academic improvement program that focused on creating studyhabits.5.10 Predictably, participants’ learning skills improved.And the studentsalso smoked less, drank less,watched less television, exercisedmore, and atehealthier, even though all those thingswere nevermentioned in the academicprogram.Again,astheirwillpowermusclesstrengthened,goodhabitsseemedtospilloverintootherpartsoftheirlives.

“Whenyoulearntoforceyourselftogotothegymorstartyourhomeworkor eat a salad instead of a hamburger, part ofwhat’s happening is that you’rechanginghowyouthink,”saidToddHeatherton,aresearcheratDartmouthwhohas worked on willpower studies.5.11 “People get better at regulating theirimpulses. They learn how to distract themselves from temptations. And onceyou’vegottenintothatwillpowergroove,yourbrainispracticedathelpingyoufocusonagoal.”

There are now hundreds of researchers, at nearly everymajor university,studying willpower. Public and charter schools in Philadelphia, Seattle, NewYork,andelsewherehavestartedincorporatingwillpower-strengtheninglessonsintocurriculums.AtKIPP,orthe“KnowledgeIsPowerProgram”—acollectionofcharterschoolsservinglow-incomestudentsacrossthenation—teachingself-control ispartof theschools’philosophy.(AKIPPschool inPhiladelphiagavestudents shirts proclaiming “Don’t Eat the Marshmallow.”) Many of theseschoolshavedramaticallyraisedstudents’testscores.5.12

“That’swhysigningkidsupforpiano lessonsorsports isso important. Ithasnothingtodowithcreatingagoodmusicianorafive-year-oldsoccerstar,”saidHeatherton.“Whenyoulearntoforceyourselftopracticeforanhourorrunfifteenlaps,youstartbuildingself-regulatorystrength.Afive-year-oldwhocanfollow the ball for ten minutes becomes a sixth grader who can start hishomeworkontime.”5.13

Asresearchonwillpowerhasbecomeahottopicinscientificjournalsandnewspaperarticles,ithasstartedtotrickleintocorporateAmerica.FirmssuchasStarbucks—andtheGap,Walmart,restaurants,oranyotherbusinessthatreliesonentry-levelworkers—allfaceacommonproblem:Nomatterhowmuchtheiremployees want to do a great job, many will fail because they lack self-discipline.Theyshowuplate.Theysnapatrudecustomers.Theygetdistractedordrawnintoworkplacedramas.Theyquitfornoreason.

“For a lot of employees, Starbucks is their first professional experience,”saidChristineDeputy,whohelpedoverseethecompany’strainingprogramsformorethanadecade.“Ifyourparentsorteachershavebeentellingyouwhattodoyourentirelife,andsuddenlycustomersareyellingandyourbossistoobusytogiveyouguidance,itcanbereallyoverwhelming.Alotofpeoplecan’tmakethetransition.Sowetrytofigureouthowtogiveouremployeestheself-disciplinetheydidn’tlearninhighschool.”

But when companies like Starbucks tried to apply the willpower lessonsfrom the radish-and-cookie studies to the workplace, they encountereddifficulties.Theysponsoredweight-lossclassesandofferedemployeesfreegymmemberships,hopingthebenefitswouldspillovertohowtheyservedcoffee.5.14Attendancewasspotty.Itwashardtosit throughaclassorhit thegymafterafull day at work, employees complained. “If someone has trouble with self-discipline at work, they’re probably also going to have trouble attending aprogramdesignedtostrengthentheirself-disciplineafterwork,”Muravensaid.

ButStarbuckswasdetermined to solve thisproblem.By2007,during theheightof itsexpansion, thecompanywasopeningsevennewstoreseveryday

andhiringasmanyasfifteenhundredemployeeseachweek.5.15Training themtoexcelatcustomerservice—toshowupon timeandnotgetangryatpatronsand serve everyonewith a smilewhile remembering customers’ orders and, ifpossible,theirnames—wasessential.Peopleexpectanexpensivelattedeliveredwithabitofsparkle.“We’renotinthecoffeebusinessservingpeople,”HowardBehar,theformerpresidentofStarbucks,toldme.“We’reinthepeoplebusinessservingcoffee.Ourentirebusinessmodelisbasedonfantasticcustomerservice.Withoutthat,we’retoast.”

The solution, Starbucks discovered, was turning self-discipline into anorganizationalhabit.

III.In 1992, a British psychologist walked into two of Scotland’s busiest

orthopedic hospitals and recruited five-dozen patients for an experiment shehoped would explain how to boost the willpower of people exceptionallyresistanttochange.5.16

Thepatients,onaverage,were sixty-eightyearsold.Mostof themearnedlessthan$10,000ayearanddidn’thavemorethanahighschooldegree.Allofthemhadrecentlyundergonehiporkneereplacementsurgeries,butbecausetheywererelativelypooranduneducated,manyhadwaitedyearsfortheiroperations.Theywereretirees,elderlymechanics,andstoreclerks.Theywereinlife’sfinalchapters,andmosthadnodesiretopickupanewbook.

Recoveringfromahiporkneesurgeryisincrediblyarduous.Theoperationinvolvesseveringjointmusclesandsawingthroughbones.Whilerecovering,thesmallest movements—shifting in bed or flexing a joint—can be excruciating.However, it is essential that patients begin exercising almost as soon as theywake from surgery. They must begin moving their legs and hips before themuscles and skin have healed, or scar tissuewill clog the joint, destroying itsflexibility. In addition, if patients don’t start exercising, they risk developingbloodclots.Buttheagonyissoextremethatit’snotunusualforpeopletoskipoutonrehabsessions.Patients,particularlyelderlyones,oftenrefusetocomplywithdoctors’orders.

TheScottishstudy’sparticipantswerethetypesofpeoplemostlikelytofailatrehabilitation.Thescientistconductingtheexperimentwantedtoseeifitwaspossible tohelp themharness theirwillpower.Shegaveeachpatientabookletafter their surgeries that detailed their rehab schedule, and in the back werethirteen additional pages—one for each week—with blank spaces andinstructions: “My goals for this week are __________ ? Write down exactlywhatyouaregoing todo.Forexample, ifyouaregoing togo forawalk this

week,writedownwhereandwhenyouaregoingtowalk.”Sheaskedpatientstofillineachofthosepageswithspecificplans.Thenshecomparedtherecoveriesofthosewhowroteoutgoalswiththoseofpatientswhohadreceivedthesamebooklets,butdidn’twriteanything.

It seems absurd to think that giving people a few pieces of blank papermightmakeadifferenceinhowquicklytheyrecoverfromsurgery.Butwhentheresearchervisitedthepatientsthreemonthslater,shefoundastrikingdifferencebetweenthetwogroups.Thepatientswhohadwrittenplansintheirbookletshadstartedwalkingalmost twiceasfastas theoneswhohadnot.Theyhadstartedgetting in and out of their chairs, unassisted, almost three times as fast. Theywere putting on their shoes, doing the laundry, andmaking themselvesmealsquickerthanthepatientswhohadn’tscribbledoutgoalsaheadoftime.

The psychologist wanted to understand why. She examined the booklets,and discovered thatmost of the blank pages had been filled in with specific,detailed plans about the most mundane aspects of recovery. One patient, forexample, hadwritten, “Iwillwalk to thebus stop tomorrow tomeetmywifefromwork,”andthennotedwhattimehewouldleave,theroutehewouldwalk,whathewouldwear,whichcoathewouldbringifitwasraining,andwhatpillshewouldtakeifthepainbecametoomuch.Anotherpatient,inasimilarstudy,wrote a series of very specific schedules regarding the exercises hewould doeachtimehewenttothebathroom.Athirdwroteaminute-by-minuteitineraryforwalkingaroundtheblock.

Asthepsychologistscrutinizedthebooklets,shesawthatmanyoftheplanshad something in common: They focused on how patients would handle aspecificmomentofanticipatedpain.Themanwhoexercisedonthewaytothebathroom, for instance, knew that each time he stood up from the couch, theachewasexcruciating.Sohewroteoutaplanfordealingwithit:Automaticallytakethefirststep,rightaway,sohewouldn’tbetemptedtositdownagain.Thepatientwhomet hiswife at the bus stop dreaded the afternoons, because thatstrollwasthelongestandmostpainfuleachday.Sohedetailedeveryobstaclehemightconfront,andcameupwithasolutionaheadoftime.

Putanotherway,thepatients’planswerebuiltaroundinflectionpointswhentheyknewtheirpain—andthusthetemptationtoquit—wouldbestrongest.Thepatientsweretellingthemselveshowtheyweregoingtomakeitoverthehump.

Eachofthem,intuitively,employedthesamerulesthatClaudeHopkinshadused to sell Pepsodent.They identified simple cues and obvious rewards.Themanwhomethiswifeatthebusstop,forinstance,identifiedaneasycue—It’s3:30,she’sonherwayhome!—andheclearlydefinedhis reward—Honey, I’m

here!When the temptation togiveuphalfway through thewalk appeared, thepatientcouldignoreitbecausehehadcraftedself-disciplineintoahabit.

PATIENTS DESIGNED WILLPOWER HABITS TO HELP THEMOVERCOMEPAINFULINFLECTIONPOINTS

There’s no reasonwhy the other patients—the oneswho didn’t write outrecoveryplans—couldn’thavebehavedthesameway.Allthepatientshadbeenexposed to the same admonitions andwarnings at thehospital.They all knewexercisewasessentialfortheirrecovery.Theyallspentweeksinrehab.

But the patients who didn’t write out any plans were at a significantdisadvantage,becausetheyneverthoughtaheadabouthowtodealwithpainfulinflection points. They never deliberately designed willpower habits. Even iftheyintendedtowalkaroundtheblock,theirresolveabandonedthemwhentheyconfrontedtheagonyofthefirstfewsteps.

When Starbucks’s attempts at boosting workers’ willpower through gymmemberships and diet workshops faltered, executives decided they needed totakeanewapproach.Theystartedbylookingmorecloselyatwhatwasactuallyhappening inside their stores. They saw that, like the Scottish patients, theirworkers were failing when they ran up against inflection points. What theyneededwereinstitutionalhabitsthatmadeiteasiertomustertheirself-discipline.

Executives determined that, in some ways, they had been thinking aboutwillpower all wrong. Employees with willpower lapses, it turned out, had nodifficulty doing their jobsmost of the time.On the average day, awillpower-challenged worker was no different from anyone else. But sometimes,particularly when faced with unexpected stresses or uncertainties, thoseemployeeswouldsnapandtheirself-controlwouldevaporate.Acustomermightbegin yelling, for instance, and a normally calm employee would lose hercomposure. An impatient crowdmight overwhelm a barista, and suddenly hewasontheedgeoftears.5.17

What employees really needed were clear instructions about how to dealwith inflection points—something similar to the Scottish patients’ booklets: aroutineforemployeestofollowwhentheirwillpowermuscleswentlimp.5.18Sothe company developed new training materials that spelled out routines foremployeestousewhentheyhitroughpatches.Themanualstaughtworkershowtorespondtospecificcues,suchasascreamingcustomeroralonglineatacashregister.Managersdrilledemployees,role-playingwiththemuntiltheresponsesbecame automatic. The company identified specific rewards—a gratefulcustomer,praisefromamanager—thatemployeescouldlooktoasevidenceofajobwelldone.

Starbucks taught their employeeshow tohandlemoments of adversity bygivingthemwillpowerhabitloops.

WhenTravisstartedatStarbucks,forinstance,hismanagerintroducedhimtothehabitsrightaway.“Oneofthehardestthingsaboutthisjobisdealingwithanangrycustomer,”Travis’smanagertoldhim.“Whensomeonecomesupandstarts yelling at you because they got the wrong drink, what’s your firstreaction?”

“Idon’tknow,”Travissaid.“IguessIfeelkindofscared.Orangry.”“That’s natural,” his manager said. “But our job is to provide the best

customerservice,evenwhenthepressure’son.”ThemanagerflippedopentheStarbucksmanual,andshowedTravisapagethatwaslargelyblank.Atthetop,itread,“Whenacustomerisunhappy,myplanisto…”

“Thisworkbookisforyoutoimagineunpleasantsituations,andwriteoutaplanforresponding,”themanagersaid.“OneofthesystemsweuseiscalledtheLATTEmethod.WeListen to thecustomer,Acknowledge theircomplaint,Takeactionbysolvingtheproblem,Thankthem,andthenExplainwhytheproblemoccurred.5.19

THELATTEHABITLOOP“Whydon’tyoutakeafewminutes,andwriteoutaplanfordealingwithan

angrycustomer.UsetheLATTEmethod.Thenwecanrole-playalittlebit.”Starbucks has dozens of routines that employees are taught to use during

stressfulinflectionpoints.There’stheWhatWhatWhysystemofgivingcriticismand theConnect,Discover,andRespond system for takingorderswhen thingsbecome hectic. There are learned habits to help baristas tell the differencebetweenpatronswhojustwanttheircoffee(“Ahurriedcustomerspeakswithasenseofurgencyandmayseemimpatientorlookattheirwatch”)andthosewhoneedabitmorecoddling(“Aregularcustomerknowsotherbaristasbynameandnormallyordersthesamebeverageeachday”).Throughoutthetrainingmanualsaredozensofblankpageswhereemployeescanwriteoutplans thatanticipatehowtheywillsurmountinflectionpoints.Thentheypracticethoseplans,againandagain,untiltheybecomeautomatic.5.20

This is how willpower becomes a habit: by choosing a certain behavioraheadoftime,andthenfollowingthatroutinewhenaninflectionpointarrives.WhentheScottishpatientsfilledouttheirbooklets,orTravisstudiedtheLATTEmethod,theydecidedaheadoftimehowtoreacttoacue—apainfulmuscleoranangrycustomer.Whenthecuearrived,theroutineoccurred.

Starbucks isn’t the only company to use such training methods. Forinstance,atDeloitteConsulting, the largest taxandfinancialservicescompanyin the world, employees are trained in a curriculum named “Moments ThatMatter,”which focusesondealingwith inflectionpointssuchaswhenaclientcomplainsabout fees,whenacolleague is fired,orwhenaDeloitteconsultanthas made a mistake. For each of those moments, there are preprogrammedroutines—GetCurious,SayWhatNoOneElseWill,Applythe5/5/5Rule—thatguideemployeesinhowtheyshouldrespond.AttheContainerStore,employeesreceivemorethan185hoursoftrainingintheirfirstyearalone.Theyaretaughtto recognize inflection points such as an angry coworker or an overwhelmedcustomer, and habits, such as routines for calming shoppers or defusing aconfrontation. When a customer comes in who seems overwhelmed, forexample, an employee immediately asks them to visualize the space in theirhometheyarehopingtoorganize,anddescribehowthey’llfeelwheneverythingisinitsplace.“We’vehadcustomerscomeuptousandsay,‘Thisisbetterthanavisittomyshrink,’”thecompany’sCEOtoldareporter.5.21

IV.Howard Schultz, the man who built Starbucks into a colossus, isn’t so

differentfromTravisinsomeways.5.22HegrewupinapublichousingprojectinBrooklyn, sharinga two-bedroomapartmentwithhisparentsand twosiblings.Whenhewassevenyearsold,Schultz’sfatherbrokehisankleandlosthis jobdrivingadiaper truck.Thatwasall it took to throw the family intocrisis.Hisfather, after his ankle healed, began cycling through a series of lower-payingjobs.“Mydadneverfoundhisway,”Schultztoldme.“Isawhisself-esteemgetbattered.Ifeltliketherewassomuchmorehecouldhaveaccomplished.”

Schultz’s schoolwas awild, overcrowded placewith asphalt playgroundsand kids playing football, basketball, softball, punch ball, slap ball, and anyother game they could devise. If your team lost, it could take an hour to getanotherturn.SoSchultzmadesurehisteamalwayswon,nomatterthecost.Hewould come home with bloody scrapes on his elbows and knees, which hismotherwouldgentlyrinsewithawetcloth.“Youdon’tquit,”shetoldhim.

Hiscompetitivenessearnedhimacollegefootballscholarship(hebrokehisjawandneverplayedagame),acommunicationsdegree,andeventuallyajobasaXeroxsalesmaninNewYorkCity.He’dwakeupeverymorning,gotoanewmidtownofficebuilding,taketheelevatortothetopfloor,andgodoor-to-door,politelyinquiringifanyonewasinterestedintonerorcopymachines.Thenhe’dridetheelevatordownonefloorandstartalloveragain.

Bytheearly1980s,Schultzwasworkingforaplasticsmanufacturerwhenhe noticed that a little-known retailer in Seattle was ordering an inordinatenumberofcoffeedripcones.Schultzflewoutandfellinlovewiththecompany.Twoyearslater,whenheheardthatStarbucks,thenjustsixstores,wasforsale,heaskedeveryoneheknewformoneyandboughtit.

Thatwas1987.Withinthreeyears,therewereeighty-fourstores;withinsixyears,morethanathousand.Today,thereareseventeenthousandstoresinmorethanfiftycountries.

Why did Schultz turn out so different from all the other kids on thatplayground?SomeofhisoldclassmatesaretodaycopsandfiremeninBrooklyn.Othersareinprison.Schultzisworthmorethan$1billion.He’sbeenheraldedas one of the greatest CEOs of the twentieth century.Where did he find thedetermination—thewillpower—toclimbfromahousingprojecttoaprivatejet?

“Idon’treallyknow,”hetoldme.“Mymomalwayssaid,‘You’regoingtobe the first person to go to college, you’re going to be a professional, you’regoingtomakeusallproud.’Shewouldasktheselittlequestions,‘Howareyougoingtostudytonight?Whatareyougoingtodotomorrow?Howdoyouknowyou’rereadyforyourtest?’Ittrainedmetosetgoals.

“I’vebeenreallylucky,”hesaid.“AndIreally,genuinelybelievethatifyou

tellpeoplethattheyhavewhatittakestosucceed,they’llproveyouright.”Schultz’sfocusonemployeetrainingandcustomerservicemadeStarbucks

into one of the most successful companies in the world. For years, he waspersonally involved in almost every aspect of how the company was run. In2000, exhausted, he handed over day-to-day operations to other executives, atwhichpoint, Starbucks began to stumble.Within a fewyears, customerswerecomplaining about the quality of the drinks and customer service. Executives,focusedona franticexpansion,often ignored thecomplaints.Employeesgrewunhappy.SurveysindicatedpeoplewerestartingtoequateStarbuckswithtepidcoffeeandemptysmiles.

SoSchultzsteppedbackinto thechiefexecutiveposition in2008.Amonghis priorities was restructuring the company’s training program to renew itsfocusonavarietyofissues,includingbolsteringemployees’—or“partners,”inStarbucks’ lingo—willpower and self-confidence. “We had to start earningcustomerandpartnertrustagain,”Schultztoldme.

Ataboutthesametime,anewwaveofstudieswasappearingthatlookedatthescienceofwillpowerinaslightlydifferentway.Researchershadnoticedthatsomepeople, likeTravis,wereabletocreatewillpowerhabitsrelativelyeasily.Others, however, struggled, no matter how much training and support theyreceived.Whatwascausingthedifference?

MarkMuraven,whowasby thenaprofessorat theUniversityofAlbany,setupanewexperiment.5.23Heputundergraduates ina roomthatcontainedaplate of warm, fresh cookies and asked them to ignore the treats. Half theparticipantsweretreatedkindly.“Weaskthatyoupleasedon’teatthecookies.Isthatokay?”aresearchersaid.Shethendiscussedthepurposeoftheexperiment,explainingthatitwastomeasuretheirabilitytoresisttemptations.Shethankedthemforcontributingtheirtime.“Ifyouhaveanysuggestionsorthoughtsabouthowwecanimprovethisexperiment,pleaseletmeknow.Wewantyoutohelpusmakethisexperienceasgoodaspossible.”

Theotherhalfoftheparticipantsweren’tcoddledthesameway.Theyweresimplygivenorders.

“Youmustnoteatthecookies,”theresearchertoldthem.Shedidn’texplaintheexperiment’sgoals,complimentthem,orshowanyinterestintheirfeedback.Shetoldthemtofollowtheinstructions.“We’llstartnow,”shesaid.

The students from both groups had to ignore the warm cookies for fiveminutesaftertheresearcherlefttheroom.Nonegaveintotemptation.

Thentheresearcherreturned.Sheaskedeachstudenttolookatacomputermonitor. Itwasprogrammedtoflashnumberson thescreen,oneata time, for

fivehundredmilliseconds apiece.Theparticipantswere asked tohit the spacebarevery time theysawa“6” followedbya“4.”Thishasbecomea standardway tomeasurewillpower—paying attention to a boring sequence of flashingnumbersrequiresafocusakintoworkingonanimpossiblepuzzle.

Students who had been treated kindly did well on the computer test.Whenevera“6”flashedanda“4”followed,theypouncedonthespacebar.Theywereabletomaintaintheirfocusfortheentiretwelveminutes.Despiteignoringthecookies,theyhadwillpowertospare.

Studentswhohadbeentreatedrudely,ontheotherhand,didterribly.Theykeptforgettingtohitthespacebar.Theysaidtheyweretiredandcouldn’tfocus.Their willpower muscle, researchers determined, had been fatigued by thebrusqueinstructions.

WhenMuravenstartedexploringwhystudentswhohadbeentreatedkindlyhadmorewillpowerhe found that thekeydifferencewas the senseof controlthey had over their experience. “We’ve found this again and again,”Muraventoldme.“Whenpeopleareaskedtodosomethingthattakesself-control,iftheythink they are doing it for personal reasons—if they feel like it’s a choice orsomething they enjoybecause it helps someone else—it’smuch less taxing. Ifthey feel like they have no autonomy, if they’re just following orders, theirwillpower muscles get tired much faster. In both cases, people ignored thecookies.Butwhenthestudentsweretreatedlikecogs,ratherthanpeople,ittookalotmorewillpower.”

For companies and organizations, this insight has enormous implications.Simplygivingemployeesasenseofagency—afeelingthattheyareincontrol,that they have genuine decision-making authority—can radically increase howmuch energy and focus they bring to their jobs. One 2010 study at amanufacturing plant in Ohio, for instance, scrutinized assembly-line workerswhowereempowered tomakesmalldecisionsabout their schedulesandworkenvironment.5.24 They designed their own uniforms and had authority overshifts. Nothing else changed. All the manufacturing processes and pay scalesstayed the same.Within twomonths,productivityat theplant increasedby20percent.Workersweretakingshorterbreaks.Theyweremakingfewermistakes.Giving employees a sense of control improved howmuch self-discipline theybroughttotheirjobs.

ThesamelessonsholdtrueatStarbucks.Today,thecompanyisfocusedongiving employees a greater sense of authority. They have asked workers toredesign how espressomachines and cash registers are laid out, to decide forthemselveshowcustomersshouldbegreetedandwheremerchandiseshouldbe

displayed.It’snotunusualforastoremanagertospendhoursdiscussingwithhisemployeeswhereablendershouldbelocated.

“We’ve started asking partners to use their intellect and creativity, ratherthan telling them‘take thecoffeeoutof thebox,put thecuphere, follow thisrule,’”saidKrisEngskov,avicepresidentatStarbucks.“Peoplewanttobeincontroloftheirlives.”

Turnover has gone down. Customer satisfaction is up. Since Schultz’sreturn,Starbuckshasboostedrevenuesbymorethan$1.2billionperyear.

V.When Travis was sixteen, before he dropped out of school and started

workingforStarbucks,hismothertoldhimastory.Theyweredrivingtogether,andTravisaskedwhyhedidn’thavemoresiblings.Hismotherhadalwaystriedto be completely honest with her children, and so she told him that she hadbecomepregnanttwoyearsbeforeTraviswasbornbuthadgottenanabortion.Theyalreadyhadtwochildrenatthatpoint,sheexplained,andwereaddictedtodrugs.Theydidn’tthinktheycouldsupportanotherbaby.Then,ayearlater,shebecamepregnantwithTravis.Shethoughtabouthavinganotherabortion,butitwastoomuchtobear.Itwaseasiertoletnaturetakeitscourse.Traviswasborn.

“Shetoldmethatshehadmadealotofmistakes,but thathavingmewasone of the best things that ever happened to her,” Travis said. “When yourparents are addicts, you grow up knowing you can’t always trust them foreverything you need. But I’ve been really lucky to find bosses who gavemewhatwasmissing. Ifmymomhadbeen as lucky asme, I think thingswouldhaveturnedoutdifferentforher.”

A few years after that conversation, Travis’s father called to say that aninfectionhadenteredhismother’sbloodstreamthroughoneoftheplacesonherarmsheusedtoshootup.TravisimmediatelydrovetothehospitalinLodi,butshewas unconscious by the time he arrived. She died a half hour later,whentheyremovedherlifesupport.

Aweeklater,Travis’sfatherwasinthehospitalwithpneumonia.Hislunghadcollapsed.TravisdrovetoLodiagain,butitwas8:02P.M.whenhegottothe emergency room. A nurse brusquely told him he’d have to come backtomorrow;visitinghourswereover.

Travis has thought a lot about thatmoment since then. He hadn’t startedworking at Starbucks yet. He hadn’t learned how to control his emotions.Hedidn’t have the habits that, since then, he’s spent years practicing. When hethinksabouthislifenow,howfarheisfromaworldwhereoverdosesoccurandstolen cars show up in driveways and a nurse seems like an insurmountable

obstacle,hewondershowit’spossible to travelsucha longdistance insuchashorttime.

“Ifhehaddiedayearlater,everythingwouldhavebeendifferent,”Travistoldme.Bythen,hewouldhaveknownhowtocalmlypleadwiththenurse.Hewouldhaveknowntoacknowledgeherauthority,andthenaskpolitelyforonesmall exception.Hecouldhavegotten inside thehospital. Instead,hegaveupandwalkedaway.“Isaid,‘AllIwanttodoistalktohimonce,’andshewaslike,‘He’s not even awake, it’s after visiting hours, come back tomorrow.’ I didn’tknowwhattosay.Ifeltsosmall.”

Travis’sfatherdiedthatnight.Ontheanniversaryofhisdeath,everyyear,Traviswakesupearly,takesan

extra-longshower,plansouthisday incarefuldetail,and thendrives towork.Healwaysarrivesontime.

THEPOWEROFACRISIS

HowLeadersCreateHabitsThroughAccidentandDesignI.The patient was already unconscious when he was wheeled into the

operatingroomatRhodeIslandHospital.Hisjawwasslack,hiseyesclosed,andthetopofanintubationtubepeekedabovehislips.Asanursehookedhimuptoamachine thatwould force air into his lungs during surgery, one of his armsslippedoffthegurney,theskinmottledwithliverspots.

Themanwaseighty-sixyearsoldand,threedaysearlier,hadfallenathome.Afterward, he had trouble staying awake and answering questions, and soeventually his wife called an ambulance.6.1 In the emergency room, a doctorasked himwhat happened, but theman kept nodding off in themiddle of hissentences. A scan of his head revealed why: The fall had slammed his brainagainst his skull, causing what’s known as a subdural hematoma. Blood waspoolingwithintheleftportionofhiscranium,pushingagainstthedelicatefoldsof tissue inside his skull. The fluid had been building for almost seventy-twohours,and thosepartsof thebrain thatcontrolledhisbreathingandheartwere

beginningtofalter.Unlessthebloodwasdrained,themanwoulddie.6.2

Atthetime,RhodeIslandHospitalwasoneofthenation’sleadingmedicalinstitutions,themainteachinghospitalforBrownUniversityandtheonlyLevelI trauma center in southeastern New England. Inside the tall brick and glassbuilding, physicians had pioneered cutting-edgemedical techniques, includingtheuseofultrasoundwavestodestroytumorsinsideapatient’sbody.In2002,theNationalCoalitiononHealthCareratedthehospital’sintensivecareunitasoneofthefinestinthecountry.6.3

Butbythetimetheelderlypatientarrived,RhodeIslandHospitalalsohadanother reputation: a place riven by internal tensions. There were deep,simmeringenmitiesbetweennursesandphysicians. In2000, thenurses’unionhad voted to strike after complaining that they were being forced to workdangerously long hours. More than three hundred of them stood outside thehospital with signs reading “Stop Slavery” and “They can’t take away ourpride.”6.4

“This place can be awful,” one nurse recalled telling a reporter. “Thedoctors canmake you feel like you’reworthless, like you’re disposable. Likeyoushouldbethankfultopickupafterthem.”

Administrators eventually agreed to limitnurses’mandatoryovertime,buttensions continued to rise.6.5A fewyears later, a surgeonwas preparing for aroutineabdominaloperationwhenanursecalled fora “timeout.”Suchpausesare standard procedure atmost hospitals, away for doctors and staff tomakesuremistakes are avoided.6.6 The nursing staff at Rhode Island Hospital wasinsistentontimeouts,particularlysinceasurgeonhadaccidentallyremovedthetonsilsofagirlwhowassupposedtohaveeyesurgery.Timeoutsweresupposedtocatchsucherrorsbeforetheyoccurred.

At the abdominal surgery, when the OR nurse asked the team to gatheraroundthepatientforatimeoutandtodiscusstheirplan,thedoctorheadedforthedoors.

“Whydon’tyou lead this?” thesurgeon told thenurse.“I’mgoing tostepoutsideforacall.Knockwhenyou’reready.”

“You’resupposedtobehereforthis,Doctor,”shereplied.“Youcanhandleit,”thesurgeonsaid,ashewalkedtowardthedoor.“Doctor,Idon’tfeelthisisappropriate.”Thedoctorstoppedandlookedather.“IfIwantyourdamnopinion,I’llask

for it,”he said. “Don’t everquestionmyauthorityagain. Ifyoucan’tdoyourjob,getthehelloutofmyOR.”

Thenurseledthetimeout,retrievedthedoctorafewminuteslater,andtheprocedure occurred without complication. She never contradicted a physicianagain,andneversaidanythingwhenothersafetypolicieswereignored.

“Somedoctorswerefine,andsomeweremonsters,”onenursewhoworkedat Rhode Island Hospital in the mid-2000s told me. “We called it the glassfactory,becauseitfeltlikeeverythingcouldcrashdownatanyminute.”

Todealwiththesetensions,thestaffhaddevelopedinformalrules—habitsunique to the institution—thathelpedavert themostobviousconflicts.Nurses,for instance, always double-checked the orders of error-prone physicians andquietlymadesurethatcorrectdoseswereentered;theytookextratimetowriteclearlyonpatients’charts, lestahastysurgeonmakethewrongcut.Onenursetoldme theydevelopeda systemofcolorcodes towarnoneanother. “Weputdoctors’ names in different colors on thewhiteboards,” she said. “Bluemeant‘nice,’ red meant ‘jerk,’ and black meant, ‘whatever you do, don’t contradictthemorthey’lltakeyourheadoff.’”

RhodeIslandHospitalwasaplacefilledwithacorrosiveculture.UnlikeatAlcoa,wherecarefullydesignedkeystonehabitssurroundingworkersafetyhadcreatedlargerandlargersuccesses,insideRhodeIslandHospital,habitsemergedon the fly among nurses seeking to offset physician arrogance. The hospital’sroutines weren’t carefully thought out. Rather, they appeared by accident andspread through whispered warnings, until toxic patterns emerged. This canhappenwithinanyorganizationwherehabitsaren’tdeliberatelyplanned.Justaschoosing the rightkeystonehabitscancreateamazingchange, thewrongonescancreatedisasters.

Andwhen thehabitswithinRhode IslandHospital imploded, theycausedterriblemistakes.

Whentheemergencyroomstaffsawthebrainscansoftheeighty-six-year-oldmanwiththesubduralhematoma,theyimmediatelypagedtheneurosurgeononduty.Hewasinthemiddleofaroutinespinalsurgery,butwhenhegot thepage, he stepped away from the operating table and looked at images of theelderlyman’sheadonacomputerscreen.Thesurgeontoldhisassistant—anursepractitioner—to go to the emergency room and get the man’s wife to sign aconsent formapproving surgery.He finishedhis spinalprocedure.Ahalfhour

later,theelderlymanwaswheeledintothesameoperatingtheater.6.7

Nurseswere rushingaround.Theunconscious elderlymanwasplacedonthetable.Anursepickeduphisconsentformandmedicalchart.

“Doctor,” thenursesaid, lookingat thepatient’schart.“Theconsent formdoesn’t saywhere thehematoma is.”Thenurse leafed through thepaperwork.Therewasnoclearindicationofwhichsideofhisheadtheyweresupposedtooperateon.6.8

Everyhospitalreliesuponpaperworktoguidesurgeries.Beforeanycut ismade, a patient or familymember is supposed to sign a document approvingeach procedure and verifying the details. In a chaotic environment, where asmanyasadozendoctorsandnursesmayhandleapatientbetween theERandtherecoverysuite,consentformsaretheinstructionsthatkeeptrackofwhatissupposedtooccur.Nooneissupposedtogointosurgerywithoutasignedanddetailedconsent.

“Isawthescansbefore,”thesurgeonsaid.“Itwastherightsideofthehead.Ifwedon’tdothisquickly,he’sgonnadie.”

“Maybeweshouldpullupthefilmsagain,”thenursesaid,movingtowardacomputer terminal. For security reasons, the hospital’s computers locked afterfifteenminutesofidling.Itwouldtakeatleastaminuteforthenursetologinandloadthepatient’sbrainscansontothescreen.

“Wedon’thavetime,”thesurgeonsaid.“Theytoldmehe’scrashing.We’vegottorelievethepressure.”

“Whatifwefindthefamily?”thenurseasked.“Ifthat’swhatyouwant,thencallthefuckingERandfindthefamily!Inthe

meantime, I’m going to save his life.” The surgeon grabbed the paperwork,scribbled“right”ontheconsentform,andinitialedit.

“There,”hesaid.“Wehavetooperateimmediately.”6.9

ThenursehadworkedatRhodeIslandHospital forayear.Heunderstoodthehospital’sculture.Thissurgeon’sname,thenurseknew,wasoftenscribbledin black on the large whiteboard in the hallway, signaling that nurses shouldbeware. The unwritten rules in this scenario were clear: The surgeon alwayswins.

Thenurseputdownthechartandstoodasideas thedoctorpositioned theelderlyman’sheadinacradlethatprovidedaccesstotherightsideofhisskullandshavedandappliedantiseptictohishead.Theplanwastoopentheskullandsuctionoutthebloodpoolingontopofhisbrain.Thesurgeonslicedawayaflapof scalp, exposed the skull, and put a drill against the white bone. He began

pushinguntilthebitbrokethroughwithasoftpop.Hemadetwomoreholesandusedasawtocutoutatriangularpieceoftheman’sskull.Underneathwasthedura,thetranslucentsheathsurroundingthebrain.

“OhmyGod,”someonesaid.There was no hematoma. They were operating on the wrong side of the

head.“Weneedhimturned!”thesurgeonyelled.6.10

The triangle of bonewas replaced and reattachedwith smallmetal platesandscrews,andthepatient’sscalpsewedup.Hisheadwasshiftedtotheothersideand then,onceagain, shaved, cleansed, cut, anddrilleduntil a triangleofskull could be removed. This time, the hematomawas immediately visible, adarkbulgethatspilledlikethicksyrupwhenthedurawaspierced.Thesurgeonvacuumedthebloodandthepressureinsidetheoldman’sskullfellimmediately.The surgery,which should have taken about an hour, had run almost twice aslong.

Afterward, the patient was taken to the intensive care unit, but he neverregainedfullconsciousness.Twoweekslater,hedied.

Asubsequent investigationsaid itwas impossible todetermine theprecisecause of death, but the patient’s family argued that the trauma of themedicalerrorhadoverwhelmedhisalreadyfragilebody,thatthestressofremovingtwopiecesof skull, the additional time in surgery, and thedelay in evacuating thehematomahadpushedhimovertheedge.Ifnotforthemistake,theyclaimed,hemightstillbealive.Thehospitalpaidasettlementand thesurgeonwasbarredfromeverworkingatRhodeIslandHospitalagain.6.11

Suchanaccident,somenurses laterclaimed,was inevitable.RhodeIslandHospital’sinstitutionalhabitsweresodysfunctional,itwasonlyamatteroftimeuntil a grievousmistakeoccurred.1 It’s not just hospitals that breed dangerouspatterns, of course. Destructive organizational habits can be found withinhundredsof industries andat thousandsof firms.Andalmost always, theyaretheproductsofthoughtlessness,ofleaderswhoavoidthinkingaboutthecultureand so let it develop without guidance. There are no organizations withoutinstitutionalhabits.Thereareonlyplaceswheretheyaredeliberatelydesigned,andplaceswheretheyarecreatedwithoutforethought,sotheyoftengrowfromrivalriesorfear.

Butsometimes,evendestructivehabitscanbetransformedbyleaderswhoknowhowtoseizetherightopportunities.Sometimes,intheheatofacrisis,therighthabitsemerge.

II.WhenAnEvolutionaryTheoryofEconomicChangewasfirstpublishedin

1982,veryfewpeopleoutsideofacademianoticed.Thebook’sblandcoveranddauntingfirstsentence—“In thisvolumewedevelopanevolutionary theoryofthe capabilities and behavior of business firms operating in a marketenvironment,andconstructandanalyzeanumberofmodelsconsistentwiththattheory”—almost seemed designed to ward off readers.6.12 The authors, YaleprofessorsRichardNelsonandSidneyWinter,werebestknownforaseriesofintensely analytic papers exploring Schumpeterian theory that evenmost PhDcandidatesdidn’tpretendtounderstand.6.13

Within theworld of business strategy andorganizational theory, however,thebookwent off like a bombshell.6.14 Itwas soon hailed as one of themostimportant textsof thecentury.Economicsprofessorsstarted talkingabout it totheircolleaguesatbusinessschools,whostartedtalkingtoCEOsatconferences,and soon executives were quoting Nelson and Winter inside corporations asdifferentasGeneralElectric,Pfizer,andStarwoodHotels.

NelsonandWinterhadspentmorethanadecadeexamininghowcompanieswork, trudging through swamps of data before arriving at their centralconclusion: “Much of firm behavior,” they wrote, is best “understood as areflection of general habits and strategic orientations coming from the firm’spast,” rather than “the result of a detailed survey of the remote twigs of thedecisiontree.”6.15

Or,putinlanguagethatpeopleuseoutsideoftheoreticaleconomics,itmayseemlikemostorganizationsmakerationalchoicesbasedondeliberatedecisionmaking, but that’s not really how companies operate at all. Instead, firms areguided by long-held organizational habits, patterns that often emerge fromthousandsofemployees’independentdecisions.6.16Andthesehabitshavemoreprofoundimpactsthananyonepreviouslyunderstood.

Forinstance,itmightseemlikethechiefexecutiveofaclothingcompanymade thedecision lastyear to featurea redcardiganon thecatalog’scoverbycarefullyreviewingsalesandmarketingdata.But,infact,whatreallyhappenedwasthathisvicepresidentconstantlytrollswebsitesdevotedtoJapanesefashiontrends (where redwas hip last spring), and the firm’smarketers routinely asktheir friends which colors are “in,” and the company’s executives, back fromtheir annual trip to theParis runway shows, reportedhearing that designers atrivalfirmswereusingnewmagentapigments.Allthesesmallinputs,theresultof uncoordinated patterns among executives gossiping about competitors andtalkingtotheirfriends,gotmixedintothecompany’smoreformalresearchand

developmentroutinesuntilaconsensusemerged:Redwillbepopularthisyear.Noonemadeasolitary,deliberatedecision.Rather,dozensofhabits,processes,andbehaviorsconvergeduntilitseemedlikeredwastheinevitablechoice.

These organizational habits—or “routines,” as Nelson and Winter calledthem—areenormouslyimportant,becausewithoutthem,mostcompanieswouldnevergetanyworkdone.6.17Routinesprovide thehundredsofunwritten rulesthatcompaniesneedtooperate.6.18,6.19Theyallowworkerstoexperimentwithnew ideaswithout having to ask for permission at every step.They provide akind of “organizationalmemory,” so thatmanagers don’t have to reinvent thesales process every six months or panic each time a VP quits.6.20 Routinesreduceuncertainty—astudyofrecoveryeffortsafterearthquakesinMexicoandLosAngeles, for instance, found that the habits of reliefworkers (which theycarriedfromdisastertodisaster,andwhichincludedthingssuchasestablishingcommunication networks by hiring children to carry messages betweenneighborhoods) were absolutely critical, “because without them, policyformulationandimplementationwouldbelostinajungleofdetail.”6.21

Butamongthemostimportantbenefitsofroutinesisthattheycreatetrucesbetweenpotentiallywarringgroupsorindividualswithinanorganization.6.22

Most economists are accustomed to treating companies as idyllic placeswhere everyone is devoted to a common goal: making as much money aspossible.NelsonandWinterpointedout that, in the realworld, that’snothowthingsworkat all.Companies aren’tbighappy familieswhere everyoneplaystogether nicely. Rather, most workplaces are made up of fiefdoms whereexecutivescompeteforpowerandcredit,ofteninhiddenskirmishesthatmaketheirownperformancesappearsuperiorandtheirrivals’seemworse.Divisionscompete for resources and sabotage each other to steal glory. Bosses pit theirsubordinatesagainstoneanothersothatnoonecanmountacoup.

Companiesaren’tfamilies.They’rebattlefieldsinacivilwar.Yetdespitethiscapacityforinternecinewarfare,mostcompaniesrollalong

relativelypeacefully, year after year, because theyhave routines—habits—thatcreatetrucesthatalloweveryonetosetasidetheirrivalrieslongenoughtogetaday’sworkdone.

Organizational habits offer a basic promise: If you follow the establishedpatterns and abide by the truce, then rivalrieswon’t destroy the company, theprofits will roll in, and, eventually, everyonewill get rich. A salesperson, forexample, knows she can boost her bonus by giving favored customers heftydiscounts in exchange for larger orders. But she also knows that if everysalesperson gives away hefty discounts, the firm will go bankrupt and therewon’tbeanybonusestohandout.Soaroutineemerges:ThesalespeopleallgettogethereveryJanuaryandagreetolimithowmanydiscountstheyofferinordertoprotectthecompany’sprofits,andattheendoftheyeareveryonegetsaraise.

Or takeayoungexecutivegunningforvicepresidentwho,withonequietphone call to a major customer, could kill a sale and sabotage a colleague’sdivision, taking him out of the running for the promotion. The problemwithsabotageisthatevenifit’sgoodforyou,it’susuallybadforthefirm.Soatmostcompanies,anunspokencompactemerges:It’sokaytobeambitious,butifyouplaytoorough,yourpeerswilluniteagainstyou.Ontheotherhand,ifyoufocuson boosting your own department, rather than undermining your rival, you’llprobablygettakencareofovertime.6.23

ROUTINESCREATETRUCESTHATALLOWWORKTOGETDONERoutinesandtrucesofferatypeofroughorganizationaljustice,andbecause

of them,NelsonandWinterwrote, conflictwithincompaniesusually“followslargelypredictablepathsandstayswithinpredictableboundsthatareconsistentwith the ongoing routine.…The usual amount ofwork gets done, reprimandsandcomplimentsaredeliveredwiththeusualfrequency.…Nobodyistryingtosteer the organizational ship into a sharp turn in the hope of throwing a rivaloverboard.”6.24

Mostofthetime,routinesandtrucesworkperfectly.Rivalriesstillexist,ofcourse, but because of institutional habits, they’re keptwithin bounds and thebusinessthrives.

However,sometimesevenatruceprovesinsufficient.Sometimes,asRhodeIslandHospitaldiscovered,anunstablepeacecanbeasdestructiveasanycivilwar.

Somewhere in your office, buried in a desk drawer, there’s probably ahandbookyoureceivedonyourfirstdayofwork.Itcontainsexpenseformsandrulesaboutvacations,insuranceoptions,andthecompany’sorganizationalchart.It has brightly colored graphs describing different health care plans, a list ofrelevantphonenumbers,andinstructionsonhowtoaccessyouremailorenrollinthe401(k).

Now, imaginewhatyouwould tell anewcolleaguewhoasked foradviceabout how to succeed at your firm.Your recommendations probablywouldn’tcontain anything you’d find in the company’s handbook. Instead, the tips youwouldpassalong—whois trustworthy;whichsecretarieshavemoreclout thantheirbosses;howtomanipulatethebureaucracytogetsomethingdone—arethehabitsyourelyoneverydaytosurvive.Ifyoucouldsomehowdiagramallyourwork habits—and the informal power structures, relationships, alliances, andconflictstheyrepresent—andthenoverlayyourdiagramwithdiagramspreparedbyyourcolleagues,itwouldcreateamapofyourfirm’ssecrethierarchy,aguidetowhoknowshowtomakethingshappenandwhoneverseemstogetaheadoftheball.

Nelson and Winter’s routines—and the truces they make possible—arecritical to every kind of business. One study from Utrecht University in the

Netherlands,forinstance,lookedatroutineswithintheworldofhighfashion.Tosurvive,everyfashiondesignerhastopossesssomebasicskills:creativityandaflair for haute couture as a start. But that’s not enough to succeed.6.25 Whatmakes the difference between success or failure are a designer’s routines—whether they have a system for getting Italian broadcloth beforewholesalers’stockssellout,aprocessforfindingthebestzipperandbuttonseamstresses,aroutine for shipping a dress to a store in ten days, rather than three weeks.Fashionissuchacomplicatedbusinessthat,withouttherightprocesses,anewcompanywillgetboggeddownwithlogistics,andoncethathappens,creativityceasestomatter.

Andwhichnewdesignersaremostlikelytohavetherighthabits?Theoneswhohaveformedtherighttrucesandfoundtherightalliances.6.26Trucesaresoimportant that new fashion labels usually succeed only if they are headed bypeoplewholeftotherfashioncompaniesongoodterms.

SomemightthinkNelsonandWinterwerewritingabookondryeconomictheory. But what they really produced was a guide to surviving in corporateAmerica.

What’smore,NelsonandWinter’stheoriesalsoexplainwhythingswentsowrongatRhodeIslandHospital.Thehospitalhadroutinesthatcreatedanuneasypeace between nurses and doctors—the whiteboards, for instance, and thewarningsnurseswhisperedtooneanotherwerehabitsthatestablishedabaselinetruce.Thesedelicatepactsallowedtheorganizationtofunctionmostofthetime.Buttrucesareonlydurablewhentheycreaterealjustice.Ifatruceisunbalanced—ifthepeaceisn’treal—thentheroutinesoftenfailwhentheyareneededmost.

ThecriticalissueatRhodeIslandHospitalwasthatthenursesweretheonlyones givinguppower to strike a truce. Itwas the nurseswhodouble-checkedpatients’medicationsandmadeextraeffortstowriteclearlyoncharts;thenurseswhoabsorbedabusefromstressed-outdoctors; thenurseswhohelpedseparatekind physicians from the despots, so the rest of the staff knewwho toleratedoperating-roomsuggestionsandwhowouldexplodeifyouopenedyourmouth.Thedoctorsoftendidn’tbothertolearnthenurses’names.“Thedoctorswereincharge,andwewereunderlings,”onenurse toldme.“We tuckedour tailsandsurvived.”

The truces at Rhode Island Hospital were one-sided. So at those crucialmoments—when,forinstance,asurgeonwasabouttomakeahastyincisionandanurse tried to intervene—the routines that couldhaveprevented theaccidentcrumbled,andthewrongsideofaneighty-six-year-oldman’sheadwasopenedup.

Somemight suggest that the solution ismoreequitable truces.That if thehospital’sleadershipdidabetterjobofallocatingauthority,ahealthierbalanceofpowermight emergeandnursesanddoctorswouldbe forced intoamutualrespect.

That’s a good start. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough. Creating successfulorganizations isn’t just amatter of balancing authority. For an organization towork, leadersmust cultivate habits that both create a real and balanced peaceand,paradoxically,makeitabsolutelyclearwho’sincharge.

III.Philip Brickell, a forty-three-year-old employee of the London

Underground,was inside the cavernousmain hall of theKing’sCross subwaystationonaNovembereveningin1987whenacommuterstoppedhimashewascollectingticketsandsaidtherewasaburningtissueat thebottomofanearbyescalator.6.27,6.28

King’sCrosswasoneofthelargest,grandest,andmostheavilytraffickedofLondon’s subway stops, a labyrinth of deep escalators, passageways, andtunnels, someofwhichwere almost a centuryold.The station’s escalators, inparticular,were famous for their sizeandage.Somestretchedasmanyas fivestoriesintothegroundandwerebuiltofwoodenslatsandrubberhandrails,thesame materials used to construct them decades earlier. More than a quartermillionpassengerspassedthroughKing’sCrosseverydayonsixdifferenttrainlines.Duringeveningrushhour,thestation’sticketinghallwasaseaofpeoplehurryingbeneathaceilingrepaintedsomanytimesthatnoonecouldrecall itsoriginalhue.

The burning tissue, the passenger said, was at the bottom of one of thestation’s longest escalators, servicing the Piccadilly line. Brickell immediatelylefthisposition,rodetheescalatordowntotheplatform,foundthesmolderingwadoftissue,and,witharolled-upmagazine,beatoutthefire.Thenhereturnedtohispost.

Brickelldidn’tinvestigatefurther.Hedidn’ttrytofigureoutwhythetissuewasburningorifitmighthaveflownoffofalargerfiresomewhereelsewithinthestation.Hedidn’tmention the incident toanotheremployeeorcall the firedepartment.Aseparatedepartmenthandledfiresafety,andBrickell,inkeeping

withthestrictdivisionsthatruledtheUnderground,knewbetterthantosteponanyone’s toes.Besides,even ifhehad investigated thepossibilityof a fire,hewouldn’thaveknownwhat todowithany informationhe learned.The tightlyprescribed chain of command at the Underground prohibited him fromcontactinganotherdepartmentwithoutasuperior’sdirectauthorization.AndtheUnderground’s routines—handeddown fromemployee toemployee—toldhimthatheshouldnever,underanycircumstances,referoutloudtoanythinginsideastationasa“fire,”lestcommutersbecomepanicked.Itwasn’thowthingsweredone.

TheUndergroundwasgovernedby a sort of theoretical rulebook that noonehadeverseenorread—andthatdidn’t,infact,existexceptintheunwrittenrulesthatshapedeveryemployee’slife.Fordecades,theUndergroundhadbeenrunbythe“FourBarons”—thechiefsofcivil,signal,electrical,andmechanicalengineering—and within each of their departments, there were bosses andsubbosses who all jealously guarded their authority. The trains ran on timebecauseallnineteenthousandUndergroundemployeescooperatedinadelicatesystemthatpassedpassengersandtrainsamongdozens—sometimeshundreds—ofhandsallday long.But thatcooperationdependeduponabalanceofpowerbetweeneachofthefourdepartmentsandalltheirlieutenantsthat,itself,relieduponthousandsofhabitsthatemployeesadheredto.Thesehabitscreatedatruceamong theFourBarons and their deputies.And from that truce arose policiesthattoldBrickell:Lookingforfiresisn’tyourjob.Don’toverstepyourbounds.

“Even at the highest level, one director was unlikely to trespass on theterritory of another,” an investigator would later note. “Thus, the engineeringdirectordidnotconcernhimselfwithwhethertheoperatingstaffwereproperlytrained in fire safety and evacuation procedures because he considered thosematterstobetheprovinceoftheOperationsDirectorate.”

So Brickell didn’t say anything about the burning tissue. In othercircumstances,itmighthavebeenanunimportantdetail.Inthiscase,thetissuewasastraywarning—abitoffuelthathadescapedfromalarger,hiddenblaze—thatwouldshowhowperilousevenperfectlybalancedtrucescanbecomeiftheyaren’tdesignedjustright.6.29

Fifteen minutes after Brickell returned to his booth, another passengernoticedawispofsmokeasherodeupthePiccadillyescalator;hementioneditto an Underground employee. The King’s Cross safety inspector, ChristopherHayes, was eventually roused to investigate. A third passenger, seeing smokeandaglowfromunderneaththeescalator’sstairs,hitanemergencystopbuttonandbeganshoutingatpassengerstoexittheescalator.Apolicemansawaslight

smoky haze inside the escalator’s long tunnel, and, halfway down, flamesbeginningtodartabovethesteps.

Yet the safety inspector, Hayes, didn’t call the London Fire Brigade. Hehadn’t seen any smoke himself, and another of the Underground’s unwrittenruleswas that the fire department shouldneverbe contactedunless absolutelynecessary.Thepolicemanwhohadnoticedthehaze,however,figuredheshouldcontactheadquarters.Hisradiodidn’tworkunderground,sohewalkedupalongstaircaseintotheoutdoorsandcalledhissuperiors,whoeventuallypassedwordto the fire department. At 7:36 p.m.—twenty-two minutes after Brickell wasalerted to the flaming tissue—the fire brigade received a call: “Small fire atKing’sCross.”Commuterswerepushingpastthepolicemanashestoodoutside,speakingonhisradio.Theywererushingintothestation,downintothetunnels,focusedongettinghomefordinner.

Withinminutes,manyofthemwouldbedead.

At 7:36 P.M., an Underground worker roped off entry to the Piccadillyescalatorandanotherstarteddivertingpeopletoadifferentstairway.Newtrainswerearrivingeveryfewminutes.Theplatformswherepassengersexitedsubwaycars were crowded. A bottleneck started building at the bottom of an openstaircase.

Hayes,thesafetyinspector,wentintoapassagewaythatledtothePiccadillyescalator’smachineroom.Inthedark,therewasasetofcontrolsforasprinklersystem specifically designed to fight fires on escalators. It had been installedyears earlier, after a fire in another station had led to a series of dire reportsabouttherisksofasuddenblaze.MorethantwodozenstudiesandreprimandshadsaidthattheUndergroundwasunpreparedforfires,andthatstaffneededtobetrainedinhowtousesprinklersandfireextinguishers,whichwerepositionedon every train platform. Two years earlier the deputy assistant chief of theLondon Fire Brigade had written to the operations director for railways,complainingaboutsubwayworkers’safetyhabits.

“I am gravely concerned,” the letter read. “I cannot urge too stronglythat…clearinstructionsbegiventhatonanysuspicionoffire,theFireBrigadebecalledwithoutdelay.Thiscouldsavelives.”

However,Hayes, thesafety inspector,neversaw that letterbecause itwas

sent to a separate division from the one he worked within, and theUnderground’s policies were never rewritten to reflect the warning. No oneinsideKing’sCrossunderstoodhowtousetheescalatorsprinklersystemorwasauthorizedtousetheextinguishers,becauseanotherdepartmentcontrolledthem.Hayes completely forgot the sprinkler system existed. The truces ruling theUndergroundmade sure everyone knew their place, but they left no room forlearningaboutanythingoutsidewhatyouwereassignedtoknow.Hayesranpastthesprinklercontrolswithoutsomuchasaglance.

Whenhereachedthemachineroom,hewasnearlyovercomebyheat.Thefirewasalreadytoobigtofight.Heranbacktothemainhall.Therewasalineofpeoplestandingattheticketmachinesandhundredsofpeoplemillingabouttheroom,walkingtoplatformsorleavingthestation.Hayesfoundapoliceman.

“We’vegot to stop the trains andget everyone out of here,” he told him.“Thefireisoutofcontrol.It’sgoingeverywhere.”

At7:42P.M.—almostahalfhouraftertheburningtissue—thefirstfiremanarrived at King’s Cross. As he entered the ticketing hall he saw dense blacksmokestarting tosnakealong theceiling.Theescalator’s rubberhandrailshadbegun toburn.As the acrid smell of burning rubber spread, commuters in theticketinghallbegantorecognizethatsomethingwaswrong.Theymovedtowardtheexitsasfiremenwadedthroughthecrowd,fightingagainstthetide.

Below, the fire was spreading. The entire escalator was now aflame,producing a superheated gas that rose to the top of the shaft enclosing theescalator,where itwas trappedagainst the tunnel’sceiling,whichwascoveredwith about twenty layers of old paint. A few years earlier, theUnderground’sdirectorofoperationshadsuggestedthatallthispaintmightposeafirehazard.Perhaps,hesaid,theoldlayersshouldberemovedbeforeanewoneisapplied?

Painting protocols were not in his purview, however. Paint responsibilityresided with the maintenance department, whose chief politely thanked hiscolleaguefortherecommendation,andthennotedthatifhewantedtointerferewithotherdepartments,thefavorwouldbeswiftlyreturned.

Thedirectorofoperationswithdrewhisrecommendation.Asthesuperheatedgasespooledalongtheceilingoftheescalatorshaft,all

thoseoldlayersofpaintbeganabsorbingthewarmth.Aseachnewtrainarrived,itpushedafreshgustofoxygenintothestation,feedingthefirelikeabellows.

At7:43P.M.,atrainarrivedandasalesmannamedMarkSilverexited.Heknew immediately that somethingwaswrong. The airwas hazy, the platformpacked with people. Smoke wafted around where he was standing, curlingaroundthetraincarsastheysatonthetracks.Heturnedtoreenterthetrain,but

thedoorshadclosed.Hehammeredonthewindows,buttherewasanunofficialpolicytoavoidtardiness:Oncethedoorsweresealed,theydidnotopenagain.Upanddowntheplatform,Silverandotherpassengersscreamedatthedrivertoopenthedoors.Thesignallightchangedtogreen,andthetrainpulledaway.Onewomanjumpedonthetracks,runningafterthetrainasitmovedintothetunnel.“Letmein!”shescreamed.

Silver walked down the platform, to where a policeman was directingeveryoneawayfromthePiccadillyescalatorandtoanotherstairway.Therewerecrowds of panicked people waiting to get upstairs. They could all smell thesmoke,andeveryonewaspackedtogether.Itfelthot—eitherfromthefireorthecrushofpeople,Silverwasn’tsure.Hefinallygottothebottomofanescalatorthathadbeenturnedoff.Asheclimbedtowardtheticketinghall,hecouldfeelhis legs burning from heat coming through a fifteen-foot wall separating himfromthePiccadillyshaft.“Ilookedupandsawthewallsandceilingsizzling,”helatersaid.

At7:45P.M.,anarrivingtrainforcedalargegustofairintothestation.Asthe oxygen fed the fire, the blaze in the Piccadilly escalator roared. Thesuperheatedgasesalongtheceilingoftheshaft,fueledbyfirebelowandsizzlingpaint above, reacheda combustion temperature, knownas a “flashoverpoint.”At that moment, everything inside the shaft—the paint, the wooden escalatorstairs, and any other available fuel—ignited in a fiery blast. The force of thesudden incineration acted the explosion of gunpowder at the base of a riflebarrel.Itbeganpushingthefireupwardthroughthelongshaft,absorbingmoreheatandvelocityastheblazeexpandeduntilitshotoutofthetunnelandintotheticketing hall in a wall of flames that set metal, tile, and flesh on fire. Thetemperature inside thehall shotup150degrees inhalf a second.Apolicemanriding one of the side escalators later told investigators that he saw “a jet offlamethatshotupandthencollectedintoakindofball.”Therewerenearlyfiftypeopleinsidethehallatthetime.

Aboveground, on the street, a passerby felt heat explode from one of thesubway’sexits,sawapassengerstaggerout,andrantohelp.“IgotholdofhisrighthandwithmyrighthandbutasourhandstouchedIcouldfeelhiswasredhotandsomeof theskincameoff inmyhand,” therescuersaid.Apolicemanwhowasenteringtheticketinghallastheexplosionoccurredlatertoldreporters,fromahospitalbed, that“afireballhitmein thefaceandknockedmeoffmyfeet.Myhandscaughtfire.Theywerejustmelting.”

Hewasoneofthelastpeopletoexitthehallalive.Shortly after the explosion, dozens of fire trucks arrived.But because the

fire department’s rules instructed them to connect their hoses to street-levelhydrants,rather thanthoseinstalledbytheUndergroundinsidethestation,andbecause none of the subway employees had blueprints showing the station’slayout—alltheplanswereinanofficethatwaslocked,andnoneoftheticketingagentsorthestationmanagerhadkeys—ittookhourstoextinguishtheflames.

When the blaze was finally put out at 1:46 A.M.—six hours after theburningtissuewasnoticed—thetollstoodatthirty-onedeadanddozensinjured.

“Why did they send me straight into the fire?” a twenty-year-old musicteacher asked the next day from a hospital bed. “I could see them burning. Icouldhearthemscreaming.Whydidn’tsomeonetakecharge?”6.30

To answer those questions, consider a few of the truces the LondonUndergroundreliedupontofunction:

Ticketing clerkswerewarned that their jurisdictionwas strictly limited tosellingtickets,soiftheysawaburningtissue,theydidn’twarnanyoneforfearofoversteppingtheirbounds.

Station employees weren’t trained how to use the sprinkler system orextinguishers,becausethatequipmentwasoverseenbyadifferentdivision.

The station’s safety inspector never saw a letter from the London FireBrigadewarningabout fire risksbecause itwassent to theoperationsdirector,andinformationlikethatwasn’tsharedacrossdivisions.

Employeeswereinstructedonlytocontact thefirebrigadeasalastresort,soasnottopaniccommutersunnecessarily.

The fire brigade insisted on using its own street-level hydrants, ignoringpipesintheticketinghallthatcouldhavedeliveredwater,becausetheyhadbeenorderednottouseequipmentinstalledbyotheragencies.

In someways, each of these informal rules, on its own, makes a certainamount of sense.For instance, thehabits that kept ticketing clerks focusedonsellingticketsinsteadofdoinganythingelse—includingkeepinganeyeoutforwarning signs of fire—existed because, years earlier, the Underground hadproblemswith understaffed kiosks. Clerks kept leaving their posts to pick uptrashorpointtouriststowardtheirtrains,andasaresult,longlineswouldform.Soclerkswereorderedtostayintheirbooths,selltickets,andnotworryaboutanything else. It worked. Lines disappeared. If clerks saw something amiss

outside their kiosks—beyond their scope of responsibility—theyminded theirownbusiness.

Andthefirebrigade’shabitofinsistingontheirownequipment?Thatwasaresultofanincident,adecadeearlier,whenafirehadragedinanotherstationasfiremen wasted precious minutes trying to hook up their hoses to unfamiliarpipes.Afterward,everyonedecideditwasbesttostickwithwhattheyknew.

Noneof these routines, inotherwords,werearbitrary.Eachwasdesignedforareason.TheUndergroundwassovastandcomplicatedthatitcouldoperatesmoothly only if truces smoothed over potential obstacles. Unlike at RhodeIslandHospital,each trucecreatedagenuinebalanceofpower.Nodepartmenthadtheupperhand.

Yetthirty-onepeopledied.TheLondonUnderground’s routines and truces all seemed logical until a

fire erupted. At which point, an awful truth emerged: No one person,department,orbaronhadultimateresponsibilityforpassengers’safety.6.31

Sometimes, one priority—or one department or one person or one goal—needstoovershadoweverythingelse,thoughitmightbeunpopularorthreatenthebalanceofpowerthatkeepstrainsrunningontime.Sometimes,atrucecancreatedangersthatoutweighanypeace.

There’saparadox in thisobservation,ofcourse.Howcananorganizationimplementhabits thatbalanceauthorityand,at thesametime,chooseapersonor goal that rises above everyone else? How do nurses and doctors shareauthority while still making it clear who is in charge? How does a subwaysystemavoidbecomingboggeddowninturfbattleswhilemakingsuresafetyisstillapriority,evenifthatmeanslinesofauthoritymustberedrawn?

TheanswerliesinseizingthesameadvantagethatTonyDungyencounteredwhen he took over the woeful Bucs and Paul O’Neill discovered when hebecame CEO of flailing Alcoa. It’s the same opportunity Howard Schultzexploitedwhen he returned to a flaggingStarbucks in 2007.All those leadersseizedthepossibilitiescreatedbyacrisis.Duringturmoil,organizationalhabitsbecome malleable enough to both assign responsibility and create a moreequitablebalanceofpower.Crises are sovaluable, in fact, that sometimes it’sworthstirringupasenseofloomingcatastropheratherthanlettingitdiedown.

IV.Fourmonths after the elderlymanwith the botched skull surgery died at

RhodeIslandHospital,anothersurgeonatthehospitalcommittedasimilarerror,operating on the wrong section of another patient’s head. The state’s health

departmentreprimandedthefacilityandfinedit$50,000.Eighteenmonthslater,a surgeon operated on thewrong part of a child’smouth during a cleft palatesurgery.Fivemonthsafterthat,asurgeonoperatedonapatient’swrongfinger.Ten months after that, a drill bit was left inside a man’s head. For thesetransgressions,thehospitalwasfinedanother$450,000.6.32

Rhode Island Hospital is not the only medical institution where suchaccidentshappen,ofcourse,buttheywereunluckyenoughtobecometheposterchild for such mistakes. Local newspapers printed detailed stories of eachincident.Televisionstationssetupcampoutsidethehospital.Thenationalmediajoinedin,too.“Theproblem’snotgoingaway,”avicepresidentofthenationalhospital accreditationorganization toldanAssociatedPress reporter.6.33RhodeIsland Hospital, the state’s medical authorities declared to reporters, was afacilityinchaos.

“It felt like working in a war zone,” a nurse told me. “There were TVreporters ambushingdoctors as theywalked to their cars.One littleboyaskedmetomakesurethedoctorwouldn’taccidentallycutoffhisarmduringsurgery.Itfeltlikeeverythingwasoutofcontrol.”6.34

As critics and the media piled on, a sense of crisis emerged within thehospital.6.35Someadministratorsstartedworryingthatthefacilitywouldloseitsaccreditation. Others became defensive, attacking the television stations forsingling themout. “I found a button that said ‘Scapegoat’ that Iwas going toweartowork,”onedoctortoldme.“Mywifesaidthatwasabadidea.”

Then an administrator, Dr. Mary Reich Cooper, who had become chiefqualityofficerafewweeksbeforetheeighty-six-year-oldman’sdeath,spokeup.Inmeetingswith the hospital’s administrators and staff,Cooper said that theywerelookingatthesituationallwrong.

Allthiscriticismwasn’tabadthing,shesaid.Infact,thehospitalhadbeengivenanopportunitythatfeworganizationseverreceived.

“Isawthisasanopening,”Dr.Coopertoldme.“There’salonghistoryofhospitals trying toattack theseproblemsandfailing.Sometimespeopleneedajolt,andallthebadpublicitywasaseriousjolt.Itgaveusachancetoreexamineeverything.”

RhodeIslandHospitalshutdownallelectivesurgeryunitsforanentireday—ahugeexpense—andputtheentirestaffthroughanintensivetrainingprogramthat emphasized teamwork and stressed the importance of empowering nursesand medical staff. The chief of neurosurgery resigned and a new leader wasselected. The hospital invited the Center for Transforming Healthcare—a

coalition of leading medical institutions—to help redesign its surgicalsafeguards.Administrators installedvideocameras inoperatingroomstomakesure timeouts occurred and checklists weremandated for every surgery.6.36 Acomputerized system allowed any hospital employee to anonymously reportproblemsthatendangeredpatienthealth.6.37

Some of those initiatives had been proposed at Rhode Island Hospital inpreviousyears,buttheyhadalwaysbeenstruckdown.Doctorsandnursesdidn’twantpeoplerecordingtheirsurgeriesorotherhospitals tellingthemhowtodotheirjobs.

ButonceasenseofcrisisgrippedRhodeIslandHospital,everyonebecamemoreopentochange.6.38

Otherhospitalshavemadesimilarshifts inthewakeofmistakesandhavebrought down error rates that just years earlier had seemed immune toimprovement.6.39LikeRhodeIslandHospital,theseinstitutionshavefoundthatreform isusuallypossibleonlyoncea senseofcrisis takeshold.For instance,oneofHarvardUniversity’s teachinghospitals,Beth IsraelDeaconessMedicalCenter,wentthroughaspateoferrorsandinternalbattlesinthelate1990sthatspilled into newspaper articles and ugly shoutingmatches between nurses andadministratorsatpublicmeetings.Therewastalkamongsomestateofficialsofforcing the hospital to close departments until they could prove the mistakeswould stop. Then the hospital, under attack, coalesced around solutions tochangeitsculture.Partoftheanswerwas“safetyrounds,”inwhich,everythreemonths, a senior physician discussed a particular surgery or diagnosis anddescribed, in painstaking detail, a mistake or near miss to an audience ofhundredsofherorhispeers.

“It’sexcruciating toadmitamistakepublicly,”saidDr.DonaldMoorman,untilrecentlyBethIsraelDeaconess’sassociatesurgeoninchief.“Twentyyearsago, doctors wouldn’t do it. But a real sense of panic has spread throughhospitals now, and even the best surgeons arewilling to talk about how closetheycametoabigerror.Thecultureofmedicineischanging.”

Good leaders seize crises to remake organizational habits. NASAadministrators,forinstance,triedforyearstoimprovetheagency’ssafetyhabits,butthoseeffortswereunsuccessfuluntil thespaceshuttleChallengerexploded

in1986.Inthewakeofthattragedy,theorganizationwasabletooverhaulhowitenforcedqualitystandards.6.40Airlinepilots,too,spentyearstryingtoconvinceplanemanufacturersandairtrafficcontrollerstoredesignhowcockpitswerelaidoutand trafficcontrollerscommunicated.Then,a runwayerroron theSpanishisland of Tenerife in 1977 killed 583 people and, within five years, cockpitdesign, runway procedures, and air traffic controller communication routineswereoverhauled.6.41

In fact, crises are such valuable opportunities that a wise leader oftenprolongs a senseof emergencyonpurpose.That’s exactlywhat occurred aftertheKing’sCrossstation fire.Fivedaysafter theblaze, theBritishsecretaryofstate appointed a special investigator,DesmondFennell, to study the incident.Fennell began by interviewing the Underground’s leadership, and quicklydiscoveredthateveryonehadknown—foryears—thatfiresafetywasaseriousproblem,andyetnothinghadchanged.Someadministratorshadproposednewhierarchies that would have clarified responsibility for fire prevention. Othershad proposed giving station managers more power so that they could bridgedepartmentaldivides.Noneofthosereformshadbeenimplemented.

WhenFennellbegansuggestingchangesofhisown,hesawthesamekindsofroadblocks—departmentchiefsrefusingtotakeresponsibilityorundercuttinghimwithwhisperedthreatstotheirsubordinates—starttoemerge.

Sohedecidedtoturnhisinquiryintoamediacircus.He called for public hearings that lasted ninety-one days and revealed an

organization that had ignored multiple warnings of risks. He implied tonewspaper reporters that commuterswere ingravedangerwhenever they rodethe subway. He cross-examined dozens of witnesses who described anorganizationwhere turf battlesmatteredmore than commuter safety.His finalreport,releasedalmostayearafterthefire,wasascathing,250-pageindictmentof the Underground portraying an organization crippled by bureaucraticineptitude. “Having set out as an Investigation into the events of one night,”Fennellwrote,thereport’s“scopewasnecessarilyenlargedintotheexaminationof a system.” He concluded with pages and pages of stinging criticisms andrecommendations that, essentially, suggested much of the organization waseitherincompetentorcorrupt.

The response was instantaneous and overwhelming. Commuters picketedtheUnderground’s offices. The organization’s leadershipwas fired.A slew ofnew laws were passed and the culture of the Underground was overhauled.Today, every station has amanagerwhose primary responsibility is passengersafety,andeveryemployeehasanobligationtocommunicateatthesmallesthint

ofrisk.Allthetrainsstillrunontime.ButtheUnderground’shabitsandtruceshave adjusted just enough tomake it clearwhohas ultimate responsibility forfireprevention,andeveryoneisempoweredtoact,regardlessofwhosetoestheymightstepon.

The same kinds of shifts are possible at any companywhere institutionalhabits—through thoughtlessness or neglect—have created toxic truces. Acompanywith dysfunctional habits can’t turn around simply because a leaderorders it. Rather, wise executives seek out moments of crisis—or create theperceptionofcrisis—andcultivate thesense thatsomethingmustchange, untileveryoneisfinallyreadytooverhaulthepatternstheylivewitheachday.

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” Rahm Emanuel told aconference of chief executives in the wake of the 2008 global financialmeltdown, soon after he was appointed as President Obama’s chief of staff.“Thiscrisisprovides theopportunity forus todo things thatyoucouldnotdobefore.”Soonafterward, theObamaadministrationconvincedaonce-reluctantCongresstopassthepresident’s$787billionstimulusplan.CongressalsopassedObama’s health care reform law, reworked consumer protection laws, andapproveddozensofotherstatutes,fromexpandingchildren’shealthinsurancetogivingwomennewopportunitiestosueoverwagediscrimination.Itwasoneofthebiggestpolicyoverhauls since theGreatSociety and theNewDeal, and ithappened because, in the aftermath of a financial catastrophe, lawmakers sawopportunity.

Something similar happened at Rhode IslandHospital in thewake of theeighty-six-year-oldman’sdeathandtheothersurgicalerrors.Sincethehospital’snew safety procedures were fully implemented in 2009, no wrong-site errorshave occurred. The hospital recently earned a Beacon Award, the mostprestigious recognitionof critical care nursing, andhonors from theAmericanCollegeofSurgeonsforthequalityofcancercare.

Moreimportant,saythenursesanddoctorswhoworkthere,RhodeIslandHospitalfeelslikeacompletelydifferentplace.

In2010,ayoungnursenamedAllisonWardwalkedintoanoperatingroomtoassistonaroutinesurgery.ShehadstartedworkingintheORayearearlier.She was the youngest and least experienced person in the room. Before thesurgerybegan,theentiresurgicalteamgatheredovertheunconsciouspatientforatimeout.Thesurgeonreadfromachecklist,postedonthewall,whichdetailedeverystepoftheoperation.

“Okay, final step,”he saidbeforehepickeduphis scalpel. “Doesanyonehaveanyconcernsbeforewestart?”

Thedoctorhadperformedhundredsofthesesurgeries.Hehadanofficefullofdegreesandawards.

“Doctor,”thetwenty-seven-year-oldWardsaid,“Iwanttoremindeveryonethatwehavetopausebeforethefirstandsecondprocedures.Youdidn’tmentionthat,andIjustwanttomakesureweremember.”

Itwasthetypeofcommentthat,afewyearsago,mighthaveearnedherarebuke.Orendedhercareer.

“Thanks for adding that,” the surgeon said. “I’ll remember to mention itnexttime.

“Okay,”hesaid,“let’sstart.”“Iknowthishospitalhasgonethroughsomehardperiods,”Wardlatertold

me. “But it’s really cooperative now. Our training, all the role models—thewhole culture of the hospital is focused on teamwork. I feel like I can sayanything.It’sanamazingplacetowork.”

1ThereportinginthischapterisbaseduponinterviewswithmultiplepeopleworkingatRhodeIslandHospitaland involvedin this incidentsomeofwhomprovided different accounts of events. For details on responses from hospitalrepresentativesandthesurgeoninvolved,pleaseseethenotes.

HOWTARGETKNOWSWHATYOUWANTBEFOREYOUDO

WhenCompaniesPredict(andManipulate)HabitsI.AndrewPolehadjuststartedworkingasadataexpertforTargetwhenafew

colleagues from the marketing department stopped by his desk one day andaskedthekindofquestionPolehadbeenborntoanswer:

“Canyourcomputersfigureoutwhichcustomersarepregnant,eveniftheydon’twantustoknow?”

Pole was a statistician. His entire life revolved around using data tounderstandpeople.Hehadgrownup inasmallNorthDakota town,andwhilehisfriendswereattending4-Horbuildingmodelrockets,Polewasplayingwith

computers.Aftercollege,hegotagraduatedegreeinstatisticsandthenanotherin economics, and while most of his classmates in the econ program at theUniversity of Missouri were headed to insurance companies or governmentbureaucracies, Pole was on a different track. He’d become obsessed with thewayseconomistswereusingpatternanalysistoexplainhumanbehavior.Pole,infact,hadtriedhishandatafewinformalexperimentshimself.Heoncethrewapartyandpolledeveryoneontheirfavoritejokes,andthenattemptedtocreateamathematical model for the perfect one-liner. He had sought to calculate theexactamountofbeerheneededtodrinkinordertoworkuptheconfidencetotalktowomenatparties,butnotsomuchthathewouldmakeafoolofhimself.(Thatparticularstudyneverseemedtocomeoutright.)

But those experiments were child’s play, he knew, to how corporateAmericawasusingdatatoscrutinizepeople’slives.Polewantedin.Sowhenhegraduatedandheard thatHallmark, thegreetingcardcompany,was looking tohire statisticians in Kansas City, he submitted an application and was soonspending his days scouring sales data to determine if pictures of pandas orelephantssoldmorebirthdaycards,andif“WhatHappensatGrandma’sStaysatGrandma’s”isfunnierinredorblueink.Itwasheaven.

Six years later, in 2002, when Pole learned that Target was looking fornumber crunchers, he made the jump. Target, he knew, was a whole othermagnitude when it came to data collection. Every year, millions of shopperswalkedintoTarget’s1,147storesandhandedoverterabytesofinformationaboutthemselves. Most had no idea they were doing it. They used their customerloyaltycards,redeemedcouponstheyhadreceivedinthemail,orusedacreditcard, unaware that Target could then link their purchases to an individualizeddemographicprofile.

Toastatistician,thisdatawasamagicwindowforpeeringintocustomers’preferences. Target sold everything fromgroceries to clothing, electronics andlawn furniture, and by closely tracking people’s buying habits, the company’sanalystscouldpredictwhatwasoccurringwithintheirhomes.Someone’sbuyingnew towels, sheets, silverware, pans, and frozen dinners? They probably justboughtanewhouse—oraregettingadivorce.Acartloadedupwithbugspray,kids’ underwear, a flashlight, lots of batteries, Real Simple, and a bottle ofChardonnay?SummercampisaroundthecornerandMomcanhardlywait.

WorkingatTargetofferedPoleachance tostudy themostcomplicatedofcreatures—theAmerican shopper—in its natural habitat. His jobwas to buildmathematical models that could crawl through data and determine whichhouseholdscontainedkidsandwhichwerededicatedbachelors;whichshoppers

loved the outdoors and who was more interested in ice cream and romancenovels.Pole’smandatewastobecomeamathematicalmindreader,decipheringshoppers’habitsinordertoconvincethemtospendmore.

Then, one afternoon, a few of Pole’s colleagues from the marketingdepartmentstoppedbyhisdesk.TheyweretryingtofigureoutwhichofTarget’scustomers were pregnant based on their buying patterns, they said. Pregnantwomenandnewparents,afterall,aretheholygrailofretail.Thereisalmostnomore profitable, product-hungry, price-insensitive group in existence. It’s notjust diapers and wipes. People with infants are so tired that they’ll buyeverything they need—juice and toilet paper, socks andmagazines—whereverthey purchase their bottles and formula. What’s more, if a new parent startsshoppingatTarget,they’llkeepcomingbackforyears.

Figuringoutwhowaspregnant,inotherwords,couldmakeTargetmillionsofdollars.

Polewasintrigued.Whatbetterchallengeforastatisticalfortune-tellerthannotonlygettinginsideshoppers’minds,buttheirbedrooms?

Bythetimetheprojectwasdone,Polewouldlearnsomeimportantlessonsaboutthedangersofpreyingonpeople’smostintimatehabits.Hewouldlearn,forexample,thathidingwhatyouknowissometimesasimportantasknowingit,andthatnotallwomenareenthusiasticaboutacomputerprogramscrutinizingtheirreproductiveplans.

Noteveryone,itturnsout,thinksmathematicalmindreadingiscool.“Iguessoutsiderscould say this is a littlebit likeBigBrother,”Pole told

me.“Thatmakessomepeopleuncomfortable.”

Onceuponatime,acompanylikeTargetwouldneverhavehiredaguylikeAndrew Pole. As little as twenty years ago retailers didn’t do this kind ofintensely data-driven analysis. Instead, Target, as well as grocery stores,shoppingmalls,greetingcardsellers,clothingretailers,andotherfirms,triedtopeer inside consumers’ heads the old-fashioned way: by hiring psychologistswhopeddledvaguelyscientifictacticstheyclaimedcouldmakecustomersspendmore.

Someof thosemethodsarestill inuse today. Ifyouwalk intoaWalmart,HomeDepot,oryourlocalshoppingcenterandlookclosely,you’llseeretailing

tricksthathavebeenaroundfordecades,eachdesignedtoexploityourshoppingsubconscious.

Take,forinstance,howyoubuyfood.Chancesare, the first thingsyou seeuponenteringyourgrocery store are

fruitsandvegetablesarrangedinattractive,bountifulpiles.Ifyouthinkaboutit,positioning produce at the front of a store doesn’tmakemuch sense, becausefruits and vegetables bruise easily at the bottom of a shopping cart; logically,theyshouldbesituatedbytheregisters,sotheycomeattheendofatrip.Butasmarketers and psychologists figured out long ago, if we start our shoppingspreesby loadinguponhealthystuff,we’remuchmore likely tobuyDoritos,Oreos, and frozen pizza when we encounter them later on. The burst ofsubconsciousvirtuousnessthatcomesfromfirstbuyingbutternutsquashmakesiteasiertoputapintoficecreaminthecartlater.

Ortakethewaymostofusturntotherightafterenteringastore.(Didyouknowyouturnright?It’salmostcertainyoudo.Therearethousandsofhoursofvideotapesshowingshoppersturningrightoncetheyclearthefrontdoors.)Asaresult of this tendency, retailers fill the right side of the store with the mostprofitableproductsthey’rehopingyou’llbuyrightoffthebat.Orconsidercerealand soups: When they’re shelved out of alphabetical order and seemingly atrandom,our instinct is to linger abit longer and lookat awider selection.Soyou’llrarelyfindRaisinBrannexttoRiceChex.Instead,you’llhavetosearchtheshelvesforthecerealyouwant,andmaybegettemptedtograbanextraboxofanotherbrand.7.1

The problem with these tactics, however, is that they treat each shopperexactly the same. They’re fairly primitive, one-size-fits-all solutions fortriggeringbuyinghabits.

In the past two decades, however, as the retail marketplace has becomemore and more competitive, chains such as Target began to understand theycouldn’trelyonthesameoldbagoftricks.Theonlywaytoincreaseprofitswasto figure out each individual shopper’s habits and tomarket to people one byone,withpersonalizedpitchesdesigned toappeal tocustomers’uniquebuyingpreferences.

Inpart,thisrealizationcamefromagrowingawarenessofhowpowerfullyhabits influence almost every shopping decision. A series of experimentsconvincedmarketers that if theymanaged tounderstandaparticular shopper’shabits, theycouldget themtobuyalmostanything.7.2Onestudytape-recordedconsumersastheywalkedthroughgrocerystores.Researcherswantedtoknowhowpeoplemadebuyingdecisions.Inparticular,theylookedforshopperswho

had comewith shopping lists—who, theoretically, had decided ahead of timewhattheywantedtoget.

Whattheydiscoveredwasthatdespitethoselists,morethan50percentofpurchasingdecisionsoccurredat themomentacustomersawaproducton theshelf,because,despiteshoppers’bestintentions,theirhabitswerestrongerthantheir written intentions. “Let’s see,” one shopper muttered to himself as hewalkedthroughastore.“Herearethechips.Iwillskipthem.Waitaminute.Oh!TheLay’spotatochipsareonsale!”Heputabaginhiscart.7.3Someshoppersbought the samebrands,month aftermonth, even if they admitted theydidn’tlike theproductverymuch (“I’mnot crazyaboutFolgers,but it’swhat Ibuy,youknow?Whatelseisthere?”onewomansaidasshestoodinfrontofashelfcontaining dozens of other coffee brands). Shoppers bought roughly the sameamountoffoodeachtimetheywentshopping,evenif theyhadpledgedtocutback.

“Consumers sometimesact likecreaturesofhabit, automatically repeatingpast behavior with little regard to current goals,” two psychologists at theUniversityofSouthernCaliforniawrotein2009.7.4

The surprising aspect of these studies, however, was that even thougheveryone relied on habits to guide their purchases, each person’s habits weredifferent. The guy who liked potato chips bought a bag every time, but theFolgerswomanneverwentdownthepotatochipaisle.Therewerepeoplewhobought milk whenever they shopped—even if they had plenty at home—andthere were people who always purchased desserts when they said they weretryingtoloseweight.Butthemilkbuyersandthedessertaddictsdidn’tusuallyoverlap.

Thehabitswereuniquetoeachperson.Target wanted to take advantage of those individual quirks. But when

millionsofpeoplewalkthroughyourdoorseveryday,howdoyoukeeptrackoftheirpreferencesandshoppingpatterns?

Youcollectdata.Enormous,almostinconceivablylargeamountsofdata.Starting a little over a decade ago, Target began building a vast data

warehousethatassignedeveryshopperanidentificationcode—knowninternallyasthe“GuestIDnumber”—thatkepttabsonhoweachpersonshopped.WhenacustomerusedaTarget-issuedcreditcard,handedovera frequent-buyer tagatthe register, redeemed a coupon that was mailed to their house, filled out asurvey,mailedinarefund,phonedthecustomerhelpline,openedanemailfromTarget, visited Target.com, or purchased anything online, the company’scomputers took note. A record of each purchase was linked to that shopper’s

GuestIDnumberalongwithinformationoneverythingelsethey’deverbought.Also linked to that Guest ID number was demographic information that

Target collected or purchased from other firms, including the shopper’s age,whethertheyweremarriedandhadkids,whichpartoftowntheylivedin,howlong it took them to drive to the store, an estimate of howmuchmoney theyearned, if they’dmoved recently,whichwebsites theyvisited, the credit cardstheycarried in theirwallet, and theirhomeandmobilephonenumbers.Targetcan purchase data that indicates a shopper’s ethnicity, their job history, whatmagazinestheyread,iftheyhaveeverdeclaredbankruptcy,theyeartheybought(orlost)theirhouse,wheretheywenttocollegeorgraduateschool,andwhethertheyprefercertainbrandsofcoffee,toiletpaper,cereal,orapplesauce.

TherearedatapeddlerssuchasInfiniGraphthat“listen”toshoppers’onlineconversationsonmessageboardsandInternetforums,andtrackwhichproductspeoplementionfavorably.AfirmnamedRapleafsellsinformationonshoppers’politicalleanings,readinghabits,charitablegiving,thenumberofcarstheyown,and whether they prefer religious news or deals on cigarettes.7.5 Othercompanies analyze photos that consumers post online, cataloging if they areobese or skinny, short or tall, hairy or bald, andwhat kinds of products theymightwanttobuyasaresult.(Target,inastatement,declinedtoindicatewhatdemographiccompaniesitdoesbusinesswithandwhatkindsof informationitstudies.)

“Itusedtobethatcompaniesonlyknewwhattheircustomerswantedthemtoknow,”saidTomDavenport,oneoftheleadingresearchersonhowbusinessesuse data and analytics. “That world is far behind us. You’d be shocked howmuchinformationisoutthere—andeverycompanybuysit,becauseit’stheonlywaytosurvive.”

If you use your Target credit card to purchase a box of Popsicles once aweek,usuallyaround6:30p.m.onaweekday,andmegasizedtrashbagseveryJuly andOctober, Target’s statisticians and computer programswill determinethatyouhavekidsathome, tend to stop forgroceriesonyourwayback fromwork, and have a lawn that needsmowing in the summer and trees that dropleavesinthefall.Itwilllookatyourothershoppingpatternsandnoticethatyousometimesbuycereal,butneverpurchasemilk—whichmeansthatyoumustbebuyingitsomewhereelse.SoTargetwillmailyoucouponsfor2percentmilk,aswell as for chocolate sprinkles, school supplies, lawn furniture, rakes, and—since it’s likely you’ll want to relax after a long day at work—beer. Thecompanywillguesswhatyouhabituallybuy,andthentrytoconvinceyoutogetitatTarget.Thefirmhasthecapacitytopersonalizetheadsandcouponsitsends

toeverycustomer,eventhoughyou’llprobablyneverrealizeyou’vereceivedadifferentflyerinthemailthanyourneighbors.

“With the Guest ID, we have your name, address, and tender, we knowyou’ve got a Target Visa, a debit card, and we can tie that to your storepurchases,”Poletoldanaudienceofretailstatisticiansataconferencein2010.Thecompanycanlinkabouthalfofallin-storesalestoaspecificperson,almostallonlinesales,andaboutaquarterofonlinebrowsing.

Atthatconference,PoleflashedaslideshowingasampleofthedataTargetcollects, a diagram that caused someone in the audience towhistle inwonderwhenitappearedonthescreen:7.6

The problemwith all this data, however, is that it’s meaningless withoutstatisticians tomake sense of it. To a layperson, two shoppers who both buyorangejuicelookthesame.Itrequiresaspecialkindofmathematiciantofigureout that one of them is a thirty-four-year-oldwoman purchasing juice for herkids(andthusmightappreciateacouponforaThomastheTankEngineDVD)andtheotherisatwenty-eight-year-oldbachelorwhodrinksjuiceaftergoingforarun(andthusmightrespondtodiscountsonsneakers).Poleandthefiftyothermembers of Target’sGuestData andAnalytical Services departmentwere theoneswhofoundthehabitshiddeninthefacts.

“We call it the ‘guest portrait,’ ” Pole toldme. “Themore I know aboutsomeone, the better I can guess their buying patterns. I’m not going to guesseverythingaboutyoueverytime,butI’llberightmoreoftenthanI’mwrong.”

BythetimePolejoinedTargetin2002,theanalyticsdepartmenthadalreadybuilt computerprograms to identifyhouseholds containing children and, comeeachNovember,sendtheirparentscatalogsofbicyclesandscootersthatwouldlookperfectundertheChristmastree,aswellascouponsforschoolsuppliesinSeptemberandadvertisementsforpooltoysinJune.Thecomputerslookedforshoppersbuyingbikinis inApril, and sent themcoupons for sunscreen in Julyand weight-loss books in December. If it wanted, Target could send eachcustomer a coupon book filled with discounts for products they were fairlycertain the shoppers were going to buy, because they had already purchasedthoseexactitemsbefore.

Target isn’t alone in its desire to predict consumers’ habits.Almost every

major retailer, includingAmazon.com,BestBuy,Kroger supermarkets, 1-800-Flowers, Olive Garden, Anheuser-Busch, the U.S. Postal Service, FidelityInvestments,Hewlett-Packard,BankofAmerica,CapitalOne,andhundredsofothers, have “predictive analytics” departments devoted to figuring outconsumers’preferences.“ButTargethasalwaysbeenoneofthesmartestatthis,”saidEricSiegel,whorunsaconferencecalledPredictiveAnalyticsWorld.“Thedatadoesn’tmeananythingonitsown.Target’sgoodatfiguringout thereallycleverquestions.”

Itdoesn’ttakeageniustoknowthatsomeonebuyingcerealprobablyalsoneedsmilk.Buttherewereother,muchharder—andmoreprofitable—questionstobeanswered.

Whichiswhy,afewweeksafterPolewashired,hiscolleaguesaskedifitwas possible to determinewhowas pregnant, even if thatwoman didn’twantanyonetoknow.

In1984,avisitingprofessoratUCLAnamedAlanAndreasenpublishedapaper that set out to answer a basic question:Why do some people suddenlychangetheirshoppingroutines?

Andreasen’steamhadspentthepreviousyearconductingtelephonesurveyswith consumers around Los Angeles, interrogating them about their recentshopping trips. Whenever someone answered the phone, the scientists wouldbarragethemwithquestionsaboutwhichbrandsoftoothpasteandsoaptheyhadpurchasedandiftheirpreferenceshadshifted.Alltold,theyinterviewedalmostthree hundred people. Like other researchers, they found that most peopleboughtthesamebrandsofcerealanddeodorantweekafterweek.Habitsreignedsupreme.

Exceptwhentheydidn’t.Forinstance,10.5percentof thepeopleAndreasensurveyedhadswitched

toothpastebrandsintheprevioussixmonths.Morethan15percenthadstartedbuyinganewkindoflaundrydetergent.

Andreasenwantedtoknowwhythesepeoplehaddeviatedfromtheirusualpatterns.Whathediscoveredhasbecomeapillarofmodernmarketing theory:People’sbuyinghabitsaremorelikelytochangewhentheygothroughamajorlifeevent.Whensomeonegetsmarried,forexample,they’remorelikelytostart

buyinganewtypeofcoffee.Whentheymoveintoanewhouse, they’remoreapt to purchase a different kind of cereal. When they get divorced, there’s ahigherchance they’llstartbuyingdifferentbrandsofbeer.7.7Consumersgoingthroughmajorlifeeventsoftendon’tnotice,orcare,thattheirshoppingpatternshaveshifted.However,retailersnotice,andtheycarequiteabit.7.8

“Changingresidence,gettingmarriedordivorced,losingorchangingajob,having someone enter or leave the household,” Andreasen wrote, are lifechangesthatmakeconsumersmore“vulnerabletointerventionbymarketers.”

Andwhat’sthebiggestlifeeventformostpeople?Whatcausesthegreatestdisruption and “vulnerability to marketing interventions”? Having a baby.There’s almost no greater upheaval for most customers than the arrival of achild.Asaresult,newparents’habitsaremoreflexibleat thatmomentthanatalmostanyotherperiodinanadult’slife.

Soforcompanies,pregnantwomenaregoldmines.New parents buy lots of stuff—diapers and wipes, cribs and Onesies,

blanketsandbottles—thatstoressuchasTargetsellatasignificantprofit.Onesurvey conducted in 2010 estimated that the average parent spends $6,800 onbabyitemsbeforeachild’sfirstbirthday.7.9

Butthat’sjustthetipoftheshoppingiceberg.Thoseinitialexpendituresarepeanutscomparedwiththeprofitsastorecanearnbytakingadvantageofanewparent’s shifting shopping habits. If exhaustedmoms and sleep-deprived dadsstart purchasing baby formula and diapers at Target, they’ll start buying theirgroceries,cleaningsupplies,towels,underwear,and—well,thesky’sthelimit—fromTargetaswell.Becauseit’seasy.Toanewparent,easymattersmostofall.

“As soon as we get them buying diapers from us, they’re going to startbuyingeverythingelse,too,”Poletoldme.“Ifyou’rerushingthroughthestore,looking for bottles, and you pass orange juice, you’ll grab a carton. Oh, andthere’s that newDVD Iwant. Soon, you’ll be buying cereal andpaper towelsfromus,andkeepcomingback.”

Newparentsaresovaluablethatmajorretailerswilldoalmostanythingtofind them, includinggoing insidematernitywards, even if theirproductshavenothingtodowithinfants.OneNewYorkhospital,forinstance,provideseverynewmotherwithagiftbagcontainingsamplesofhairgel, facewash,shavingcream,anenergybar,shampoo,andasoft-cottonT-shirt.Insidearecouponsforanonlinephotoservice,handsoap,andalocalgym.Therearealsosamplesofdiapers andbaby lotions, but they’re lost among thenonbaby supplies. In580hospitalsacross theUnitedStates,newmothersgetgiftsfromtheWaltDisney

Company,whichin2010startedadivisionspecificallyaimedatmarketingtotheparentsofinfants.Procter&Gamble,Fisher-Price,andotherfirmshavesimilargiveawayprograms.Disneyestimates theNorthAmericannewbabymarket isworth$36.3billionayear.7.10

ButforcompaniessuchasTarget,approachingnewmomsinthematernityward is, in some senses, too late. By then, they’re already on everyone else’sradarscreen.Targetdidn’twanttocompetewithDisneyandProcter&Gamble;theywantedtobeatthem.Target’sgoalwastostartmarketingtoparentsbeforethebabyarrived—whichiswhyAndrewPole’scolleaguesapproachedhimthatday to ask about building a pregnancy-prediction algorithm. If they couldidentifyexpectingmothersasearlyastheirsecondtrimester,theycouldcapturethembeforeanyoneelse.

The only problemwas that figuring out which customers are pregnant isharderthanitseems.Targethadababyshowerregistry,andthathelpedidentifysomepregnantwomen—andwhat’smore,allthosesoon-to-bemotherswillinglyhanded over valuable information, like their due dates, that let the companyknowwhen to send themcoupons forprenatalvitaminsordiapers.ButonlyafractionofTarget’spregnantcustomersusedtheregistry.

Then therewereother customerswhoexecutivessuspectedwerepregnantbecause they purchased maternity clothing, nursery furniture, and boxes ofdiapers.Suspectingandknowing,however,aretwodifferentthings.Howdoyouknow whether someone buying diapers is pregnant or buying a gift for apregnant friend?What’smore, timingmatters.Acoupon that’suseful amonthbeforetheduedatemightgetputinthetrashafewweeksafterthebabyarrives.

PolestartedworkingontheproblembyscouringtheinformationinTarget’sbabyshowerregistry,whichlethimobservehowtheaveragewoman’sshoppinghabits changedasherduedate approached.The registrywas like a laboratorywherehecouldtesthunches.Eachexpectantmotherhandedoverhername,herspouse’s name, and her due date. Target’s data warehouse could link thatinformationtothefamily’sGuestIDs.Asaresult,wheneveroneofthesewomenpurchased something in a storeor online,Pole, using theduedate thewomanprovided,couldplotthetrimesterinwhichthepurchaseoccurred.Beforelong,hewaspickinguppatterns.

Expectantmothers,hediscovered,shoppedinfairlypredictableways.Take,forexample,lotions.Lotsofpeoplebuylotion,butaTargetdataanalystnoticedthat women on the baby registry were buying unusually large quantities ofunscentedlotionaroundthebeginningoftheirsecondtrimester.Anotheranalystnotedthatsometimeinthefirsttwentyweeks,manypregnantwomenloadedup

onvitamins,suchascalcium,magnesium,andzinc.Lotsofshopperspurchasesoap and cotton balls everymonth, butwhen someone suddenly starts buyinglots of scent-free soap and cotton balls, in addition to hand sanitizers and anastoundingnumberofwashcloths,allatonce,afewmonthsafterbuyinglotionsandmagnesiumandzinc,itsignalstheyaregettingclosetotheirdeliverydate.

As Pole’s computer program crawled through the data, he was able toidentify about twenty-five different products that, when analyzed together,allowed him to, in a sense, peer inside awoman’swomb.Most important, hecould guesswhat trimester shewas in—and estimate her due date—soTargetcouldsendhercouponswhenshewasonthebrinkofmakingnewpurchases.BythetimePolewasdone,hisprogramcouldassignalmostanyregularshoppera“pregnancyprediction”score.

JennyWard, a twenty-three-year-old in Atlanta who bought cocoa butterlotion,apurselargeenoughtodoubleasadiaperbag,zinc,magnesium,andabrightblue rug?There’san87percentchance that she’spregnantand thatherdeliverydateissometimeinlateAugust.7.11LizAlterinBrooklyn,athirty-five-year-oldwho purchased five packs ofwashcloths, a bottle of “sensitive skin”laundry detergent, baggy jeans, vitamins containing DHA, and a slew ofmoisturizers?She’sgot a 96percent chanceof pregnancy, and she’ll probablygivebirthinearlyMay.CaitlinPike,athirty-nine-year-oldinSanFranciscowhopurchaseda$250stroller,butnothingelse?She’sprobablybuyingforafriend’sbabyshower.Besides,herdemographicdatashowsshegotdivorcedtwoyearsago.

PoleappliedhisprogramtoeveryshopperinTarget’sdatabase.Whenitwasdone,hehada listofhundredsof thousandsofwomenwhowere likely tobepregnant that Target could inundate with advertisements for diapers, lotions,cribs,wipes, andmaternity clothing at timeswhen their shopping habitswereparticularlyflexible.IfafractionofthosewomenortheirhusbandsstarteddoingtheirshoppingatTarget,itwouldaddmillionstothecompany’sbottomline.

Then,justasthisadvertisingavalanchewasabouttobegin,someonewithinthemarketingdepartmentaskedaquestion:HowarewomengoingtoreactwhentheyfigureouthowmuchTargetknows?

“If we send someone a catalog and say, ‘Congratulations on your firstchild!’ and they’ve never told us they’re pregnant, that’s going tomake somepeople uncomfortable,” Pole told me. “We are very conservative aboutcompliancewithallprivacylaws.Butevenifyou’refollowingthelaw,youcandothingswherepeoplegetqueasy.”

There’sgood reason for suchworries.About ayear afterPole createdhis

pregnancy prediction model, a man walked into a Minnesota Target anddemandedtoseethemanager.Hewasclutchinganadvertisement.Hewasveryangry.

“Mydaughtergotthisinthemail!”hesaid.“She’sstillinhighschool,andyou’re sending her coupons for baby clothes and cribs? Are you trying toencouragehertogetpregnant?”

The manager didn’t have any idea what the man was talking about. Helookedat themailer.Sureenough, itwasaddressed to theman’sdaughterandcontainedadvertisementsformaternityclothing,nurseryfurniture,andpicturesofsmilinginfantsgazingintotheirmothers’eyes.

The manager apologized profusely, and then called, a few days later, toapologizeagain.

Thefatherwassomewhatabashed.“I had a talkwithmy daughter,” he said. “It turns out there’s been some

activities in my house I haven’t been completely aware of.” He took a deepbreath.“She’sdueinAugust.Ioweyouanapology.”

Targetisnottheonlyfirmtohaveraisedconcernsamongconsumers.Othercompanieshavebeenattackedforusingdatainfarlessintrusiveways.In2011,for instance, a New York resident sued McDonald’s, CBS, Mazda, andMicrosoft, alleging those companies’ advertising agency monitored people’sInternetusage toprofile theirbuyinghabits.7.12ThereareongoingclassactionlawsuitsinCaliforniaagainstTarget,Walmart,Victoria’sSecret,andotherretailchainsforaskingcustomerstogivetheirzipcodeswhentheyusecreditcards,andthenusingthatinformationtoferretouttheirmailingaddresses.7.13

Usingdatatopredictawoman’spregnancy,Poleandhiscolleaguesknew,was a potential public relations disaster. So how could they get theiradvertisements into expectant mothers’ hands without making it appear theywerespyingonthem?Howdoyoutakeadvantageofsomeone’shabitswithoutlettingthemknowyou’restudyingeverydetailoftheirlives?1

II.In the summer of 2003, a promotion executive at Arista Records named

SteveBartelsbegancallingupradioDJstotellthemaboutanewsonghewascertaintheywouldlove.Itwascalled“HeyYa!”bythehip-hopgroupOutKast.

“HeyYa!”wasanupbeatfusionoffunk,rock,andhip-hopwithadollopofBigBandswing,fromoneof themostpopularbandsonearth.Itsoundedlikenothingelseontheradio.“ItmadethehaironmyarmsstandupthefirsttimeIheardit,”Bartelstoldme.“Itsoundedlikeahit,likethekindofsongyou’dbe

hearing at bar mitzvahs and proms for years.” Around the Arista offices,executivessang thechorus—“shake it likeaPolaroidpicture”—tooneanotherinthehallways.Thissong,theyallagreed,isgoingtobehuge.

That certainty wasn’t based solely on intuition. At the time, the recordbusiness was undergoing a transformation similar to the data-driven shiftsoccurring at Target and elsewhere. Just as retailers were using computeralgorithms to forecast shoppers’habits,musicand radioexecutiveswereusingcomputerprograms to forecast listeners’habits.AcompanynamedPolyphonicHMI—a collection of artificial intelligence experts and statisticians based inSpain—had created a program called Hit Song Science that analyzed themathematicalcharacteristicsofatuneandpredicteditspopularity.Bycomparingthe tempo, pitch, melody, chord progression, and other factors of a particularsong against the thousands of hits stored in Polyphonic HMI’s database, HitSong Science could deliver a score that forecasted if a tune was likely tosucceed.7.14

The program had predicted that Norah Jones’sCome Away withMe, forinstance,wouldbeahitaftermostoftheindustryhaddismissedthealbum.(ItwentontoselltenmillioncopiesandwineightGrammys.)Ithadpredictedthat“WhyDon’tYouandI”bySantanawouldbepopular,despiteDJs’doubts. (ItreachednumberthreeontheBillboardTop40list.)

Whenexecutivesatradiostationsran“HeyYa!”throughHitSongScience,it did well. In fact, it did better than well: The score was among the highestanyonehadeverseen.

“HeyYa!,”accordingtothealgorithm,wasgoingtobeamonsterhit.OnSeptember4,2003,intheprominentslotof7:15p.m.,theTop40station

WIOQinPhiladelphiastartedplaying“HeyYa!”ontheradio.Itairedthesongseven more times that week, and a total of thirty-seven times throughout themonth.7.15

Atthetime,acompanynamedArbitronwastestinganewtechnologythatmade it possible to figure out howmany peoplewere listening to a particularradio station at a given moment, and how many switched channels during aspecificsong.WIOQwasoneof thestations includedin thetest.Thestation’sexecutiveswerecertain“HeyYa!”wouldkeeplistenersgluedtotheirradios.

Thenthedatacameback.Listeners didn’t just dislike “Hey Ya!” They hated it according to the

data.7.16Theyhated it somuch thatnearlya thirdof themchanged thestationwithinthefirstthirtysecondsofthesong.Itwasn’tonlyatWIOQ,either.Across

the nation, at radio stations in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Seattle,whenever“HeyYa!”cameon,hugenumbersoflistenerswouldclickoff.

“I thought it was a great song the first time I heard it,” said JohnGarabedian,thehostofasyndicatedTop40radioshowheardbymorethantwomillionpeopleeachweekend.“Butitdidn’tsoundlikeothersongs,andsosomepeoplewentnutswhen itcameon.Oneguy toldme itwas theworst thinghehadeverheard.

“People listen toTop40because theywant tohear their favoritesongsorsongsthatsoundjustliketheirfavoritesongs.Whensomethingdifferentcomeson,they’reoffended.Theydon’twantanythingunfamiliar.”

Aristahadspentalotofmoneypromoting“HeyYa!”Themusicandradioindustries needed it to be a success. Hit songs are worth a fortune—not onlybecausepeoplebuythesongitself,butalsobecauseahitcanconvincelistenerstoabandonvideogamesandtheInternetforradio.Ahitcansellsportscarsontelevisionandclothinginsidetrendystores.Hitsongsareattherootofdozensofspending habits that advertisers, TV stations, bars, dance clubs—eventechnologyfirmssuchasApple—relyon.

Now,oneofthemosthighlyanticipatedsongs—atunethatthealgorithmshad predicted would become the song of the year—was flailing. Radioexecutivesweredesperatetofindsomethingthatwouldmake“HeyYa!”intoahit.7.17

Thatquestion—howdoyoumakeasongintoahit?—hasbeenpuzzlingthemusic industry ever since it began, but it’s only in the past few decades thatpeople have tried to arrive at scientific answers. One of the pioneers was aonetimestationmanagernamedRichMeyerwho,in1985,withhiswife,Nancy,started a company calledMediabase in the basement of their Chicago home.Theywouldwakeupeverymorning,pickupapackageoftapesofstationsthathad been recorded the previous day in various cities, and count and analyzeeverysongthathadbeenplayed.Meyerwouldthenpublishaweeklynewslettertrackingwhichtuneswererisingordeclininginpopularity.

Inhisfirstfewyears,thenewsletterhadonlyaboutahundredsubscribers,andMeyerandhiswifestruggledtokeepthecompanyafloat.However,asmoreandmore stations began usingMeyer’s insights to increase their audiences—

and,inparticular,studyingtheformulashedevisedtoexplainlisteningtrends—hisnewsletter,thedatasoldbyMediabase,andthensimilarservicesprovidedbya growing industry of data-focused consultants, overhauled how radio stationswererun.

Oneof thepuzzlesMeyermost lovedwas figuringoutwhy,during somesongs,listenersneverseemedtochangetheradiodial.AmongDJs,thesesongsare known as “sticky.”Meyer had tracked hundreds of sticky songs over theyears, trying to divine the principles that made them popular. His office wasfilledwithchartsandgraphsplottingthecharacteristicsofvariousstickysongs.Meyerwas always looking fornewways tomeasure stickiness, and about thetime“HeyYa!”wasreleased,hestartedexperimentingwithdatafromtheteststhatArbitronwasconductingtoseeifitprovidedanyfreshinsights.

Some of the stickiest songs at the time were sticky for obvious reasons—“Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé and “Señorita” by Justin Timberlake, forinstance,hadjustbeenreleasedandwerealreadyhugelypopular,butthoseweregreat songs by established stars, so the stickiness made sense. Other songs,though,were sticky for reasons no one could really understand. For instance,when stations played “Breathe” by Blu Cantrell during the summer of 2003,almost no one changed the dial. The song is an eminently forgettable, beat-driventunethatDJsfoundsoblandthatmostofthemonlyplayeditreluctantly,they told music publications. But for some reason, whenever it came on theradio,peoplelistened,evenif,aspollsterslaterdiscovered,thosesamelistenerssaidtheydidn’tlikethesongverymuch.Orconsider“HereWithoutYou”by3DoorsDown,or almost any songby thegroupMaroon5.Thosebandsare sofeatureless that critics and listeners created a new music category—“bathrock”—to describe their tepid sounds. Yet whenever they came on the radio,almostnoonechangedthestation.

Then therewere songs that listeners said they actively disliked, butweresticky nonetheless. Take Christina Aguilera or Celine Dion. In survey aftersurvey,malelistenerssaidtheyhatedCelineDionandcouldn’tstandhersongs.ButwheneveraDion tunecameon theradio,menstayed tuned in.Within theLosAngelesmarket,stationsthatregularlyplayedDionattheendofeachhour—when the number of listeners was measured—could reliably boost theiraudience by as much as 3 percent, a huge figure in the radio world. MalelistenersmayhavethoughttheydislikedDion,butwhenhersongsplayed,theystayedglued.7.18

Onenight,Meyersatdownandstartedlisteningtoabunchofstickysongsinarow,onerightaftertheother,overandoveragain.Ashedid,hestartedto

noticeasimilarityamongthem.Itwasn’tthatthesongssoundedalike.Someofthemwereballads,otherswerepoptunes.However, theyallseemedsimilarinthateachsoundedexactlylikewhatMeyerexpectedtohearfromthatparticulargenre. They sounded familiar—like everything else on the radio—but a littlemorepolished,abitclosertothegoldenmeanoftheperfectsong.

“Sometimesstationswilldoresearchbycallinglistenersonthephone,andplayasnippetofasong,andlistenerswillsay,‘I’veheardthatamilliontimes.I’mtotallytiredofit,’”Meyertoldme.“Butwhenitcomesontheradio,yoursubconscioussays, ‘Iknow this song! I’veheard itamillion times! Icansingalong!’Stickysongsarewhatyouexpecttohearontheradio.Yourbrainsecretlywantsthatsong,becauseit’ssofamiliartoeverythingelseyou’vealreadyheardandliked.Itjustsoundsright.”

There is evidence that a preference for things that sound “familiar” is aproductofourneurology.Scientistshaveexaminedpeople’sbrainsastheylistentomusic,andhavetrackedwhichneuralregionsareinvolvedincomprehendingauralstimuli.Listeningtomusicactivatesnumerousareasofthebrain,includingthe auditory cortex, the thalamus, and the superior parietal cortex.7.19 Thesesame areas are also associated with pattern recognition and helping the braindecide which inputs to pay attention to and which to ignore. The areas thatprocessmusic, in otherwords, are designed to seek out patterns and look forfamiliarity. This makes sense.Music, after all, is complicated. The numeroustones, pitches, overlappingmelodies, and competing sounds inside almost anysong—or anyone speaking on a busy street, for that matter—are sooverwhelming that, without our brain’s ability to focus on some sounds andignoreothers,everythingwouldseemlikeacacophonyofnoise.7.20

Ourbrainscravefamiliarityinmusicbecausefamiliarityishowwemanageto hearwithout becoming distracted by all the sound. Just as the scientists atMITdiscoveredthatbehavioralhabitspreventusfrombecomingoverwhelmedby theendlessdecisionswewouldotherwisehave tomakeeachday, listeninghabits exist because,without them, itwould be impossible to determine ifweshouldconcentrateonourchild’svoice,thecoach’swhistle,orthenoisefromabusy street during a Saturday soccer game. Listening habits allow us tounconsciouslyseparateimportantnoisesfromthosethatcanbeignored.

That’swhysongs thatsound“familiar”—even ifyou’veneverheard thembefore—aresticky.Ourbrainsaredesignedtopreferauditorypatternsthatseemsimilartowhatwe’vealreadyheard.WhenCelineDionreleasesanewsong—anditsoundslikeeveryothersongshe’ssung,aswellasmostoftheothersongson the radio—our brains unconsciously crave its recognizability and the song

becomessticky.YoumightneverattendaCelineDionconcert,butyou’lllistentohersongsontheradio,becausethat’swhatyouexpecttohearasyoudrivetowork.Thosesongscorrespondperfectlytoyourhabits.

Thisinsighthelpedexplainwhy“HeyYa!”wasfailingontheradio,despitethefactthatHitSongScienceandmusicexecutivesweresureitwouldbeahit.Theproblemwasn’tthat“HeyYa!”wasbad.Theproblemwasthat“HeyYa!”wasn’t familiar.Radio listenersdidn’twant tomakeaconsciousdecisioneachtimetheywerepresentedwithanewsong.Instead,theirbrainswantedtofollowahabit.Muchofthetime,wedon’tactuallychooseifwelikeordislikeasong.Itwouldtaketoomuchmentaleffort.Instead,wereacttothecues(“ThissoundslikealltheothersongsI’veeverliked”)andrewards(“It’sfuntohumalong!”)and without thinking, we either start singing, or reach over and change thestation.

THEFAMILIARITYLOOPIna sense,Arista and radioDJs facedavariationof theproblemAndrew

Polewas confrontingatTarget.Listeners arehappy to sit througha song theymightsaytheydislike,aslongasitseemslikesomethingthey’veheardbefore.Pregnantwomenarehappytousecouponstheyreceiveinthemail,unlessthosecoupons make it obvious that Target is spying into their wombs, which isunfamiliarandkindofcreepy.GettingacouponthatmakesitclearTargetknowsyou’repregnantisatoddsfromwhatacustomerexpects.It’sliketellingaforty-two-year-old investmentbanker thathesangalongtoCelineDion. It just feelswrong.

So howdoDJs convince listeners to stickwith songs such as “HeyYa!”longenoughforthemtobecomefamiliar?HowdoesTargetconvincepregnantwomentousediapercouponswithoutcreepingthemout?

Bydressingsomethingnewinoldclothes,andmakingtheunfamiliarseemfamiliar.

III.In the early 1940s, the U.S. government began shipping much of the

nation’sdomesticmeatsupplytoEuropeandthePacifictheatertosupporttroopsfightinginWorldWarII.Backhome,theavailabilityofsteaksandporkchopsbegan todwindle.By the time theUnitedStates entered thewar in late1941,NewYorkrestaurantswereusinghorsemeatforhamburgersandablackmarketforpoultryhademerged.7.21Federalofficialsbecameworriedthatalengthywareffortwouldleavethenationstarvedofprotein.This“problemwillloomlargerand larger in theUnited States as thewar goes on,” former presidentHerbertHooverwrotetoAmericansinagovernmentpamphletin1943.“Ourfarmsareshortoflabortocareforlivestock;andontopofitallwemustfurnishsuppliestotheBritishandRussians.Meatsandfatsarejustasmuchmunitionsinthiswarasaretanksandaeroplanes.”

Concerned, theDepartment ofDefense approacheddozens of the nation’sleading sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists—including MargaretMeadandKurtLewin,whowouldgoon tobecomecelebrityacademics—andgave themanassignment:Figureouthow toconvinceAmericans toeatorganmeats. Get housewives to serve their husbands and children the protein-richlivers,hearts,kidneys,brains,stomachs,andintestinesthatwereleftbehindaftertheribeyesandroastbeefwentoverseas.

Atthetime,organmeatwasn’tpopularinAmerica.Amiddle-classwomanin1940wouldsoonerstarvethandespoilhertablewithtongueortripe.SowhenthescientistsrecruitedintotheCommitteeonFoodHabitsmetforthefirsttime

in 1941, they set themselves a goal of systematically identifying the culturalbarriers thatdiscouragedAmericans fromeatingorganmeat. In all,more thantwo hundred studies were eventually published, and at their core, they allcontainedasimilar finding:Tochangepeople’sdiets, theexoticmustbemadefamiliar.Andtodothat,youmustcamouflageitineverydaygarb.7.22

ToconvinceAmericanstoeatliversandkidneys,housewiveshadtoknowhowtomakethefoodslook,taste,andsmellassimilaraspossibletowhattheirfamilies expected to see on the dinner table, the scientists concluded. Forinstance,whentheSubsistenceDivisionoftheQuartermasterCorps—thepeopleinchargeoffeedingsoldiers—startedservingfreshcabbagetotroopsin1943,itwasrejected.Somesshallschoppedandboiledthecabbageuntilitlookedlikeevery other vegetable on a soldier’s tray—and the troops ate it withoutcomplaint. “Soldiers were more likely to eat food, whether familiar orunfamiliar,whenitwaspreparedsimilartotheirpriorexperiencesandservedinafamiliarfashion,”apresent-dayresearcherevaluatingthosestudieswrote.7.23

The secret to changing theAmericandiet, theCommitteeonFoodHabitsconcluded,was familiarity. Soon, housewiveswere receivingmailers from thegovernmenttellingthem“everyhusbandwillcheerforsteakandkidneypie.”7.24Butchers started handing out recipes that explained how to slip liver intomeatloaf.

AfewyearsafterWorldWarIIended,theCommitteeonFoodHabitswasdissolved. By then, however, organ meats had been fully integrated into theAmericandiet.One study indicated that offal consumption rose by33percentduringthewar.By1955,itwasup50percent.7.25Kidneyhadbecomeastapleatdinner.Liverwasforspecialoccasions.America’sdiningpatternshadshiftedtosuchadegreethatorganmeatshadbecomeemblemsofcomfort.

Since then, the U.S. government has launched dozens of other efforts toimproveourdiets.Forexample,therewasthe“FiveaDay”campaign,intendedtoencouragepeople toeatfivefruitsorvegetables, theUSDA’sfoodpyramid,and a push for low-fat cheeses and milks. None of them adhered to thecommittee’s findings. None tried to camouflage their recommendations inexisting habits, and as a result, all of the campaigns failed. To date, the onlygovernmentprogramevertocausealastingchangeintheAmericandietwastheorganmeatpushofthe1940s.

However, radio stations andmassive companies—includingTarget—are abitsavvier.

Tomake“HeyYa!”ahit,DJssoonrealized,theyneededtomakethesongfeelfamiliar.Andtodothat,somethingspecialwasrequired.

Theproblemwas that computer programs such asHitSongSciencewereprettygoodatpredictingpeople’shabits.Butsometimes,thosealgorithmsfoundhabitsthathadn’tactuallyemergedyet,andwhencompaniesmarkettohabitswehaven’t adopted or, evenworse, are unwilling to admit to ourselves—like oursecretaffectionforsappyballads—firmsriskgoingoutofbusiness.Ifagrocerystore boasts “We have a huge selection of sugary cereals and ice cream!”shoppersstayaway.Ifabutchersays“Here’sapieceofintestineforyourdinnertable,” a 1940s housewife serves tuna casserole instead.When a radio stationboasts“CelineDioneveryhalfhour!”noonetunesin.Soinstead,supermarketownerstouttheirapplesandtomatoes(whilemakingsureyoupasstheM&M’sandHäagen-Dazs on theway to the register), butchers in the 1940s call liver“thenewsteak,”andDJsquietlyslipinthethemesongfromTitanic.

“Hey Ya!” needed to become part of an established listening habit tobecomeahit.Andtobecomepartofahabit,ithadtobeslightlycamouflagedatfirst,thesamewayhousewivescamouflagedkidneybyslippingitintomeatloaf.SoatWIOQinPhiladelphia—aswellasatotherstationsaroundthenation—DJsstartedmaking sure that whenever “HeyYa!” was played, it was sandwichedbetween songs that were already popular. “It’s textbook playlist theory now,”saidTomWebster,aradioconsultant.“Playanewsongbetweentwoconsensuspopularhits.”

DJs, however, didn’t air “Hey Ya!” alongside just any kind of hit. TheysandwicheditbetweenthetypesofsongsthatRichMeyerhaddiscoveredwereuniquely sticky, from artists likeBluCantrell, 3DoorsDown,Maroon 5, andChristinaAguilera. (Some stations, in fact, were so eager they used the samesongtwice.)

Consider,forinstance,theWIOQplaylistforSeptember19,2003:11:43“HereWithoutYou”by3DoorsDown11:54“Breathe”byBluCantrell11:58“HeyYa!”byOutKast

12:01“Breathe”byBluCantrellOrtheplaylistforOctober16:9:41“HardertoBreathe”byMaroon59:45“HeyYa!”byOutKast9:49“Can’tHoldUsDown”byChristinaAguilera10:00“Frontin’”byPharrellNovember12:9:58“HereWithoutYou”by3DoorsDown10:01“HeyYa!”byOutKast10:05“LikeILoveYou”byJustinTimberlake10:09“BabyBoy”byBeyoncé“Managing a playlist is all about riskmitigation,” saidWebster. “Stations

have to take risks on new songs, otherwise people stop listening. But whatlistenersreallywantaresongstheyalreadylike.Soyouhavetomakenewsongsseemfamiliarasfastaspossible.”

WhenWIOQfirststartedplaying“HeyYa!”inearlySeptember—beforethesandwichingstarted—26.6percentof listenerschanged the stationwhenever itcameon.ByOctober,afterplayingitalongsidestickyhits,that“tune-outfactor”dropped to 13.7 percent. ByDecember, it was 5.7 percent.Othermajor radiostationsaround thenationused thesamesandwiching technique,and the tune-outratefollowedthesamepattern.

Andaslistenersheard“HeyYa!”againandagain,itbecamefamiliar.Oncethesonghadbecomepopular,WIOQwasplaying“HeyYa!”asmanyasfifteentimesaday.People’slisteninghabitshadshiftedtoexpect—crave,even—“HeyYa!”A“HeyYa!”habitemerged.ThesongwentontowinaGrammy,sellmorethan5.5millionalbums,andearnradiostationsmillionsofdollars.“Thisalbumcemented OutKast in the pantheon of superstars,” Bartels, the promotionexecutive, toldme.“This iswhat introduced themtoaudiencesoutsideofhip-hop.It’ssofulfillingnowwhenanewartistplaysmetheirsingleandsays,Thisisgoingtobethenext‘HeyYa!’”

After Andrew Pole built his pregnancy-prediction machine, after heidentified hundreds of thousands of female shoppers who were probably

pregnant,aftersomeonepointedoutthatsome—infact,most—ofthosewomenmightbealittleupsetiftheyreceivedanadvertisementmakingitobviousTargetknew their reproductive status, everyone decided to take a step back andconsidertheiroptions.

Themarketingdepartmentthoughtitmightbewisetoconductafewsmallexperimentsbeforerollingoutanationalcampaign.Theyhadtheabilitytosendspeciallydesignedmailerstosmallgroupsofcustomers,sotheyrandomlychosewomen from Pole’s pregnancy list and started testing combinations ofadvertisementstoseehowshoppersreacted.

“Wehave the capacity to send every customer an ad booklet, specificallydesigned for them, that says, ‘Here’s everything you bought last week, and acoupon for it,’ ” one Target executive with firsthand knowledge of Pole’spregnancypredictortoldme.“Wedothatforgroceryproductsallthetime.

“With thepregnancyproducts, though,we learned thatsomewomenreactbadly. Then we started mixing in all these ads for things we knew pregnantwomenwouldneverbuy,sothebabyadslookedrandom.We’dputanadforalawnmower next to diapers.We’d put a coupon forwineglasses next to infantclothes.Thatway,itlookedlikealltheproductswerechosenbychance.

“Andwefoundoutthataslongasapregnantwomanthinksshehasn’tbeenspied on, she’ll use the coupons. She just assumes that everyone else on herblockgotthesamemailerfordiapersandcribs.Aslongaswedon’tspookher,itworks.”

The answer to Target and Pole’s question—how do you advertise to apregnant woman without revealing that you know she’s pregnant?—wasessentially the same one thatDJs used to hook listeners on “HeyYa!” Targetstarted sandwiching the diaper coupons between nonpregnancy products thatmade the advertisements seem anonymous, familiar, comfortable. Theycamouflagedwhattheyknew.

Soon, Target’s “Mom and Baby” sales exploded. The company doesn’tbreakoutsalesfiguresforspecificdivisions,butbetween2002—whenPolewashired—and 2009, Target’s revenues grew from $44 billion to $65 billion. In2005, the company’s president, Gregg Steinhafel, boasted to a room full ofinvestors about the company’s “heightened focus on items and categories thatappealtospecificguestsegmentssuchasmomandbaby.

“As our database tools grow increasingly sophisticated, Target Mail hascome into its own as a useful tool for promoting value and convenience tospecific guest segments such as newmoms or teens,” he said. “For example,Target Baby is able to track life stages from prenatal care to car seats and

strollers.In2004,theTargetBabyDirectMailProgramdrovesizableincreasesintripsandsales.”7.26

Whether selling a new song, a new food, or a new crib, the lesson is thesame: If you dress a new something in old habits, it’s easier for the public toacceptit.

IV.Theusefulnessofthislessonisn’tlimitedtolargecorporations,government

agencies, or radio companies hoping to manipulate our tastes. These sameinsightscanbeusedtochangehowwelive.

In2000,forinstance,twostatisticianswerehiredbytheYMCA—oneofthenation’s largest nonprofit organizations—to use the powers of data-drivenfortune-telling tomake theworldahealthierplace.TheYMCAhasmore than2,600branchesintheUnitedStates,mostofthemgymsandcommunitycenters.Aboutadecadeago,theorganization’sleadersbeganworryingabouthowtostaycompetitive. They asked a social scientist and amathematician—Bill LazarusandDeanAbbott—forhelp.

The two men gathered data from more than 150,000 YMCA membersatisfactionsurveysthathadbeencollectedovertheyearsandstartedlookingforpatterns.Atthatpoint,theacceptedwisdomamongYMCAexecutiveswasthatpeoplewanted fancy exercise equipment and sparkling,modern facilities. TheYMCAhad spentmillions of dollars buildingweight rooms andyoga studios.When the surveyswereanalyzed,however, it turnedout thatwhilea facility’sattractiveness and the availability of workout machines might have causedpeopletojoininthefirstplace,whatgotthemtostaywassomethingelse.

Retention, thedatasaid,wasdrivenbyemotionalfactors,suchaswhetheremployeesknewmembers’namesorsaidhellowhentheywalkedin.People,itturnsout,oftengotothegymlookingforahumanconnection,notatreadmill.IfamembermadeafriendattheYMCA,theyweremuchmorelikelytoshowupforworkoutsessions. Inotherwords,peoplewhojoin theYMCAhavecertainsocial habits. If the YMCA satisfied them, members were happy. So if theYMCAwantedtoencouragepeople toexercise, itneededto takeadvantageofpatternsthatalreadyexisted,andteachemployeestoremembervisitors’names.It’savariationofthelessonlearnedbyTargetandradioDJs:tosellanewhabit—inthiscaseexercise—wrapitinsomethingthatpeoplealreadyknowandlike,suchastheinstincttogoplaceswhereit’seasytomakefriends.

“We’recrackingthecodeonhowtokeeppeopleatthegym,”Lazarustoldme.“Peoplewanttovisitplacesthatsatisfytheirsocialneeds.Gettingpeopletoexercise in groupsmakes itmore likely they’ll stickwith aworkout.You can

changethehealthofthenationthisway.”Someday soon, say predictive analytics experts, it will be possible for

companies to know our tastes and predict our habits better than we knowourselves. However, knowing that someone might prefer a certain brand ofpeanutbutterisn’tenoughtogetthemtoactonthatpreference.Tomarketanewhabit—beitgroceriesoraerobics—youmustunderstandhowtomakethenovelseemfamiliar.

ThelasttimeIspoketoAndrewPole,Imentionedthatmywifewassevenmonths pregnantwith our second child. Pole himself has children, and sowetalked abit aboutkids.Mywife and I shop atTarget onoccasion, I said, andabout a year earlierwehadgiven the companyour address, sowe could startgettingcoupons in themail.Recently,asmywife’spregnancyhadprogressed,I’dbeennoticingasubtleupswinginthenumberofadvertisementsfordiapers,lotions,andbabyclothesarrivingatourhouse.

Iwasplanningonusingsomeof thosecoupons thatveryweekend, I toldhim.Iwasalsothinkingofbuyingacrib,andsomedrapesforthenursery,andmaybe some Bob the Builder toys for my toddler. It was really helpful thatTargetwassendingmeexactlytherightcouponsforwhatIneededtobuy.

“Justwait till thebabycomes,”Polesaid.“We’llbesendingyoucouponsforthingsyouwantbeforeyouevenknowyouwantthem.”

1Thereportinginthischapterisbasedoninterviewswithmorethanadozencurrent and former Target employees, many of them conducted on a not-for-attribution basis because sources feared dismissal from the company or otherretribution.Targetwasprovidedwith anopportunity to reviewand respond tothereportinginthischapter,andwasaskedtomakeexecutivesinvolvedintheGuest Analytics department available for on-the-record interviews. Thecompanydeclined todo soanddeclined to respond to fact-checkingquestionsexcept in twoemails.Thefirstsaid:“AtTarget,ourmission is tomakeTargetthe preferred shopping destination for our guests by delivering outstandingvalue, continuous innovation and an exceptional guest experience byconsistentlyfulfillingour‘ExpectMore.PayLess.’brandpromise.Becausewearesointentlyfocusedonthismission,wehavemadeconsiderableinvestmentsin understanding our guests’ preferences. To assist in this effort, we’vedevelopedanumberof research tools thatallowus togain insights into trendsandpreferenceswithindifferentdemographicsegmentsofourguestpopulation.We use data derived from these tools to inform our store layouts, productselection, promotions and coupons. This analysis allowsTarget to provide themostrelevantshoppingexperiencetoourguests.Forexample,duringanin-store

transaction,ourresearchtoolcanpredictrelevantoffersforanindividualguestbased on their purchases, which can be delivered along with their receipt.Further,opt-inprogramssuchasourbabyregistryhelpTargetunderstandhowguests’needsevolveovertime,enablingustoprovidenewmotherswithmoney-savingcoupons.Webelievetheseeffortsdirectlybenefitourguestsbyprovidingmore of what they need and want at Target—and have benefited Target bybuilding stronger guest loyalty, driving greater shopping frequency anddeliveringincreasedsalesandprofitability.”Asecondemailread:“Almostallofyour statements contain inaccurate information and publishing themwould bemisleading to thepublic.Wedonot intend toaddresseach statementpointbypoint.Target takes its legalobligations seriouslyand is in compliancewith allapplicable federal and state laws, including those related to protected healthinformation.”

SADDLEBACK CHURCH AND THE MONTGOMERY BUSBOYCOTT

HowMovementsHappenI.The6P.M.ClevelandAvenuebuspulled to the curb and thepetite forty-

two-year-old African American woman in rimless glasses and a conservativebrown jacket climbedonboard, reached intoherpurse, anddroppeda tencentfareintothetill.8.1

ItwasThursday,December1,1955,inMontgomery,Alabama,andshehadjust finished a long day atMontgomery Fair, the department store where sheworkedasaseamstress.Thebuswascrowdedand,by law, the first four rowswerereservedforwhitepassengers.Theareawhereblackswereallowedtosit,in the back,was already full and so thewoman—RosaParks—sat in a center

row,rightbehindthewhitesection,whereeitherracecouldclaimaseat.Asthebuscontinuedonitsroute,morepeopleboarded.Soon,alltherows

werefilledandsome—includingawhitepassenger—werestandingintheaisle,holdingontoanoverheadbar.Thebusdriver,JamesF.Blake,seeingthewhitemanonhisfeet,shoutedattheblackpassengersinParks’sareatogiveuptheirseats,butnoonemoved.Itwasnoisy.Theymightnothaveheard.Blakepulledover to a bus stop in front of the Empire Theater onMontgomery Street andwalkedback.

“Y’all bettermake it lightonyourselves and letmehave those seats,”hesaid. Three of the black passengers got up and moved to the rear, but Parksstayedput.Shewasn’tinthewhitesection,shetoldthedriver,andbesides,therewasonlyonewhiteriderstanding.

“Ifyoudon’tstandup,”Blakesaid,“I’mgoingtocallthepoliceandhaveyouarrested.”

“Youmaydothat,”Parkssaid.8.2

Thedriverleftandfoundtwopolicemen.“Whydon’tyoustandup?”oneofthemaskedParksaftertheyboarded.“Whydoyoupushusaround?”shesaid.“I don’t know,” the officer answered. “But the law is the law and you’re

underarrest.”8.3

At that moment, though no one on that bus knew it, the civil rightsmovement pivoted. That small refusal was the first in a series of actions thatshiftedthebattleoverracerelationsfromastrugglefoughtbyactivistsincourtsand legislatures into a contest that would draw its strength from entirecommunities and mass protests. Over the next year, Montgomery’s blackpopulationwould riseupandboycott thecity’sbuses, ending their strikeonlyonce the law segregating races on public transportationwas stricken from thebooks. The boycott would financially cripple the bus line, draw tens ofthousandsofprotesters to rallies, introduce thecountry toacharismaticyoungleadernamedMartinLutherKing,Jr.,andsparkamovementthatwouldspreadtoLittleRock,Greensboro,Raleigh,Birmingham,and,eventually,toCongress.Parkswouldbecomeahero,a recipientof thePresidentialMedalofFreedom,andashiningexampleofhowasingleactofdefiancecanchangetheworld.

Butthatisn’tthewholestory.RosaParksandtheMontgomerybusboycottbecame the epicenter of the civil rights campaign not only because of anindividual act of defiance, but also because of social patterns. Parks’sexperiences offer a lesson in the power of social habits—the behaviors that

occur,unthinkingly,acrossdozensorhundredsorthousandsofpeoplewhichareoftenhardtoseeastheyemerge,butwhichcontainapowerthatcanchangetheworld.Socialhabitsarewhatfillstreetswithprotesterswhomaynotknowoneanother,whomightbemarchingfordifferentreasons,butwhoareallmovinginthe same direction. Social habits are why some initiatives become world-changing movements, while others fail to ignite. And the reason why socialhabitshavesuchinfluenceisbecauseattherootofmanymovements—betheylarge-scalerevolutionsorsimplefluctuationsinthechurchespeopleattend—isathree-part process that historians and sociologists say shows up again andagain:8.4

Amovementstartsbecauseofthesocialhabitsoffriendshipandthestrongtiesbetweencloseacquaintances.

Itgrowsbecauseofthehabitsofacommunity,andtheweaktiesthatholdneighborhoodsandclanstogether.

And itenduresbecauseamovement’s leadersgiveparticipantsnewhabitsthatcreateafreshsenseofidentityandafeelingofownership.

Usually, only when all three parts of this process are fulfilled can amovement become self-propelling and reach a critical mass. There are otherrecipesforsuccessfulsocialchangeandhundredsofdetailsthatdifferbetweenerasandstruggles.ButunderstandinghowsocialhabitsworkhelpsexplainwhyMontgomeryandRosaParksbecamethecatalystforacivilrightscrusade.

Itwasn’tinevitablethatParks’sactofrebellionthatwinterdaywouldresultinanythingotherthanherarrest.Thenhabitsintervened,andsomethingamazingoccurred.

Rosa Parks wasn’t the first black passenger jailed for breakingMontgomery’sbussegregationlaws.Shewasn’teventhefirstthatyear.In1946,GenevaJohnsonhadbeenarrestedfortalkingbacktoaMontgomerybusdriveroverseating.8.5 In1949,ViolaWhite,KatieWingfield,and twoblackchildrenwerearrestedforsittinginthewhitesectionandrefusingtomove.8.6Thatsameyear, two black teenagers visiting from New Jersey—where buses wereintegrated—werearrestedand jailedafterbreaking the lawbysittingnext toawhiteman and a boy.8.7 In 1952, aMontgomery policeman shot and killed ablackmanwhenhearguedwithabusdriver.In1955,justmonthsbeforeParks

was taken to jail, Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith were arrested inseparateincidentsforrefusingtogivetheirseatstowhitepassengers.

None of those arrests resulted in boycotts or protests, however. “Thereweren’t many real activists in Montgomery at the time,” Taylor Branch, thePulitzer Prize–winning civil rights historian, told me. “People didn’t mountprotestsormarches.Activismwassomethingthathappenedincourts.Itwasn’tsomethingaveragepeopledid.”

WhenayoungMartinLutherKing,Jr.,arrivedinMontgomeryin1954,forinstance, a year before Parks’s arrest, he found amajority of the city’s blacksacceptedsegregation“withoutapparentprotest.Notonlydidtheyseemresignedtosegregationperse;theyalsoacceptedtheabusesandindignitieswhichcamewithit.”8.8

Sowhy,whenParkswasarrested,didthingschange?Oneexplanationisthatthepoliticalclimatewasshifting.Thepreviousyear,

theU.S.SupremeCourthadhandeddownBrownv.BoardofEducation,rulingthat segregation was illegal within public schools; six months before Parks’sarrest, the Court had issuedwhat came to be known asBrown II—a decisionorderingthatschoolintegrationmustproceedwith“alldeliberatespeed.”Therewasapowerfulsenseacrossthenationthatchangewasintheair.

Butthatisn’tsufficienttoexplainwhyMontgomerybecamegroundzeroforthe civil rights struggle. Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith had beenarrested in the wake ofBrown v. Board, and yet they didn’t spark a protest.Brown, for many Montgomery residents, was an abstraction from a far-offcourthouse, and it was unclear how—or if—its impact would be felt locally.Montgomery wasn’t Atlanta or Austin or other cities where progress seemedpossible.“Montgomerywasaprettynastyplace,”Branchsaid.“Racismwassetinitswaysthere.”

WhenParkswasarrested,however,itsparkedsomethingunusualwithinthecity.RosaParks,unlikeotherpeoplewhohadbeen jailedforviolating thebussegregationlaw,wasdeeplyrespectedandembeddedwithinhercommunity.Sowhen she was arrested, it triggered a series of social habits—the habits offriendship—that ignited an initial protest. Parks’s membership in dozens ofsocial networks acrossMontgomery allowed her friends tomuster a responsebeforethecommunity’snormalapathycouldtakehold.

Montgomery’scivil life, at the time,wasdominatedbyhundredsof smallgroups that created the city’s social fabric. The city’sDirectory of Civil andSocial Organizations was almost as thick as its phone book. Every adult, itseemed—particularlyeveryblackadult—belongedtosomekindofclub,church,

socialgroup,communitycenter,orneighborhoodorganization,andoftenmorethan one.Andwithin these social networks, Rosa Parkswas particularlywellknownandliked.“RosaParkswasoneofthoserarepeopleofwhomeveryoneagreedthatshegavemorethanshegot,”Branchwroteinhishistoryofthecivilrights movement, Parting the Waters. “Her character represented one of theisolated high blips on the graph of human nature, offsetting a dozen or sosociopaths.”8.9 Parks’s many friendships and affiliations cut across the city’sracial andeconomic lines.Shewas the secretaryof the localNAACPchapter,attended theMethodist church, andhelpedoversee ayouthorganizationat theLutheran church near her home. She spent some weekends volunteering at ashelter, otherswith a botanical club, and onWednesday nights often joined agroup of women who knit blankets for a local hospital. She volunteereddressmakingservicestopoorfamiliesandprovidedlast-minutegownalterationsforwealthywhitedebutantes.Shewassodeeplyenmeshedinthecommunity,infact, that her husband complained that she atemore often at potlucks than athome.

In general, sociologists say,most of us have friendswho are like us.Wemighthaveafewcloseacquaintanceswhoarericher,afewwhoarepoorer,andafewofdifferentraces—but,onthewhole,ourdeepestrelationshipstendtobewithpeoplewholooklikeus,earnaboutthesameamountofmoney,andcomefromsimilarbackgrounds.

Parks’s friends, in contrast, spanned Montgomery’s social and economichierarchies.Shehadwhatsociologistscall“strongties”—firsthandrelationships—withdozensofgroupsthroughoutMontgomerythatdidn’tusuallycomeintocontactwithoneanother.“Thiswasabsolutelykey,”Branchsaid.“RosaParkstranscended the social stratificationsof theblackcommunityandMontgomeryasawhole.Shewasfriendswithfieldhandsandcollegeprofessors.”

And the power of those friendships became apparent as soon as Parkslandedinjail.

Rosa Parks called her parents’ home from the police station. She waspanicked,andhermother—whohadnoideawhattodo—startedgoingthroughamentalRolodexofParks’sfriends,tryingtothinkofsomeonewhomightbeabletohelp.ShecalledthewifeofE.D.Nixon,theformerheadoftheMontgomery

NAACP,who in turncalledherhusbandand toldhim thatParksneeded tobebailedoutofjail.Heimmediatelyagreedtohelp,andcalledaprominentwhitelawyernamedCliffordDurrwhoknewParksbecauseshehadhemmeddressesforhisthreedaughters.

NixonandDurrwent to the jailhouse,postedbail forParks, and tookherhome.They’dbeenlookingfortheperfectcasetochallengeMontgomery’sbussegregationlaws,andsensinganopportunity,theyaskedParksifshewouldbewillingtoletthemfightherarrestincourt.Parks’shusbandwasopposedtotheidea.“Thewhitefolkswillkillyou,Rosa,”hetoldher.8.10

ButParkshadspentyearsworkingwithNixonattheNAACP.ShehadbeeninDurr’shouseandhadhelpedhisdaughtersprepareforcotillions.Herfriendswerenowaskingherforafavor.

“Ifyou think itwillmeansomething toMontgomeryanddosomegood,”shetoldthem,“I’llbehappytogoalongwithit.”8.11

Thatnight—justafewhoursafterthearrest—newsofParks’sjailingbeganto filter through the black community. Jo Ann Robinson, the president of apowerful group of schoolteachers involved in politics and a friend of Parks’sfromnumerousorganizations,heardaboutit.Sodidmanyoftheschoolteachersin Robinson’s group, and many of the parents of their students. Close tomidnight,Robinsoncalledan impromptumeetingandsuggested thateveryoneboycottthecity’sbusesonMonday,fourdayshence,whenParkswastoappearincourt.

Afterward,Robinson snuck into her office’smimeograph room andmadecopiesofaflyer.

“AnotherNegrowomanhasbeenarrestedandthrownintojailbecausesherefused togetupoutofherseaton thebusforawhiteperson tositdown,” itread. “Thiswoman’s casewill comeuponMonday.Weare, therefore, askingeveryNegrotostayoffthebusesMondayinprotestofthearrestandtrial.”8.12

Earlythenextmorning,Robinsongavestacksoftheflyerstoschoolteachersand asked them to distribute it to parents and coworkers.Within twenty-fourhoursofParks’sarrest,wordofherjailingandtheboycotthadspreadtosomeofthe city’s most influential communities—the local NAACP, a large politicalgroup,anumberofblackschoolteachers,andtheparentsoftheirstudents.Manyof thepeoplewho received a flyer knewRosaParkspersonally—theyhad satnext to her in church or at a volunteer meeting and considered her a friend.There’s a natural instinct embedded in friendship, a sympathy that makes uswillingtofightforsomeonewelikewhentheyaretreatedunjustly.Studiesshow

that people have no problem ignoring strangers’ injuries, butwhen a friend isinsulted, our sense of outrage is enough to overcome the inertia that usuallymakesprotestshard toorganize.WhenParks’s friends learnedaboutherarrestand theboycott, the socialhabitsof friendship—thenatural inclination tohelpsomeonewerespect—kickedin.

The firstmassmovement of themodern civil rights era could have beensparkedbyanynumberofearlierarrests.ButitbeganwithRosaParksbecauseshe had a large, diverse, and connected set of friends—who, when she wasarrested, reactedas friendsnaturally respond,by following thesocialhabitsoffriendshipandagreeingtoshowtheirsupport.

Still, many expected the protest would be nothing more than a one-dayevent.Smallprotestspopupeverydayaroundtheworld,andalmostallofthemquicklyfizzleout.Noonehasenoughfriendstochangetheworld.

Which is why the second aspect of the social habits ofmovements is soimportant.TheMontgomerybusboycottbecameasociety-wideactionbecausethe sense of obligation that held the black community together was activatedsoonafterParks’s friendsstartedspreading theword.PeoplewhohardlyknewRosa Parks decided to participate because of a social peer pressure—aninfluence known as “the power ofweak ties”—thatmade it difficult to avoidjoiningin.

II.Imagine, for amoment, thatyou’reanestablishedmidlevel executiveat a

prosperous company. You’re successful and well liked. You’ve spent yearsbuildingareputation insideyourfirmandcultivatinganetworkoffriends thatyoucan tap forclients,advice,and industrygossip.Youbelong toachurch,agym, and a country club, as well as the local chapter of your college alumniassociation.You’rerespectedandoftenaskedtojoinvariouscommittees.Whenpeoplewithinyourcommunityhearofabusinessopportunity,theyoftenpassityourway.

Now imagine you get a phone call. It’s a midlevel executive at anothercompany looking foranew job.Willyouhelphimbyputting inagoodwordwithyourboss,heasks?

Ifthepersononthetelephoneisatotalstranger,it’saneasydecision.Whyriskyourstandinginsideyourfirmhelpingsomeoneyoudon’tknow?

Ifthepersononthephoneisaclosefriend,ontheotherhand,it’salsoaneasychoice.Ofcourseyou’llhelp.That’swhatfriendsdo.

However,whatifthepersononthephoneisn’tagoodfriendorastranger,

butsomethinginbetween?Whatifyouhavefriendsincommon,butdon’tknoweachotherverywell?Doyouvouchfor thecallerwhenyourbossasks ifhe’sworth an interview? How much of your own reputation and energy, in otherwords,areyouwillingtoexpendtohelpafriendofafriendgetajob?

Inthelate1960s,aHarvardPhDstudentnamedMarkGranovettersetouttoanswer that question by studying how 282 men had found their currentemployment.8.13Hetrackedhowtheyhadlearnedaboutopenpositions,whomtheyhadcalledforreferrals,themethodstheyusedtolandinterviews,andmostimportant,whohadprovidedahelpinghand.Asexpected,hefoundthatwhenjobhuntersapproachedstrangersforassistance, theywererejected.Whentheyappealedtofriends,helpwasprovided.

More surprising, however, was how often job hunters also received helpfrom casual acquaintances—friends of friends—people who were neitherstrangers nor close pals. Granovetter called those connections “weak ties,”becausetheyrepresentedthelinksthatconnectpeoplewhohaveacquaintancesin common, who share membership in social networks, but aren’t directlyconnectedbythestrongtiesoffriendshipthemselves.

In fact, in landing a job, Granovetter discovered, weak-tie acquaintanceswere oftenmore important than strong-tie friends because weak ties give usaccesstosocialnetworkswherewedon’totherwisebelong.ManyofthepeopleGranovetterstudiedhadlearnedaboutnewjobopportunitiesthroughweakties,ratherthanfromclosefriends,whichmakessensebecausewetalktoourclosestfriendsallthetime,orworkalongsidethemorreadthesameblogs.Bythetimetheyhaveheardaboutanewopportunity,weprobablyknowabout it, aswell.Ontheotherhand,ourweak-tieacquaintances—thepeoplewebumpintoeverysixmonths—aretheoneswhotellusaboutjobswewouldotherwiseneverhearabout.8.14

When sociologists have examined how opinions move throughcommunities, how gossip spreads or political movements start, they’vediscovered a common pattern: Our weak-tie acquaintances are often asinfluential—if not more—than our close-tie friends. As Granovetter wrote,“Individuals with fewweak ties will be deprived of information from distantpartsofthesocialsystemandwillbeconfinedtotheprovincialnewsandviewsoftheirclosefriends.Thisdeprivationwillnotonlyinsulatethemfromthelatestideas and fashions butmay put them in a disadvantaged position in the labormarket,where advancement can depend…on knowing about appropriate jobopeningsatjusttherighttime.

“Furthermore,suchindividualsmaybedifficulttoorganizeorintegrateinto

politicalmovementsofanykind.…Whilemembersofoneortwocliquesmaybeefficiently recruited, theproblemis that,withoutweak ties,anymomentumgeneratedinthiswaydoesnotspreadbeyondtheclique.Asaresult,mostofthepopulationwillbeuntouched.”8.15

The power of weak ties helps explain how a protest can expand from agroupoffriendsintoabroadsocialmovement.Convincingthousandsofpeopletopursuethesamegoal—especiallywhenthatpursuitentailsrealhardship,suchaswalkingtoworkratherthantakingthebus,orgoingtojail,orevenskippingamorningcupofcoffeebecausethecompanythatsellsitdoesn’tsupportorganicfarming—ishard.Mostpeopledon’tcareenoughaboutthelatestoutragetogiveup theirbus rideorcaffeineunless it’saclose friend thathasbeen insultedorjailed.So there isa tool thatactivistshave longreliedupon tocompelprotest,evenwhenagroupofpeopledon’tnecessarilywanttoparticipate.It’saformofpersuasion that has been remarkably effective over hundreds of years. It’s thesenseofobligationthatneighborhoodsorcommunitiesplaceuponthemselves.

Inotherwords,peerpressure.Peer pressure—and the social habits that encourage people to conform to

groupexpectations—isdifficulttodescribe,becauseitoftendiffersinformandexpression from person to person. These social habits aren’t so much oneconsistentpatternasdozensof individualhabits thatultimatelycauseeveryonetomoveinthesamedirection.

The habits of peer pressure, however, have something in common. Theyoftenspreadthroughweakties.Andtheygaintheirauthoritythroughcommunalexpectations. Ifyou ignore the socialobligationsofyourneighborhood, ifyoushrugoff theexpectedpatternsofyourcommunity,yourisk losingyoursocialstanding. You endanger your access tomany of the social benefits that comefromjoiningthecountryclub, thealumniassociation,or thechurchinthefirstplace.

Inotherwords,ifyoudon’tgivethecallerlookingforajobahelpinghand,hemightcomplaintohistennispartner,whomightmentionthosegrumblingstosomeoneinthelockerroomwhoyouwerehopingtoattractasaclient,whoisnowlesslikelytoreturnyourcallbecauseyouhaveareputationfornotbeingateamplayer.Onaplayground,peerpressureisdangerous.Inadultlife,it’showbusinessgetsdoneandcommunitiesself-organize.

Such peer pressure, on its own, isn’t enough to sustain amovement. Butwhenthestrongtiesoffriendshipandtheweaktiesofpeerpressuremerge,theycreateincrediblemomentum.That’swhenwidespreadsocialchangecanbegin.

Toseehowthecombinationofstrongandweaktiescanpropelamovement,fast forward to nine years after Rosa Parks’s arrest, when hundreds of youngpeople volunteered to expose themselves to deadly risks for the civil rightscrusade.

In 1964, students from across the country—many of them whites fromHarvard,Yale,andothernorthernuniversities—appliedforsomethingcalledthe“MississippiSummerProject.”Itwasaten-weekprogramdevotedtoregisteringblack voters in the South.8.16 The project came to be known as FreedomSummer, and many who applied were aware it would be dangerous. In themonthsbeforetheprogramstarted,newspapersandmagazineswerefilledwitharticlespredictingviolence(whichprovedtragicallyaccuratewhen,justaweekafter it began, white vigilantes killed three volunteers outside Longdale,Mississippi). The threat of harm keptmany students from participating in theMississippi Summer Project, even after they applied. More than a thousandapplicantswereacceptedintoFreedomSummer,butwhenitcametimetoheadsouthinJune,morethanthreehundredofthoseinvitedtoparticipatedecidedtostayhome.8.17

In the 1980s, a sociologist at the University of Arizona named DougMcAdambeganwonderingifitwaspossibletofigureoutwhysomepeoplehadparticipatedinFreedomSummerandotherswithdrew.8.18Hestartedbyreading720 of the applications students had submitted decades earlier. Eachwas fivepageslong.Applicantswereaskedabouttheirbackgrounds,whytheywantedtogotoMississippi,andtheirexperienceswithvoterregistration.Theyweretoldtoprovidealistofpeopleorganizersshouldcontactiftheywerearrested.Therewere essays, references, and, for some, interviews.Applyingwas not a casualundertaking.

McAdam’s initial hypothesis was that students who ended up going toMississippi probably had different motivations from those who stayed home,which explained the divergence in participation. To test this idea, he dividedapplicantsintotwogroups.ThefirstpilewerepeoplewhosaidtheywantedtogotoMississippifor“self-interested”motives,suchas to“testmyself,” to“bewhere the action is,”or to “learn about the southernwayof life.”The secondgroupwerethosewith“other-oriented”motives,suchasto“improvethelotofblacks,” to “aid in the full realization of democracy,” or to “demonstrate thepowerofnonviolenceasavehicleforsocialchange.”

The self-centered, McAdam hypothesized, would be more likely to stay

home once they realized the risks of Freedom Summer. The other-orientedwouldbemorelikelytogetonthebus.

Thehypothesiswaswrong.The selfish and the selfless, according to the data, went South in equal

numbers. Differences in motives did not explain “any significant distinctionsbetweenparticipantsandwithdrawals,”McAdamwrote.

Next,McAdamcomparedapplicants’opportunitycosts.Maybe thosewhostayed home had husbands or girlfriends keeping them from going toMississippi? Maybe they had gotten jobs, and couldn’t swing a two-monthunpaidbreak?

Wrongagain.“Beingmarriedorholdingafull-timejobactuallyenhancedtheapplicant’s

chancesofgoingsouth,”McAdamconcluded.He had one hypothesis left. Each applicant was asked to list their

memberships instudentandpoliticalorganizationsandat least tenpeople theywanted kept informed of their summer activities, soMcAdam took these listsand used them to chart each applicant’s social network. By comparingmemberships in clubs, hewas able to determinewhich applicants had friendswhoalsoappliedforFreedomSummer.

Oncehefinished,hefinallyhadananswerastowhysomestudentswenttoMississippi, and others stayed home: because of social habits—or morespecifically,becauseof thepowerof strongandweak tiesworking in tandem.ThestudentswhoparticipatedinFreedomSummerwereenmeshedinthetypesof communities where both their close friends and their casual acquaintancesexpected them togeton thebus.Thosewhowithdrewwere also enmeshed incommunities, but of a different kind—thekindwhere the social pressures andhabitsdidn’tcompelthemtogotoMississippi.

“Imagineyou’reoneofthestudentswhoapplied,”McAdamtoldme.“OnthedayyousignedupforFreedomSummer,youfilledouttheapplicationwithfiveofyourclosestfriendsandyouwereallfeelingreallymotivated.

“Now, it’s six months later and departure day is almost here. All themagazinesarepredictingviolence inMississippi.Youcalledyourparents, andtheytoldyoutostayathome.Itwouldbestrange,atthatpoint,ifyouweren’thavingsecondthoughts.

“Then,you’rewalkingacrosscampusandyouseeabunchofpeoplefromyour church group, and they say, ‘We’re coordinating rides—when shouldwepickyouup?’Thesepeoplearen’tyourclosestfriends,butyouseethematclub

meetingsandinthedorm,andthey’reimportantwithinyoursocialcommunity.Theyallknowyou’vebeenacceptedtoFreedomSummer,andthatyou’vesaidyouwanttogo.Goodluckpullingoutatthatpoint.You’dloseahugeamountofsocial standing. Even if you’re having second thoughts, there’s realconsequencesifyouwithdraw.You’lllosetherespectofpeoplewhoseopinionsmattertoyou.”

WhenMcAdam looked at applicantswith religious orientations—studentswho cited a “Christian duty to help those in need” as their motivation forapplying,forinstance,hefoundmixedlevelsofparticipation.However,amongthose applicants who mentioned a religious orientation and belonged to areligious organization,McAdam found that every single one made the trip toMississippi.OncetheircommunitiesknewtheyhadbeenacceptedintoFreedomSummer,itwasimpossibleforthemtowithdraw.8.19

On the other hand, consider the social networks of applicants who wereacceptedintotheprogrambutdidn’tgotoMississippi.They,too,wereinvolvedin campus organizations. They, too, belonged to clubs and cared about theirstandingwithinthosecommunities.Buttheorganizationstheybelongedto—thenewspaper and student government, academic groups and fraternities—haddifferentexpectations.Withinthosecommunities,someonecouldwithdrawfromFreedom Summer and suffer little or no decline in the prevailing socialhierarchy.

Whenfacedwiththeprospectofgettingarrested(orworse)inMississippi,moststudentsprobablyhadsecondthoughts.However,somewereembeddedincommunitieswheresocialhabits—theexpectationsoftheirfriendsandthepeerpressureof theiracquaintances—compelledparticipation,soregardlessof theirhesitations, theyboughtabusticket.Others—whoalsocaredaboutcivilrights—belongedtocommunitieswherethesocialhabitspointedinaslightlydifferentdirection,sotheythoughttothemselves,MaybeI’lljuststayhome.

OnthemorningafterhebailedRosaParksoutofjail,E.D.Nixonplacedacall to the newminister of theDexter Avenue Baptist Church,Martin LutherKing,Jr.Itwasalittleafter5A.M.,butNixondidn’tsayhellooraskifhehadawoken King’s two-week-old daughter when the minister answered—he justlaunchedintoanaccountofParks’sarrest,howshehadbeenhauledintojailfor

refusingtogiveupherseat,andtheirplanstofighthercaseincourtandboycottthecity’sbusesonMonday.Atthetime,Kingwastwenty-sixyearsold.Hehadbeen inMontgomery foronlyayearandwas still trying to figureouthis rolewithin the community. Nixon was asking for King’s endorsement as well aspermissiontousehischurchforaboycottmeetingthatnight.Kingwaswaryofgettingtoodeeplyinvolved.“BrotherNixon,”hesaid,“letmethinkaboutitandyoucallmeback.”

ButNixondidn’tstopthere.HereachedouttooneofKing’sclosestfriends—oneof the strongest ofKing’s strong ties—namedRalphD.Abernathy, andaskedhimtohelpconvincetheyoungministertoparticipate.Afewhourslater,NixoncalledKingagain.

“I’llgoalongwithit,”Kingtoldhim.“I’mgladtohearyousayso,”Nixonsaid,“becauseI’vetalkedtoeighteen

otherpeopleandtoldthemtomeet inyourchurchtonight.Itwouldhavebeenkindofbadtobegettingtogethertherewithoutyou.”8.20Soon,Kingwasdraftedintoservingaspresidentoftheorganizationthathadsprunguptocoordinatetheboycott.

OnSunday,threedaysafterParks’sarrest,thecity’sblackministers—afterspeakingtoKingandothermembersoftheneworganization—explainedtotheircongregationsthateveryblackchurchinthecityhadagreedtoaone-dayprotest.Themessagewasclear: Itwouldbeembarrassingforanyparishioner tositonthesidelines.Thatsameday,thetown’snewspaper,theAdvertiser,containedanarticleabout“a‘topsecret’meetingofMontgomeryNegroeswhoplanaboycottof city busesMonday.”8.21 The reporter had gotten copies of flyers thatwhitewomenhad taken from theirmaids.Theblackparts of the citywere “floodedwith thousands of copies” of the leaflets, the article explained, and it wasanticipated that every black citizen would participate. When the article waswritten, only Parks’s friends, the ministers, and the boycott organizers hadpubliclycommitted to theprotest—butonce thecity’sblack residents read thenewspaper,theyassumed,likewhitereaders,thateveryoneelsewasalreadyonboard.

Many people sitting in the pews and reading the newspapers knew RosaParkspersonally andwerewilling toboycottbecauseof their friendshipswithher.Othersdidn’tknowParks,buttheycouldsensethecommunitywasrallyingbehindhercause,and that if theywereseenridingabusonMonday, itwouldlook bad. “If youwork,” read a flyer handed out in churches, “take a cab, orshare a ride, or walk.” Then everyone heard that the boycott’s leaders hadconvinced—or strong-armed—all the black taxi drivers into agreeing to carry

blackpassengers onMonday for ten cents a ride, the same as a bus fare.Thecommunity’sweaktiesweredrawingeveryonetogether.Atthatpoint,youwereeitherwiththeboycottoragainstit.

OntheMondaymorningoftheboycott,Kingwokebeforedawnandgothiscoffee.Hiswife,Coretta,satatthefrontwindowandwaitedforthefirstbustopass. She shouted when she saw the headlights of the South Jackson line,normallyfilledwithmaidsontheirwaytowork,rollbywithnopassengers.Thenextbuswasemptyaswell.Andtheonethatcameafter.Kinggotintohiscarandstarteddrivingaround,checkingotherroutes. Inanhour,hecountedeightblackpassengers.Oneweekearlier,hewouldhaveseenhundreds.

“Iwas jubilant,”he laterwrote. “Amiraclehad takenplace.…Menwereseen riding mules to work, and more than one horse-drawn buggy drove thestreetsofMontgomery.…Spectatorshadgatheredatthebusstopstowatchwhatwashappening.Atfirst,theystoodquietly,butasthedayprogressedtheybegantocheertheemptybusesandlaughandmakejokes.Noisyyoungsterscouldbeheardsingingout,‘Noriderstoday.’”8.22

That afternoon, in a courtroom on Church Street, Rosa Parks was foundguiltyof violating the state’s segregation laws.More than fivehundredblackscrowded the hallways and stood in front of the building, awaiting the verdict.The boycott and impromptu rally at the courthouse were themost significantblackpoliticalactivisminMontgomery’shistory,andithadallcometogetherinfivedays.IthadstartedamongParks’sclosefriends,butitdrewitspower,Kingand other participants later said, because of a sense of obligation among thecommunity—the social habits of weak ties. The community was pressured tostand together for fear that anyonewhodidn’tparticipatewasn’t someoneyouwantedtobefriendswithinthefirstplace.

There are plenty of people who would have participated in the boycottwithoutsuchencouragement.Kingandthecabbiesandthecongregationsmighthavemadethesamechoiceswithouttheinfluenceofstrongandweakties.Buttensofthousandsofpeoplefromacrossthecitywouldnothavedecidedtostayoffthebuseswithouttheencouragementofsocialhabits.“TheoncedormantandquiescentNegrocommunitywasnowfullyawake,”Kinglaterwrote.

Thosesocialhabits,however,weren’tstrongenoughontheirowntoextendaone-dayboycottintoayearlongmovement.Withinafewweeks,Kingwouldbeopenlyworryingthatpeople’sresolvewasweakening,that“theabilityoftheNegrocommunitytocontinuethestruggle”wasindoubt.8.23

Then those worries would evaporate. King, like thousands of othermovement leaders,wouldshift thestruggle’sguidancefromhishandsontothe

shouldersofhisfollowers,inlargepartbyhandingthemnewhabits.Hewouldactivatethethirdpartofthemovementformula,andtheboycottwouldbecomeaself-perpetuatingforce.

III.Inthesummerof1979,ayoungseminarystudentwhowaswhite,hadbeen

oneyearoldwhenRosaParkswasarrested,andwascurrentlyfocusedmostlyonhowhewasgoingtosupporthisgrowingfamily,postedamaponthewallofhisTexashomeandbegandrawingcirclesaroundmajorU.S.8.24cities,fromSeattletoMiami.

RickWarrenwasaBaptistpastorwithapregnantwifeandlessthan$2,000in the bank.Hewanted to start a new congregation amongpeoplewhodidn’talreadyattendchurch,buthehadnoideawhereitshouldbelocated.“IfiguredIwouldgosomewhereallmyseminaryfriendsdidn’twanttogo,”hetoldme.Hespentthesummerinlibrariesstudyingcensusrecords,phonebooks,newspaperarticles, andmaps.Hiswifewas in her ninthmonth, and so every few hoursWarrenwould jog to a pay phone, call home tomake sure she hadn’t startedlaboryet,andthenreturntothestacks.

One afternoon, Warren stumbled upon a description of a place calledSaddlebackValleyinOrangeCounty,California.ThebookWarrenwasreadingsaiditwasthefastestgrowingregioninthefastestgrowingcountyinoneofthefastestgrowingstatesinAmerica.Therewereanumberofchurchesinthearea,but none large enough to accommodate the quickly expanding population.Intrigued,Warren contacted religious leaders in Southern California who toldhim thatmany locals self-identifiedasChristianbutdidn’tattendservices.“Inthedusty,dimlylitbasementofthatuniversitylibrary,IheardGodspeaktome:‘That’swhere Iwantyou toplantachurch!’”Warren laterwrote. “From thatmomenton,ourdestinationwasasettledissue.”8.25

Warren’s focus on building a congregation among the unchurched hadbegunfiveyearsearlier,when,asamissionary inJapan,hehaddiscoveredanoldcopyofaChristianmagazinewithanarticleheadlined“WhyIsThisManDangerous?”ItwasaboutDonaldMcGavran,acontroversialauthorfocusedonbuildingchurches innationswheremostpeoplehadn’tacceptedChrist.At thecenter ofMcGavran’s philosophywas an admonition thatmissionaries shouldimitate the tactics of other successful movements—including the civil rightscampaign—byappealingtopeople’ssocialhabits.“ThesteadygoalmustbetheChristianizationoftheentirefabricwhichisthepeople,orlargeenoughpartsofitthatthesociallifeoftheindividualisnotdestroyed,”McGavranhadwritteninoneofhisbooks.Onlytheevangelistwhohelpspeople“tobecomefollowersof

Christ in their normal social relationship has any chance of liberatingmultitudes.”8.26

That article—and, later, McGavran’s books—were a revelation to RickWarren.Here,finally,wassomeoneapplyingarationallogictoatopicthatwasusuallycouchedinthelanguageofmiracles.Herewassomeonewhounderstoodthatreligionhadtobe,forlackofabetterword,marketed.

McGavran laid out a strategy that instructed church builders to speak topeopleintheir“ownlanguages,”tocreateplacesofworshipwherecongregantssaw their friends, heard the kinds of music they already listened to, andexperienced the Bible’s lessons in digestible metaphors. Most important,McGavran said, ministers needed to convert groups of people, rather thanindividuals, so that a community’s social habits would encourage religiousparticipation,ratherthanpullingpeopleaway.

InDecember,aftergraduatingfromseminaryandhavingthebaby,Warrenloadedhis familyandbelongings into aU-Haul,drove toOrangeCounty, andrented a small condo.His first prayer group attracted all of seven people andtookplaceinhislivingroom.

Today,thirtyyearslater,SaddlebackChurchisoneofthelargestministriesintheworld,withmorethantwentythousandparishionersvisitingits120-acrecampus—andeightsatellitecampuses—eachweek.OneofWarren’sbooks,ThePurpose-DrivenLife,hassoldthirtymillioncopies,makingitamongthebiggestsellers in history. There are thousands of other churches modeled on hismethods.Warren was chosen to perform the invocation at President Obama’sinauguration,and isconsideredoneof themost influential religious leadersonearth.

And at the core of his church’s growth and his success is a fundamentalbeliefinthepowerofsocialhabits.

“We’ve thought long andhard about habitualizing faith, breaking it downintopieces,”Warrentoldme.“IfyoutrytoscarepeopleintofollowingChrist’sexample, it’s not going towork for too long.Theonlywayyouget people totakeresponsibilityfortheirspiritualmaturityistoteachthemhabitsoffaith.

“Once that happens, they become self-feeders. People follow Christ notbecauseyou’veledthemthere,butbecauseit’swhotheyare.”

When Warren first arrived in Saddleback Valley, he spent twelve weeksgoingdoor-to-door,introducinghimselfandaskingstrangerswhytheydidn’tgotochurch.Manyoftheanswerswerepractical—itwasboring,peoplesaid,themusicwasbad, the sermonsdidn’t seemapplicable to their lives, theyneededchildcare,theyhateddressingup,thepewswereuncomfortable.

Warren’schurchwouldaddresseachofthosecomplaints.Hetoldpeopletowear shorts and Hawaiian shirts, if they felt like it. An electric guitar wasbrought in.Warren’s sermons, from the start, focusedonpractical topics,withtitles such as “How to Handle Discouragement,” “How to Feel Good AboutYourself,” “How to Raise Healthy Families,” and “How to Survive UnderStress.”8.27Hislessonswereeasytounderstand,focusedonreal,dailyproblems,andcouldbeappliedassoonasparishionersleftchurch.

Itstartedtowork.Warrenrentedschoolauditoriumsforservicesandofficebuildings for prayer meetings. The congregation hit fifty members, then onehundred, then two hundred in less than a year.Warrenwasworking eighteenhours a day, seven days a week, answering congregants’ phone calls, leadingclasses, coming to their homes to offermarriage counseling, and, in his sparetime,alwayslookingfornewvenuestoaccommodatethechurch’sgrowingsize.

OneSundayinmid-December,Warrenstooduptopreachduringtheeleveno’clockservice.Hefelt light-headed,dizzy.Hegrippedthepodiumandstartedtospeak,butthewordsonthepagewereblurry.Hebegantofall,caughthimself,andmotionedtotheassistantpastor—hisonlystaff—totakethelectern.

“I’m sorry, folks,” Warren told the audience. “I’m going to have to sitdown.”8.28

For years, he had suffered from anxiety attacks and occasional bouts ofmelancholythatfriendstoldhimsoundedlikemilddepressions.Butithadneverhit this bad before. The next day, Warren and his family began driving toArizona, where his wife’s family had a house. Slowly, he recuperated. Somedays,hewouldsleepfortwelvehoursandthentakeawalkthroughthedesert,praying,tryingtounderstandwhythesepanicattackswerethreateningtoundoeverythinghehadworkedsohardtobuild.Nearlyamonthpassedashestayedawayfromthechurch.Hismelancholybecameafull-fledgeddepression,darkerthan anything he had experienced before. Hewasn’t certain if he would everbecomehealthyenoughtoreturn.

Warren, as befitting a pastor, is a man prone to epiphanies. They hadoccurredwhenhefoundthemagazinearticleaboutMcGavran,andinthelibraryinTexas.Walkingthroughthedesert,anotheronestruck.

“You focusonbuildingpeople,” theLord toldhim. “And Iwill build the

church.”Unlikesomeofhispreviousrevelations,however,thisonedidn’tsuddenly

make the path clear. Warren would continue to struggle with depression formonths—andthenduringperiodsthroughouthis life.Onthatday,however,hemadetwodecisions:HewouldgobacktoSaddleback,andhewouldfigureouthowtomakerunningthechurchlesswork.

When Warren returned to Saddleback, he decided to expand a smallexperiment he had started a fewmonths earlier that, he hoped,wouldmake iteasier to manage the church. He was never certain he would have enoughclassroomstoaccommodateeveryonewhoshowedupforBiblestudy,sohehadaskedafewchurchmemberstohostclassesinsidetheirhomes.Heworriedthatpeople might complain about going to someone’s house, rather than a properchurch classroom.But congregants loved it, they said. The small groups gavethem a chance to meet their neighbors. So, after he returned from his leave,Warren assigned every Saddleback member to a small group that met everyweek. It was one of the most important decisions he ever made, because ittransformed church participation from a decision into a habit that drew onalready-existingsocialurgesandpatterns.

“Now,when people come to Saddleback and see the giant crowds on theweekends,theythinkthat’soursuccess,”Warrentoldme.“Butthat’sjustthetipof the iceberg. Ninety-five percent of this church is what happens during theweekinsidethosesmallgroups.

“Thecongregationandthesmallgroupsarelikeaone-twopunch.Youhavethisbigcrowdtoremindyouwhyyou’redoingthisinthefirstplace,andasmallgroupofclosefriendstohelpyoufocusonhowtobefaithful.Together,they’relikeglue.Wehaveoverfivethousandsmallgroupsnow.It’stheonlythingthatmakesachurchthissizemanageable.Otherwise,I’dworkmyselftodeath,and95percentofthecongregationwouldneverreceivetheattentiontheycameherelookingfor.”

Withoutrealizingit,Warren,insomeways,hasreplicatedthestructurethatpropelledtheMontgomerybusboycott—thoughhehasdoneitinreverse.ThatboycottstartedamongpeoplewhoknewRosaParks,andbecameamassprotestwhen theweak ties of the community compelled participation.At SaddlebackChurch, it works the other way around. People are attracted by a sense ofcommunity and the weak ties that a congregation offers. Then once inside,they’re pushed into a small group of neighbors—a petri dish, if youwill, forgrowing close ties—where their faith becomes an aspect of their socialexperienceanddailylives.

Creatingsmallgroups,however, isn’tenough.WhenWarrenaskedpeoplewhat they discussed in one another’s living rooms, he discovered they talkedabout theBibleandprayed togetherfor tenminutes,and thenspent therestofthe time discussing kids or gossiping.Warren’s goal, however, wasn’t just to

helppeoplemakenew friends. Itwas tobuild a communityof the faithful, toencouragepeople toaccept the lessonsofChrist, and tomake faitha focusoftheirlives.Hissmallgroupshadcreatedtightbonds,butwithoutleadership,theyweren’t much more than a coffee circle. They weren’t fulfilling his religiousexpectations.

WarrenthoughtbacktoMcGavran,theauthor.McGavran’sphilosophysaidthat if you teach people to livewithChristian habits, they’ll act asChristianswithoutrequiringconstantguidanceandmonitoring.Warrencouldn’tleadeverysingle small group in person; he couldn’t be there to make sure everyconversation focusedonChrist insteadof the latestTV shows.But if hegavepeoplenewhabits,hefigured,hewouldn’tneedto.Whenpeoplegathered,theirinstinctswouldbetodiscusstheBible,topraytogether,toembodytheirfaith.

SoWarrencreatedaseriesofcurriculums,usedinchurchclassesandsmallgroup discussions, which were explicitly designed to teach parishioners newhabits.

“IfyouwanttohaveChrist-likecharacter,thenyoujustdevelopthehabitsthat Christ had,” one of Saddleback’s course manuals reads. “All of us aresimply a bundle of habits.…Our goal is to help you replace somebad habitswith somegoodhabits thatwillhelpyougrow inChrist’s likeness.”8.29EverySaddlebackmember is asked to sign a “maturity covenant card” promising toadhere to three habits: daily quiet time for reflection and prayer, tithing 10percentoftheirincome,andmembershipinasmallgroup.Givingeveryonenewhabitshasbecomeafocusofthechurch.

“Oncewedo that, the responsibility forspiritualgrowth isno longerwithme,it’swithyou.We’vegivenyouarecipe,”Warrentoldme.“Wedon’thavetoguide you, because you’re guiding yourself. These habits become a new self-identity, and, at that point, we just need to support you and get out of yourway.”8.30

Warren’sinsightwasthathecouldexpandhischurchthesamewayMartinLutherKinggrewtheboycott:byrelyingonthecombinationofstrongandweakties. Transforming his church into a movement, however—scaling it acrosstwenty thousand parishioners and thousands of other pastors—requiredsomething more, something that made it self-perpetuating. Warren needed toteachpeoplehabitsthatcausedthemtolivefaithfullynotbecauseoftheirties,butbecauseit’swhotheyare.

Thisisthethirdaspectofhowsocialhabitsdrivemovements:Foranideatogrowbeyondacommunity,itmustbecomeself-propelling.Andthesurestwaytoachievethatistogivepeoplenewhabitsthathelpthemfigureoutwheretogo

ontheirown.

As the bus boycott expanded from a few days into a week, and then amonth, and then two months, the commitment of Montgomery’s blackcommunitybegantowane.

The police commissioner, citing an ordinance that required taxicabs tochargeaminimumfare,threatenedtoarrestcabbieswhodroveblackstoworkata discount. The boycott’s leaders responded by signing up two hundredvolunteerstoparticipateinacarpool.Policestartedissuingticketsandharassingpeopleatcarpoolmeetingspots.Driversbegandroppingout.“Itbecamemoreandmoredifficulttocatcharide,”Kinglaterwrote.“Complaintsbegantorise.From earlymorning to late at night my telephone rang andmy doorbell wasseldomsilent.IbegantohavedoubtsabouttheabilityoftheNegrocommunitytocontinuethestruggle.”8.31

Onenight,whileKingwaspreachingathischurch,anusherranupwithanurgentmessage.AbombhadexplodedatKing’shousewhilehiswifeandinfantdaughterwereinside.Kingrushedhomeandwasgreetedbyacrowdofseveralhundredblacksaswellasthemayorandchiefofpolice.Hisfamilyhadnotbeeninjured,butthefrontwindowsofhishomewereshatteredandtherewasacraterinhisporch.Ifanyonehadbeeninthefrontroomsofthehousewhenthebombwentoff,theycouldhavebeenkilled.

AsKing surveyed the damage,more andmore blacks arrived. Policemenstarted telling the crowds to disperse. Someone shoved a cop. A bottle flewthrough the air. One of the policemen swung a baton. The police chief, whomonths earlier hadpubliclydeclaredhis support for the racistWhiteCitizens’Council,pulledKingasideandaskedhimtodosomething—anything—tostopariotfrombreakingout.

Kingwalkedtohisporch.“Don’t do anything panicky,” he shouted to the crowd. “Don’t get your

weapons.Hewholivesbytheswordshallperishbythesword.”8.32

Thecrowdgrewstill.“Wemustloveourwhitebrothers,nomatterwhattheydotous,”Kingsaid.

“Wemustmakethemknowthatwelovethem.Jesusstillcriesoutinwordsthatechoacrossthecenturies:‘Loveyourenemies;blessthemthatcurseyou;pray

forthemthatdespitefullyuseyou.’”It was the message of nonviolence that King had been increasingly

preaching for weeks. Its theme, which drew on the writings of Gandhi andJesus’s sermons,was inmanyways an argument listeners hadn’t heard in thiscontext before, a plea for nonviolent activism, overwhelming love andforgiveness of their attackers, and a promise that it would bring victory. Foryears, the civil rightsmovement had been kept alive by couching itself in thelanguage of battles and struggles. Therewere contests and setbacks, triumphsanddefeatsthatrequiredeveryonetorecommittothefight.

Kinggavepeopleanewlens.Thiswasn’tawar,hesaid.Itwasanembrace.Equallyimportant,Kingcasttheboycottinanewanddifferentlight.This

wasnot justaboutequalityonbuses,Kingsaid; itwaspartofGod’splan, thesame destiny that had ended British colonialism in India and slavery in theUnitedStates,andthathadcausedChristtodieonthecrosssothathecouldtakeawayoursins.Itwastheneweststageinamovementthathadstartedcenturiesearlier. And as such, it required new responses, different strategies andbehaviors. It needed participants to offer the other cheek. People could showtheirallegiancebyadoptingthenewhabitsKingwasevangelizingabout.

“We must meet hate with love,” King told the crowd the night of thebombing. “If I am stopped, ourworkwill not stop. Forwhatwe are doing isright.Whatwearedoingisjust.AndGodiswithus.”

WhenKingwasdonespeaking,thecrowdquietlywalkedhome.“Ifithadn’tbeenforthatniggerpreacher,”onewhitepolicemanlatersaid,

“we’dallbedead.”Thenextweek,twodozennewdriverssignedupforthecarpool.Thephone

callstoKing’shomeslowed.Peoplebeganself-organizing,takingleadershipoftheboycott,propellingthemovement.Whenmorebombsexplodedonthelawnsofotherboycottorganizers, thesamepatternplayedout.Montgomery’sblacksshowedupenmasse,borewitnesswithoutviolenceorconfrontation,and thenwenthome.

It wasn’t just in response to violence that this self-directed unity becamevisible. The churches started holding mass meetings every week—sometimeseverynight.“TheywerekindoflikeDr.King’sspeechafterthebombing—theytookChristian teachingsandmade thempolitical,”TaylorBranch toldme.“Amovementisasaga.Forittowork,everyone’sidentityhastochange.PeopleinMontgomeryhadtolearnanewwaytoact.”

Much like Alcoholics Anonymous—which draws power from group

meetingswhereaddictslearnnewhabitsandstarttobelievebywatchingothersdemonstrate their faith—so Montgomery’s citizens learned in mass meetingsnew behaviors that expanded the movement. “People went to see how otherpeoplewerehandlingit,”saidBranch.“Youstarttoseeyourselfaspartofavastsocialenterprise,andafterawhile,youreallybelieveyouare.”

When theMontgomerypolice resorted tomass arrests to stop theboycottthree months after it started, the community embraced the oppression. Whenninety peoplewere indicted by a grand jury, almost all of them rushed to thecourthouse to present themselves for arrest. Somepeoplewent to the sheriff’soffice tosee if theirnameswereon the listandwere“disappointedwhen theywerenot,”Kinglaterwrote.“Aoncefear-riddenpeoplehadbeentransformed.”

In futureyears, as themovement spread and therewerewavesofkillingsand attacks, arrests and beatings, the protesters—rather than fighting back,retreating,orusingtacticsthatintheyearsbeforeMontgomeryhadbeenactivistmainstays—simply stood theirgroundand toldwhitevigilantes that theywerereadytoforgivethemwhentheirhatredhadceased.

“Insteadofstoppingthemovement,theopposition’stacticshadonlyservedtogiveitgreatermomentum,andtodrawusclosertogether,”Kingwrote.“Theythought theywere dealingwith a groupwho could be cajoled or forced to dowhateverthewhitemanwantedthemtodo.TheywerenotawarethattheyweredealingwithNegroeswhohadbeenfreedfromfear.”

Thereare,ofcourse,numerousandcomplexreasonswhytheMontgomerybusboycottsucceededandwhyitbecamethesparkforamovementthatwouldspread across the South. But one critical factor is this third aspect of socialhabits. Embedded within King’s philosophy was a set of new behaviors thatconvertedparticipants from followers into self-directing leaders.Thesearenothabits as we conventionally think about them. However, when King recastMontgomery’s struggle by giving protesters a new sense of self-identity, theprotestbecameamovementfueledbypeoplewhowereactingbecausetheyhadtakenownershipofahistoricevent.Andthatsocialpattern,overtime,becameautomatic and expanded to other places and groups of students and protesterswhom King never met, but who could take on leadership of the movementsimplybywatchinghowitsparticipantshabituallybehaved.

On June 5, 1956, a panel of federal judges ruled thatMontgomery’s bussegregation law violated the Constitution.8.33 The city appealed to the U.S.SupremeCourtandonDecember17,morethanayearafterParkswasarrested,the highest court rejected the final appeal. Three days later, city officialsreceivedtheorder:Thebuseshadtobeintegrated.

Thenextmorning,at5:55A.M.,King,E.D.Nixon,RalphAbernathy,andothersclimbedonboardacitybusforthefirsttimeinmorethantwelvemonths,andsatinthefront.8.34

“IbelieveyouareReverendKing,aren’tyou?”askedthewhitedriver.“Yes,Iam.”“Weareverygladtohaveyouthismorning,”thedriversaid.8.35

Later, NAACP attorney and future Supreme Court justice ThurgoodMarshall would claim that the boycott had little to do with ending bussegregationinMontgomery.ItwastheSupremeCourt,notcapitulationbyeitherside,thatchangedthelaw.

“Allthatwalkingfornothing,”Marshallsaid.“Theycouldjustaswellhavewaitedwhilethebuscasewentupthroughthecourts,withoutalltheworkandworryoftheboycott.”8.36

Marshall,however,waswronginone importantrespect.TheMontgomerybus boycott helped birth a new set of social habits that quickly spread toGreensboro,NorthCarolina;Selma,Alabama; andLittleRock,Arkansas.Thecivil rights movement became a wave of sit-ins and peaceful demonstrations,evenasparticipantswereviolentlybeaten.Bytheearly1960s,ithadmovedtoFlorida, California, Washington, D.C., and the halls of Congress. WhenPresidentLyndonJohnsonsignedtheCivilRightsActof1964—whichoutlawedallformsofsegregationaswellasdiscriminationagainstminoritiesandwomen—heequatedthecivilrightsactiviststothenation’sfounders,acomparisonthat,a decade earlier,would have been political suicide. “One hundred and eighty-eightyearsagothisweek,asmallbandofvaliantmenbeganalongstruggleforfreedom,” he told television cameras. “Now our generation of Americans hasbeen called on to continue the unending search for justice within our ownborders.”

Movements don’t emerge because everyone suddenly decides to face thesamedirectionatonce.Theyrelyonsocialpatterns thatbeginas thehabitsoffriendship, grow through thehabits of communities, and are sustainedbynewhabitsthatchangeparticipants’senseofself.

KingsawthepowerofthesehabitsasearlyasMontgomery.“Icannotclose

withoutgivingjustawordofcaution,”hetoldapackedchurchonthenighthecalledofftheboycott.Therewasstillalmostadecadeofprotestaheadofhim,buttheendwasinsight.“Aswegobacktothebusesletusbelovingenoughtoturnanenemyintoafriend.Wemustnowmovefromprotesttoreconciliation..…With thisdedicationwewillbeable toemergefromthebleakanddesolatemidnight ofman’s inhumanity toman to the bright and glittering daybreak offreedomandjustice.”

THENEUROLOGYOFFREEWILL

AreWeResponsibleforOurHabits?I.Themorning the troublebegan—yearsbefore she realized therewaseven

trouble in the firstplace—AngieBachmannwassittingathome, staringat thetelevision, so bored that she was giving serious thought to reorganizing thesilverwaredrawer.9.1

Heryoungestdaughterhadstartedkindergartenafewweeksearlierandhertwo older daughterswere inmiddle school, their lives filledwith friends andactivitiesandgossiptheirmothercouldn’tpossiblyunderstand.Herhusband,aland surveyor, often left forwork at eight and didn’t get home until six. Thehouse was empty except for Bachmann. It was the first time in almost twodecades—sinceshehadgottenmarriedatnineteenandpregnantbytwenty,andher days had become crowdedwith packing school lunches, playing princess,and running a family shuttle service—that she felt genuinely alone. In highschool, her friends told her she should become a model—she had been thatpretty—but when she dropped out and then married a guitar player whoeventuallygotareal job,shesettledonbeingamominstead.Nowitwas ten-thirtyinthemorning,herthreedaughtersweregone,andBachmannhadresorted—again—totapingapieceofpaperoverthekitchenclocktostopherselffromlookingatiteverythreeminutes.

Shehadnoideawhattodonext.That day, she made a deal with herself: If she could make it until noon

withoutgoingcrazyoreatingthecakeinthefridge,shewouldleavethehouseand do something fun. She spent the next ninetyminutes trying to figure outwhatexactlythatwouldbe.Whentheclockhittwelveo’clock,sheputonsomemakeupandanicedressanddrove toariverboatcasinoabout twentyminutesaway fromherhouse.EvenatnoononaThursday, the casinowas filledwithpeopledoingthingsbesideswatchingsoapoperasandfoldingthelaundry.Therewasabandplayingneartheentrance.Awomanwashandingoutfreecocktails.Bachmannate shrimp fromabuffet.Thewhole experience felt luxurious, likeplayinghooky.Shemadeherwaytoablackjacktablewhereadealerpatientlyexplained the rules.Whenher fortydollarsofchipsweregone, sheglancedatherwatchandsawtwohourshadflownbyandsheneededtohurryhometopickupheryoungestdaughter.Thatnightatdinner,forthefirsttimeinamonth,shehad something to talk about besides outguessing a contestant onThe Price IsRight.

Angie Bachmann’s father was a truck driver who had remade himself,midlife, into a semi-famous songwriter.Her brother had become a songwriter,too,andhadwonawards.Bachmann,ontheotherhand,wasoftenintroducedbyherparentsas“theonewhobecameamom.”

“Ialwaysfeltliketheuntalentedone,”shetoldme.“IthinkI’msmart,andIknowIwasagoodmom.Buttherewasn’talotIcouldpointtoandsay,that’swhyI’mspecial.”

After that first trip to thecasino,Bachmann startedgoing to the riverboatonceaweek,onFridayafternoons.Itwasarewardformakingitthroughemptydays,keeping thehouseclean, stayingsane.Sheknewgamblingcould lead totrouble,soshesetstrictrulesforherself.Nomorethanonehourattheblackjacktablepertrip,andsheonlygambledwhatwasinherwallet.“Iconsidereditkindoflikeajob,”shetoldme.“Ineverleftthehousebeforenoon,andIwasalwayshomeintimetopickupmydaughter.Iwasverydisciplined.”

Andshegotgood.Atfirst,shecouldhardlymakehermoneylastanhour.Withinsixmonths,however,shehadpickedupenoughtricksthatsheadjustedherrulestoallowfortwo-orthree-hourshifts,andshewouldstillhavecashinherpocketwhenshewalkedaway.Oneafternoon,shesatdownattheblackjacktablewith$80inherpurseandleftwith$530—enoughtobuygroceries,paythephonebill,andputabitintherainydayfund.Bythen,thecompanythatownedthecasino—Harrah’sEntertainment—wassendinghercouponsforfreebuffets.ShewouldtreatthefamilytodinneronSaturdaynights.

The state where Bachmann was gambling, Iowa, had legalized gamblingonly a fewyears earlier. Prior to 1989, the state’s lawmakersworried that the

temptationsofcardsanddicemightbedifficultforsomecitizenstoresist.Itwasa concern as old as the nation itself. Gambling “is the child of avarice, thebrother of iniquity and the father of mischief,” George Washington wrote in1783. “This is avicewhich is productiveof everypossible evil.… In aword,fewgainbythisabominablepractice,whilethousandsareinjured.”9.2Protectingpeople from their bad habits—in fact, defining which habits should beconsidered “bad” in the first place—is a prerogative lawmakers have eagerlyseized. Prostitution, gambling, liquor sales on the Sabbath, pornography,usurious loans, sexual relations outside of marriage (or, if your tastes areunusual,withinmarriage),areallhabitsthatvariouslegislatureshaveregulated,outlawed,ortriedtodiscouragewithstrict(andoftenineffective)laws.

When Iowa legalized casinos, lawmakerswere sufficiently concerned thatthey limited the activity to riverboats andmandated that no one could wagermore than $5 per bet, with a maximum loss of $200 per person per cruise.Within a few years, however, after some of the state’s casinos moved toMississippiwhereno-limitgamingwasallowed,theIowalegislatureliftedthoserestrictions.In2010,thestate’scoffersswelledbymorethan$269millionfromtaxesongambling.9.3

In 2000, Angie Bachmann’s parents, both longtime smokers, startedshowingsignsoflungdisease.ShebeganflyingtoTennesseetoseethemeveryotherweek,buyinggroceriesandhelpingtocookdinner.Whenshecamebackhome to her husband and daughters, the stretches seemed even lonelier now.Sometimes, thehousewasemptyalldaylong; itwasas if, inherabsence,herfriendshadforgottentoinvitehertothingsandherfamilyhadfiguredouthowtogetbyontheirown.

Bachmannwasworried about her parents, upset that her husband seemedmore interested in his work than her anxieties, and resentful of her kids whodidn’trealizesheneededthemnow,afterall thesacrificesshehadmadewhiletheywere growing up.Butwhenever she hit the casino, those tensionswouldfloataway.Shestartedgoingacoupletimesaweekwhenshewasn’tvisitingherparents,andtheneveryMonday,Wednesday,andFriday.Shestillhadrules—butshe’dbeengamblingforyearsbynow,andknewtheaxiomsthatseriousplayerslivedby.Sheneverputdownlessthan$25ahandandalwaysplayedtwohands

atonce.“Youhavebetteroddsatahigherlimittablethanatalowerlimittable,”shetoldme.“Youhavetobeabletoplaythroughtheroughpatchesuntilyourluckturns.I’veseenpeoplewalkinwith$150andwin$10,000.IknewIcoulddo this if I followedmyrules. Iwas incontrol.”1By then, shedidn’thave tothink about whether to take another card or double her bet—she actedautomatically, just as Eugene Pauly, the amnesiac, had eventually learned toalwayschoosetherightcardboardrectangle.

One day in 2000, Bachmann went home from the casino with $6,000—enoughtopayrentfor twomonthsandwipeout thecreditcardbills thatwerepiling up by the front door. Another time, she walked away with $2,000.Sometimesshelost,butthatwaspartofthegame.Smartgamblersknewyouhadto go down to go up. Eventually, Harrah’s gave her a line of credit so shewouldn’thavetocarrysomuchcash.Otherplayerssoughtheroutandsatathertablebecausesheknewwhatshewasdoing.At thebuffet, thehostswould lethergotothefrontoftheline.“Iknowhowtoplay,”shetoldme.“Iknowthatsounds like somebodywho’sgotaproblemnot recognizing theirproblem,butthe onlymistake Imadewas not quitting. Therewasn’t anythingwrongwithhowIplayed.”

Bachmann’s rules gradually became more flexible as the size of herwinnings and losses expanded. One day, she lost $800 in an hour, and thenearned$1,200infortyminutes.Thenherluckturnedagainandshewalkedawaydown$4,000.Anothertime,shelost$3,500inthemorning,earned$5,000by1p.m., and lost another$3,000 in theafternoon.Thecasinohad recordsofhowmuch she owed and what she’d earned; she’d stopped keeping track herself.Then,onemonth,shedidn’thaveenoughinherbankaccountfortheelectricitybill. She asked her parents for a small loan, and then another. She borrowed$2,000onemonth,$2,500thenext.Itwasn’tabigdeal;theyhadthemoney.

Bachmann never had problemswith drinking or drugs or overeating. Shewas a normal mom, with the same highs and lows as everyone else. So thecompulsionshefelttogamble—theinsistentpullthatmadeherfeeldistractedorirritable on days when she didn’t visit the casino, the way she found herselfthinking about it all the time, the rush she felt on a good run—caught hercompletely off guard. It was a new sensation, so unexpected that she hardlyknewitwasaproblemuntilithadtakenholdofherlife.Inretrospect,itseemedlike there had been no dividing line.One day itwas fun, and the next itwasuncontrollable.

By 2001, shewas going to the casino every day. Shewentwhenever shefoughtwithherhusbandorfeltunappreciatedbyherkids.Atthetablesshewas

numbandexcited,allatonce,andheranxietiesgrewsofaintshecouldn’thearthem anymore. The high of winning was so immediate. The pain of losingpassedsofast.

“Youwanttobeabigshot,”hermothertoldherwhenBachmanncalledtoborrowmoremoney.“Youkeepgamblingbecauseyouwanttheattention.”

Thatwasn’tit,though.“Ijustwantedtofeelgoodatsomething,”shesaidtome.“ThiswastheonlythingI’deverdonewhereitseemedlikeIhadaskill.”

Bythesummerof2001,Bachmann’sdebtstoHarrah’shit$20,000.Shehadbeenkeepingthelossessecretfromherhusband,butwhenhermotherfinallycutoff the stipends, she broke down and confessed. They hired a bankruptcyattorney,cutuphercreditcards,andsatatthekitchentabletowriteoutaplanforamoreaustere,responsiblelife.Shetookherdressestoausedclothingstoreandwithstoodthehumiliationofanineteen-year-oldturningdownalmostallofthembecause,shesaid,theywereoutofstyle.

Eventually,itstartedtofeelliketheworstwasover.Finally,shethought,thecompulsionwasgone.

But,ofcourse,itwasn’tevenclosetotheend.Yearslater,aftershehadlosteverythingandhadruinedherlifeandherhusband’s,aftershehadthrownawayhundreds of thousands of dollars and her lawyer had arguedbefore the state’shighestcourtthatAngieBachmanngamblednotbychoice,butoutofhabit,andthusshouldn’tbearculpabilityforherlosses,aftershehadbecomeanobjectofscornontheInternet,wherepeoplecomparedhertoJeffreyDahmerandparentswhoabusetheirkids,shewouldwonder:HowmuchresponsibilitydoIactuallybear?

“Ihonestlybelieveanyoneinmyshoeswouldhavedonethesamethings,”Bachmanntoldme.

II.On a Julymorning in 2008, a desperate man vacationing along the west

coastofWalespickedupthephoneandcalledanemergencyoperator.“IthinkI’vekilledmywife,”hesaid.“OhmyGod.Ithoughtsomeonehad

brokenin.IwasfightingwiththoseboysbutitwasChristine.Imusthavebeendreamingorsomething.WhathaveIdone?WhathaveIdone?”9.4

Tenminuteslater,policeofficersarrivedtofindBrianThomascryingnexttohiscampervan.Thepreviousnight,heexplained,heandhiswifehadbeensleepinginthevanwhenyoungmenracingaroundtheparkinglothadawokenthem.Theymoved theircamper to theedgeof the lotandwentback tosleep.Then,afewhourslater,Thomaswoketofindamaninjeansandablackfleece—oneof the racers,he thought—lyingon topofhiswife.He screamedat theman,grabbedhimby the throat, and tried topullhimoff. Itwas as if hewasreacting automatically, he told the police. The more the man struggled, theharderThomassqueezed.ThemanscratchedatThomas’sarmandtriedtofightback, butThomas choked, tighter and tighter, and eventually theman stoppedmoving.Then,Thomasrealized itwasn’taman inhishands,buthiswife.Hedropped her body and began gently nudging her shoulder, trying towake her,askingifshewasallright.Itwastoolate.

“I thought somebodyhadbroken inand I strangledher,”Thomas told thepolice,sobbing.9.5“She’smyworld.”9.6

Forthenexttenmonths,asThomassatinprisonawaitingtrial,aportraitofthemurdereremerged.Asachild,Thomashadstartedsleepwalking,sometimesmultipletimeseachnight.Hewouldgetoutofbed,walkaroundthehouseandplaywithtoysorfixhimselfsomethingtoeatand,thenextmorning,remembernothing about what he had done. It became a family joke. Once a week, itseemed,hewouldwanderintotheyardorsomeoneelse’sroom,allwhileasleep.Itwasahabit,hismotherwouldexplainwhenneighborsaskedwhyhersonwaswalking across their lawns, barefoot and inhis pajamas.Ashegrewolder, hewouldwakeupwithcutsonhisfeetandnomemoriesofwheretheyhadcomefrom.Heonceswaminacanalwithoutwaking.Afterhemarried,hiswifegrewsoconcernedabout thepossibility thathemight stumbleoutof thehouse andinto traffic that she locked the door and sleptwith the keys under her pillow.Everynight, the couplewouldcrawl intobedand“haveakiss anda cuddle,”Thomaslatersaid,andthenhewouldgotohisownroomandsleepinhisownbed.Otherwise his restless tossing and turning, the shouting and grunting andoccasionalwanderings,wouldkeepChristineupallnight.

“Sleepwalking is a reminder that wake and sleep are not mutuallyexclusive,” Mark Mahowald, a professor of neurology at the University ofMinnesotaandapioneerinunderstandingsleepbehaviors,toldme.“Thepartofyourbrain thatmonitorsyourbehavior is asleep,but thepartscapableofverycomplex activities are awake. The problem is that there’s nothing guiding thebrainexceptforbasicpatterns,yourmostbasichabits.Youfollowwhatexistsinyourhead,becauseyou’renotcapableofmakingachoice.”

Bylaw,thepolicehadtoprosecuteThomasforthemurder.Butallevidenceseemedtoindicatethatheandhiswifehadahappymarriagepriortothatawfulnight.Therewasn’tanyhistoryofabuse.Theyhadtwogrowndaughtersandhadrecently booked a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate their fortieth weddinganniversary. Prosecutors asked a sleep specialist—Dr.Chris Idzikowski of theEdinburghSleepCentre—toexamineThomasandevaluateatheory:thathehadbeen unconscious when he killed his wife. In two separate sessions, one inIdzikowski’s laboratory and the other inside the prison, the researcher appliedsensorsalloverThomas’sbodyandmeasuredhisbrainwaves,eyemovement,chinandlegmuscles,nasalairflow,respiratoryeffort,andoxygenlevelswhileheslept.

Thomas wasn’t the first person to argue that he had committed a crimewhile sleeping and thus, by extension, should not be held responsible for hisdeed.There’salonghistoryofwrongdoerscontendingtheyaren’tculpabledueto“automatism,”as sleepwalkingandotherunconsciousbehaviorsareknown.Andinthepastdecade,asourunderstandingoftheneurologyofhabitsandfreewill has become more sophisticated, those defenses have become morecompelling.Society,asembodiedbyourcourtsandjuries,hasagreedthatsomehabits are sopowerful that theyoverwhelmourcapacity tomakechoices, andthuswe’renotresponsibleforwhatwedo.

Sleepwalking is an odd outgrowth of a normal aspect of how our brainsworkwhile we slumber.Most of the time, as our bodiesmove in and out ofdifferent phases of rest, our most primitive neurological structure—the brainstem—paralyzes our limbs and nervous system, allowing our brains toexperience dreams without our bodies moving. Usually, people can make thetransition in and out of paralysis multiple times each night without anyproblems.Withinneurology,it’sknownasthe“switch.”

Some people’s brains, though, experience switching errors. They go intoincompleteparalysisastheysleep,andtheirbodiesareactivewhiletheydreamorpassbetweensleepphases.Thisistherootcauseofsleepwalkingandforthemajorityof sufferers, it is an annoyingbut benignproblem.9.7Someonemightdreamabouteatingacake,forinstance,andthenextmorningfindaravagedboxofdoughnutsinthekitchen.Someonewilldreamaboutgoingtothebathroom,

and laterdiscover awet spot in thehall.Sleepwalkers canbehave in complexways—forinstance,theycanopentheireyes,see,movearound,anddriveacaror cook a meal—all while essentially unconscious, because the parts of theirbrainassociatedwithseeing,walking,driving,andcookingcanfunctionwhiletheyareasleepwithout input from thebrain’smoreadvanced regions, suchastheprefrontalcortex.Sleepwalkershavebeenknowntoboilwaterandmaketea.Oneoperatedamotorboat.Anotherturnedonanelectricsawandstartedfeedinginpiecesofwoodbeforegoingbacktobed.Butingeneral,sleepwalkerswillnotdo things that are dangerous to themselves or others. Even asleep, there’s aninstincttoavoidperil.

However, as scientists have examined the brains of sleepwalkers, they’vefound a distinction between sleepwalking—inwhich people might leave theirbeds and start actingout their dreamsor othermild impulses—and somethingcalledsleep terrors.9.8When a sleep terror occurs, the activity inside people’sbrainsismarkedlydifferentfromwhentheyareawake,semi-conscious,orevensleepwalking. People in the midst of sleep terrors seem to be in the grip ofterribleanxieties,butarenotdreaming in thenormal senseof theword.Theirbrains shut down except for the most primitive neurological regions, whichincludewhatareknownas“centralpatterngenerators.”Theseareasofthebrainare the same ones studied byDr.Larry Squire and the scientists atMIT,whofoundtheneurologicalmachineryof thehabit loop.Toaneurologist, infact,abrainexperiencingasleepterrorlooksverysimilartoabrainfollowingahabit.

Thebehaviorsofpeopleinthegripofsleepterrorsarehabits,thoughofthemostprimalkind.The“centralpatterngenerators”atworkduringasleepterrorarewheresuchbehavioralpatternsaswalking,breathing,flinchingfromaloudnoise, or fighting an attacker come from.We don’t usually think about thesebehaviorsashabits,butthat’swhattheyare:automaticbehaviorssoingrainedinourneurologythat,studiesshow,theycanoccurwithalmostnoinputfromthehigherregionsofthebrain.

However,thesehabits,whentheyoccurduringsleepterrors,aredifferentinone critical respect: Because sleep deactivates the prefrontal cortex and otherhighcognitionareas,whenasleepterrorhabitistriggered,thereisnopossibilityof conscious intervention. If the fight-or-flight habit is cued by a sleep terror,thereisnochancethatsomeonecanoverrideitthroughlogicorreason.

“People with sleep terrors aren’t dreaming in the normal sense,” saidMahowald,theneurologist.“There’snocomplexplotslikeyouandIrememberfrom a nightmare. If they remember anything afterward, it’s just an image oremotions—impending doom, horrible fear, the need to defend themselves or

someoneelse.“Those emotions are really powerful, though. They are some of themost

basic cues for all kinds of behaviors we’ve learned throughout our lives.Responding to a threat by running away or defending ourselves is somethingeveryonehaspracticedsincetheywerebabies.Andwhenthoseemotionsoccur,andthere’snochanceforthehigherbraintoputthingsincontext,wereacttheway our deepest habits tell us to.9.9 We run or fight or follow whateverbehavioralpatterniseasiestforourbrainstolatchonto.”

When someone in the midst of a sleep terror starts feeling threatened orsexuallyaroused—twoofthemostcommonsleepterrorexperiences—theyreactbyfollowingthehabitsassociatedwiththosestimuli.Peopleexperiencingsleepterrors have jumped off of tall roofs because they believed they were fleeingfromattackers.Theyhavekilled theirownbabiesbecause, theybelieved, theywerefightingwildanimals.Theyhaverapedtheirspouses,evenastheirvictimsbeggedthemtostop,becauseoncethesleepers’arousalbegan,theyfollowedtheingrained habit to satisfy the urge. Sleepwalking seems to allow some choice,someparticipationbyourhigherbrainsthattellustostayawayfromtheedgeoftheroof.Someoneinthegripofasleepterror,however,simplyfollowsthehabitloopnomatterwhereitleads.

Somescientists suspect sleep terrorsmightbegenetic;others saydiseasessuchasParkinson’smakethemmorelikely.Theircausesaren’twellunderstood,but for a number of people, sleep terrors involve violent impulses. “Violencerelatedtosleepterrorsappearstobeareactiontoaconcrete,frighteningimagethat the individual can subsequently describe,” a group of Swiss researcherswrote in 2009. Among people suffering one type of sleep dysfunction,“attemptedassaultofsleeppartnershasbeenreportedtooccurin64%ofcases,withinjuriesin3%.”9.10

In both the United States and the United Kingdom, there is a history ofmurderersarguingthatsleep terrorscaused themtocommitcrimes theywouldhave never consciously carried out.9.11, 9.12 Four years before Thomas wasarrested, for instance, a man named Jules Lowe was found not guilty ofmurderinghiseighty-three-year-oldfatherafterclaimingthattheattackoccurredduringasleepterror.9.13Prosecutorsargueditwas“far-fetchedintheextreme”

to believe that Lowe was asleep while he punched, kicked, and stamped hisfatherformorethantwentyminutes,leavinghimwithoverninetyinjuries.Thejurydisagreedandsethimfree.InSeptember2008,thirty-three-year-oldDonnaSheppard-Saunders nearly suffocated hermother by holding a pillowover herfaceforthirtyseconds.Shewaslateracquittedofattemptedmurderbyarguingthatshehadactedwhileasleep.9.14In2009,aBritishsoldieradmittedtorapingateenagegirl,butsaidhewasasleepandunconsciouswhileheundressedhimself,pulled down her pants, and began having sex. When he woke, mid-rape, heapologizedandcalledthepolice.“I’vejustsortofcommittedacrime,”hetoldtheemergencyoperator. “Ihonestlydon’tknowwhathappened. Iwokeupontopofher.”Hehadahistoryofsufferingfromsleepterrorsandwasfoundnotguilty.9.15Morethan150murderersandrapistshaveescapedpunishmentinthepastcenturyusingtheautomatismdefense.Judgesandjuries,actingonbehalfofsociety,havesaidthatsincethecriminalsdidn’tchoosetocommittheircrimes—sincetheydidn’tconsciouslyparticipateintheviolence—theyshouldn’tbeartheblame.

For Brian Thomas, it also looked like a situationwhere a sleep disorder,ratherthanamurderousimpulse,wasatfault.“I’llneverforgivemyself,ever,”hetoldoneoftheprosecutors.“WhydidIdoit?”9.16

After Dr. Idzikowski, the sleep specialist, observed Thomas in hislaboratory, he submitted his findings: Thomas was asleep when he killed hiswife.Hehadn’tconsciouslycommittedacrime.

Asthetrialstarted,prosecutorspresentedtheirevidencetothejury.Thomashadadmittedtomurderinghiswife,theytoldjurors.Heknewhehadahistoryofsleepwalking.Hisfailuretotakeprecautionswhileonvacation,theysaid,madehimresponsibleforhiscrime.

Butas argumentsproceeded, it becameclearprosecutorswere fightinganuphillbattle.Thomas’slawyerarguedthathisclienthadn’tmeanttokillhiswife—infact,hewasn’tevenincontrolofhisownactionsthatnight.Instead,hewasreactingautomaticallytoaperceivedthreat.Hewasfollowingahabitalmostasoldasourspecies:theinstincttofightanattackerandprotectalovedone.Oncethemostprimitivepartsofhisbrainwereexposedtoacue—someonestranglinghiswife—hishabittookoverandhefoughtback,withnochanceofhishigher

cognitioninterceding.Thomaswasguiltyofnothingmorethanbeinghuman,thelawyerargued,andreactinginthewayhisneurology—andmostprimitivehabits—forcedhimtobehave.

Even the prosecution’s own witnesses seemed to bolster the defense.ThoughThomashadknownhewascapableofsleepwalking, theprosecution’sownpsychiatristssaid,therewasnothingtosuggesttohimthatitwasthereforeforeseeablehemightkill.Hehadneverattackedanyoneinhissleepbefore.Hehadneverpreviouslyharmedhiswife.

Whentheprosecution’schiefpsychiatrist tookthestand,Thomas’s lawyerbeganhiscross-examination.

DiditseemfairthatThomasshouldbefoundguiltyforanacthecouldnotknowwasgoingtooccur?

Inheropinion,saidDr.CarolineJacob,Thomascouldnothavereasonablyanticipated his crime. And if he was convicted and sentenced to BroadmoorHospital, where some of Britain’s most dangerous and mentally ill criminalswerehoused,well,“hedoesnotbelongthere.”

Thenextmorning,theheadprosecutoraddressedthejury.“At the timeof thekilling thedefendantwas asleep andhismindhadno

control over what his body was doing,” he said.9.17 “We have reached theconclusion that thepublic interestwouldno longerbe servedbycontinuing toseek a special verdict from you. We therefore offer no further evidence andinviteyoutoreturnastraightnotguiltyverdict.”9.18Thejurydidso.

BeforeThomaswassetfree,thejudgetoldhim,“Youareadecentmanandadevotedhusband.Istronglysuspectyoumaywellbefeelingasenseofguilt.Intheeyesofthelawyoubearnoresponsibility.9.19Youaredischarged.”

Itseemslikeafairoutcome.Afterall,Thomaswasobviouslydevastatedbyhis crime.He had no ideawhat hewas doingwhen he acted—hewas simplyfollowing a habit, and his capacity for decision making was, in effect,incapacitated.Thomas is themost sympatheticmurdererconceivable, someonesoclose tobeingavictimhimself thatwhen the trialended, the judge tried toconsolehim.

Yet many of those same excuses can be made for Angie Bachmann, thegambler.Shewasalsodevastatedbyheractions.Shewouldlatersayshecarriesa deep sense of guilt. And as it turns out, she was also following deeplyingrained habits that made it increasingly difficult for decision making tointervene.

But in the eyes of the law Bachmann is responsible for her habits, and

Thomas isn’t. Is it right thatBachmann, a gambler, is guiltier thanThomas, amurderer?Whatdoesthattellusabouttheethicsofhabitandchoice?

III.Threeyears afterAngieBachmanndeclaredbankruptcy,her fatherpassed

away. She’d spent the previous half decade flying between her home and herparents’house,tendingtothemastheybecameincreasinglyill.Hisdeathwasablow.Then,twomonthslater,hermotherdied.

“Myentireworlddisintegrated,”shesaid.“Iwouldwakeupeverymorning,andforasecondforgettheyhadpassed,andthenitwouldrushinthattheyweregoneandI’dfeellikesomeonewasstandingonmychest.Icouldn’tthinkaboutanythingelse.Ididn’tknowwhattodowhenIgotoutofbed.”

Whentheirwillswereread,Bachmannlearnedshehadinheritedalmost$1million.

Sheused$275,000tobuyherfamilyanewhomeinTennessee,nearwhereher mother and father had lived, and spent a bit more to move her growndaughters nearby so everyone was close. Casino gambling wasn’t legal inTennessee, and “I didn’twant to fall back into bad patterns,” she toldme. “Iwantedtoliveawayfromanythingthatremindedmeoffeelingoutofcontrol.”Shechangedherphonenumbersanddidn’t tell thecasinoshernewaddress.Itfeltsaferthatway.

Then one night, driving through her old hometown with her husband,pickingupthelastoftheirfurniturefromherprevioushome,shestartedthinkingaboutherparents.Howwouldshemanagewithoutthem?Whyhadn’tshebeenabetterdaughter?Shebeganhyperventilating.Itfeltlikethebeginningofapanicattack.Ithadbeenyearssinceshehadgambled,butinthatmomentshefeltlikesheneeded to find something to takehermindoff thepain.She lookedatherhusband.Shewasdesperate.Thiswasaone-timething.

“Let’sgotothecasino,”shesaid.Whentheywalked in,oneof themanagersrecognizedherfromwhenshe

wasaregularandinvitedthemintotheplayers’lounge.Heaskedhowshehadbeen,anditallcametumblingout:herparents’passingandhowhardithadhither,howexhaustedshewasallthetime,howshefeltlikeshewasonthevergeofabreakdown.Themanagerwasagoodlistener.Itfeltsogoodtofinallysayeverythingshehadbeenthinkingandbetoldthatitwasnormaltofeelthisway.

Thenshesatdownatablackjacktableandplayedforthreehours.Forthefirsttimeinmonths,theanxietyfadedintobackgroundnoise.Sheknewhowtodothis.Shewentblank.Shelostafewthousanddollars.

Harrah’sEntertainment—thecompanythatownedthecasino—wasknownwithin the gaming industry for the sophistication of its customer-trackingsystems.At the core of that systemwere computer programsmuch like thoseAndrew Pole created at Target, predictive algorithms that studied gamblers’habitsandtriedtofigureouthowtopersuadethemtospendmore.Thecompanyassignedplayersa“predicted lifetimevalue,”andsoftwarebuilt calendars thatanticipated howoften theywould visit and howmuch theywould spend.Thecompany tracked customers through loyalty cards andmailed out coupons forfreemealsandcashvouchers;telemarketerscalledpeopleathometoaskwheretheyhadbeen.Casinoemployeeswere trained toencouragevisitors todiscusstheir lives, in the hopes they might reveal information that could be used topredicthowmuchtheyhadtogamblewith.OneHarrah’sexecutivecalledthisapproach“Pavlovianmarketing.”Thecompanyranthousandsoftestseachyearto perfect their methods.9.20 Customer tracking had increased the company’sprofits by billions of dollars, andwas so precise they could track a gambler’sspendingtothecentandminute.9.21,2

Harrah’s,ofcourse,waswellawarethatBachmannhaddeclaredbankruptcyafewyearsearlierandhadwalkedawayfrom$20,000ingamblingdebts.Butsoonafterherconversationwiththecasinomanager,shebeganreceivingphonecallswithoffersoffreelimosthatwouldtakehertocasinosinMississippi.TheyofferedtoflyherandherhusbandtoLakeTahoe,puttheminasuite,andgivethem tickets to an Eagles concert. “I said my daughter has to come, and shewants to bring a friend,” Bachmann said. No problem, the company replied.Everyone’s airfare and rooms were free. At the concert, she sat in the frontrow.9.22Harrah’sgaveher$10,000toplaywith,complimentsofthehouse.

The offers kept coming. Every week another casino called, asking if shewanted a limo, entry to shows, plane tickets. Bachmann resisted at first, buteventuallyshestartedsayingyeseachtimeaninvitationarrived.WhenafamilyfriendmentionedthatshewantedtogetmarriedinLasVegas,Bachmannmadeaphone call and the next weekend they were in the Palazzo. “Not that manypeopleevenknowitexists,”shetoldme.“I’vecalledandaskedaboutit,andtheoperatorsaidit’stooexclusivetogiveoutinformationoverthephone.Theroomwaslikesomethingoutofamovie.Ithadsixbedroomsandadeckandprivatehottubforeachroom.Ihadabutler.”

Whenshegottothecasinos,hergamblinghabitstookoveralmostassoonasshewalkedin.Shewouldoftenplayforhoursatastretch.Shestartedsmallatfirst,usingonlythecasino’smoney.Thenthenumbersgotlarger,andshewouldreplenishherchipswithwithdrawals from theATM. Itdidn’t seem toher like

therewas a problem.Eventually shewas playing $200 to $300 per hand, twohands at a time, sometimes for a dozen hours at a time. One night, she won$60,000.Twiceshewalkedawayup$40,000.OnetimeshewenttoVegaswith$100,000 in her bag and came homewith nothing. It didn’t really change herlifestyle.Herbankaccountwasstill so large that sheneverhad to thinkaboutmoney.That’swhyherparentshadlefthertheinheritanceinthefirstplace:soshecouldenjoyherself.

Shewouldtrytoslowdown,butthecasino’sappealsbecamemoreinsistent.“OnehosttoldmethathewouldgetfiredifIdidn’tcomeinthatweekend,”shesaid.“Theywouldsay,‘Wesentyoutothisconcertandwegaveyouthisniceroom,andyouhaven’tbeengamblingthatmuchlately.’Well,theydiddothosenicethingsforme.”

In2005,herhusband’sgrandmotherdiedand the familywentback toheroldhometownforthefuneral.Shewenttothecasinothenightbeforetheservicetoclearherheadandgetmentallypreparedforalltheactivitythenextday.Overa spanof twelvehours, she lost$250,000.At the time, itwasalmostas if thescaleofthelossdidn’tregister.Whenshethoughtaboutitafterward—aquarterofamilliondollarsgone—itdidn’t seemreal.Shehad lied toherselfaboutsomuch already: that her marriage was happy when she and her husbandsometimeswentdayswithoutreallyspeaking;thatherfriendswereclosewhensheknewtheyappearedforVegastripsandweregonewhenitwasover;thatshewasagoodmomwhenshesawherdaughtersmakingthesamemistakesshehadmade,gettingpregnanttooearly;thatherparentswouldhavebeenpleasedtoseetheir money thrown away this way. It felt like there were only two choices:continuelyingtoherselforadmitthatshehaddishonoredeverythinghermotherandfatherhadworkedsohardtoearn.

Aquarterofamilliondollars.Shedidn’ttellherhusband.“Iconcentratedonsomethingnewwheneverthatnightpoppedintomymind,”shesaid.

Soon, though, the losses were too big to ignore. Some nights, after herhusbandwasasleep,Bachmannwouldcrawloutofbed,sitatthekitchentable,and scribble out figures, trying to make sense of how much was gone. Thedepressionthathadstartedafterherparents’deathseemedtobegettingdeeper.Shefeltsotiredallthetime.

AndHarrah’skeptcalling.“Thisdesperation startsonceyou realizehowmuchyou’ve lost, and then

you feel like you can’t stop because you’ve got to win it back,” she said.“SometimesI’dstartfeelingjumpy,likeIcouldn’tthinkstraight,andI’dknowthatifIpretendedImighttakeanothertripsoon,itwouldcalmmedown.Then

they would call and I’d say yes because it was so easy to give in. I reallybelievedImightwinitback.I’dwonbefore.Ifyoucouldn’twin,thengamblingwouldn’tbelegal,right?”

In 2010, a cognitive neuroscientist named Reza Habib asked twenty-twopeopletolieinsideanMRIandwatchaslotmachinespinaroundandaround.9.23Halfof theparticipantswere“pathologicalgamblers”—peoplewhohadlied totheir families about their gambling, missed work to gamble, or had bouncedchecksatacasino—whiletheotherhalfwerepeoplewhogambledsociallybutdidn’texhibitanyproblematicbehaviors.9.24Everyonewasplacedontheirbacksinsideanarrowtubeandtoldtowatchwheelsoflucky7s,apples,andgoldbarsspinacrossavideoscreen.Theslotmachinewasprogrammed todeliver threeoutcomes:awin,aloss,anda“nearmiss,”inwhichtheslotsalmostmatchedupbut,atthelastmoment,failedtoalign.Noneoftheparticipantswonorlostanymoney. All they had to do was watch the screen as the MRI recorded theirneurologicalactivity.

“Wewereparticularlyinterestedinlookingatthebrainsystemsinvolvedinhabitsandaddictions,”Habibtoldme.“Whatwefoundwasthat,neurologicallyspeaking, pathological gamblers got more excited about winning. When thesymbolslinedup,eventhoughtheydidn’tactuallywinanymoney,theareasintheir brains related to emotion and reward were much more active than innonpathologicalgamblers.

“But what was really interesting were the near misses. To pathologicalgamblers, nearmisses looked likewins. Their brains reacted almost the sameway. But to a nonpathological gambler, a near miss was like a loss. Peoplewithoutagamblingproblemwerebetterat recognizing thatanearmissmeansyoustilllose.”

Twogroupssawtheexactsameevent,butfromaneurologicalperspective,they viewed it differently. People with gambling problems got a mental highfromthenearmisses—which,Habibhypothesizes,isprobablywhytheygamblefor so much longer than everyone else: because the near miss triggers thosehabits that prompt them to put down another bet. The nonproblem gamblers,whentheysawanearmiss,gotadoseofapprehensionthattriggeredadifferenthabit,theonethatsaysIshouldquitbeforeitgetsworse.

It’sunclearifproblemgamblers’brainsaredifferentbecausetheyarebornthatwayorifsustainedexposuretoslotmachines,onlinepoker,andcasinoscanchange how the brain functions. What is clear is that real neurologicaldifferencesimpacthowpathologicalgamblersprocessinformation—whichhelpsexplainwhyAngieBachmannlostcontroleverytimeshewalkedintoacasino.Gamingcompaniesarewellawareofthistendency,ofcourse,whichiswhyinthe past decades, slot machines have been reprogrammed to deliver a moreconstant supplyof nearwins.3Gamblerswhokeepbetting after nearwins arewhatmakecasinos,racetracks,andstate lotteriessoprofitable.“Addinganearmisstoalotteryislikepouringjetfuelonafire,”saidastatelotteryconsultantwhospoketomeontheconditionofanonymity.“Youwanttoknowwhysaleshaveexploded?Everyotherscratch-offticketisdesignedtomakeyoufeellikeyoualmostwon.”

Theareasof thebrain thatHabibscrutinized inhisexperiment—thebasalgangliaandthebrainstem—arethesameregionswherehabitsreside(aswellaswherebehaviorsrelatedtosleepterrorsstart).Inthepastdecade,asnewclassesof pharmaceuticals have emerged that target that region—such asmedicationsforParkinson’sdisease—we’ve learnedagreat deal abouthowsensitive somehabitscanbetooutsidestimulation.Classactionlawsuits in theUnitedStates,Australia,andCanadahavebeenfiledagainstdrugmanufacturers,allegingthatpharmaceuticalscausedpatients tocompulsivelybet,eat, shop,andmasturbatebytargetingthecircuitryinvolvedinthehabitloop.9.25In2008,afederaljuryinMinnesotaawardedapatient$8.2million ina lawsuitagainstadrugcompanyafterthemanclaimedthathismedicationhadcausedhimtogambleawaymorethan$250,000.Hundredsofsimilarcasesarepending.9.26

“In thosecases,wecandefinitivelysay thatpatientshavenocontrolovertheir obsessions, because we can point to a drug that impacts theirneurochemistry,”saidHabib.“Butwhenwelookatthebrainsofpeoplewhoareobsessive gamblers, they look very similar—except they can’t blame it on amedication.Theytellresearcherstheydon’twanttogamble,buttheycan’tresistthecravings.SowhydowesaythatthosegamblersareincontroloftheiractionsandtheParkinson’spatientsaren’t?”9.27

On March 18, 2006, Angie Bachmann flew to a casino at Harrah’sinvitation. By then, her bank account was almost empty. When she tried tocalculatehowmuch shehad lost overher lifetime, sheput the figure at about$900,000.ShehadtoldHarrah’sthatshewasalmostbroke,butthemanonthephonesaidtocomeanyway.Theywouldgiveheralineofcredit,hesaid.

“It felt like I couldn’t say no, like whenever they dangled the smallesttemptationinfrontofme,mybrainwouldshutoff.Iknowthatsoundslikeanexcuse,buttheyalwayspromiseditwouldbedifferentthistime,andIknewnomatterhowmuchIfoughtagainstit,Iwaseventuallygoingtogivein.”

Shebroughtthelastofhermoneywithher.Shestartedplaying$400ahand,two hands at a time. If she could get up a little bit, she told herself, just$100,000, she could quit and have something to give her kids. Her husbandjoined her for a while, but at midnight he went to bed. Around 2 A.M., themoney she had come with was gone. A Harrah’s employee gave her apromissory note to sign. Six times she signed for more cash, for a total of$125,000.

Ataboutsixinthemorning,shehitahotstreakandherpilesofchipsbegantogrow.Acrowdgathered.Shedidaquicktally:notquiteenoughtopayoffthenotesshehadsigned,butifshekeptplayingsmart,shewouldcomeoutontop,and thenquit for good.Shewon five times in a row.She only needed towin$20,000moretopullahead.Thenthedealerhit21.Thenhehititagain.Afewhandslater,hehititathirdtime.Byteninthemorning,allherchipsweregone.Sheaskedformorecredit,butthecasinosaidno.

Bachmannleftthetabledazedandwalkedtohersuite.Itfeltlikethefloorwas shaking.She trailed a hand along thewall so that if she fell, she’dknowwhichwaytolean.Whenshegottotheroom,herhusbandwaswaitingforher.

“It’sallgone,”shetoldhim.“Whydon’tyoutakeashowerandgotobed?”hesaid.“It’sokay.You’ve

lostbefore.”“It’sallgone,”shesaid.“Whatdoyoumean?”“Themoneyisgone,”shesaid.“Allofit.”“Atleastwestillhavethehouse,”hesaid.Shedidn’ttellhimthatshe’dtakenoutalineofcreditontheirhomemonths

earlierandhadgambleditaway.

IV.Brian Thomas murdered his wife. Angie Bachmann squandered her

inheritance.Isthereadifferenceinhowsocietyshouldassignresponsibility?Thomas’slawyerarguedthathisclientwasn’tculpableforhiswife’sdeath

because he acted unconsciously, automatically, his reaction cued by the beliefthatanintruderwasattacking.Heneverchosetokill,hislawyersaid,andsoheshouldn’tbeheldresponsible forherdeath.By thesame logic,Bachmann—asweknowfromRezaHabib’sresearchonthebrainsofproblemgamblers—wasalso driven by powerful cravings. Shemay havemade a choice that first daywhen she got dressed up and decided to spend the afternoon in a casino, andperhaps in theweeksormonths that followed.Butyears later,by the timeshewas losing $250,000 in a single night, after shewas so desperate to fight theurgesthatshemovedtoastatewheregamblingwasn’tlegal,shewasnolongermaking conscious decisions. “Historically, in neuroscience, we’ve said thatpeoplewithbraindamagelosesomeoftheirfreewill,”saidHabib.“Butwhenapathologicalgamblerseesacasino, it seemsverysimilar. It seems like they’reactingwithoutchoice.”9.28

Thomas’slawyerargued,inamannerthateveryonebelieved,thathisclienthadmade a terriblemistake andwould carry the guilt of it for life.However,isn’t it clear that Bachmann feels much the same way? “I feel so guilty, soashamedofwhatI’vedone,”shetoldme.“IfeellikeI’veleteveryonedown.IknowthatI’llneverbeabletomakeupforthis,nomatterwhatIdo.”

Thatsaid,thereisonecriticaldistinctionbetweenthecasesofThomasandBachmann: Thomas murdered an innocent person. He committed what hasalways been the gravest of crimes. Angie Bachmann lost money. The onlyvictims were herself, her family, and a $27 billion company that loaned her$125,000.

Thomaswas set free by society. Bachmannwas held accountable for herdeeds.

TenmonthsafterBachmannlosteverything,Harrah’s tried tocollect fromherbank.Thepromissorynotesshesignedbounced,andsoHarrah’ssuedher,demandingBachmannpayherdebtsandanadditional$375,000inpenalties—acivil punishment, in effect, for committing a crime.She countersued, claimingthat by extending her credit, free suites, and booze, Harrah’s had preyed onsomeonetheyknewhadnocontroloverherhabits.Hercasewentallthewaytothe state Supreme Court. Bachmann’s lawyer—echoing the arguments thatThomas’sattorneyhadmadeonthemurderer’sbehalf—saidthatsheshouldn’tbeheldculpablebecauseshehadbeenreactingautomaticallytotemptationsthat

Harrah’sput in frontofher.Once theoffersstarted rolling in,heargued,onceshewalkedintothecasino,herhabitstookoveranditwasimpossibleforhertocontrolherbehavior.

Thejustices,actingonbehalfofsociety,saidBachmannwaswrong.“Thereisnocommonlawdutyobligatingacasinooperatortorefrainfromattemptingtoentice or contact gamblers that it knows or should know are compulsivegamblers,” the courtwrote. The state had a “voluntary exclusion program” inwhichanypersoncouldaskfortheirnametobeplaceduponalistthatrequiredcasinostobarthemfromplaying,and“theexistenceofthevoluntaryexclusionprogramsuggeststhelegislatureintendedpathologicalgamblerstotakepersonalresponsibilitytopreventandprotect themselvesagainstcompulsivegambling,”wroteJusticeRobertRucker.

PerhapsthedifferenceinoutcomesforThomasandBachmannisfair.Afterall, it’s easier to sympathizewith adevastatedwidower thanahousewifewhothreweverythingaway.

Why is it easier, though? Why does it seem the bereaved husband is avictim,while the bankrupt gambler got her just deserts?Why do some habitsseemliketheyshouldbesoeasytocontrol,whileothersseemoutofreach?

Moreimportant,isitrighttomakeadistinctioninthefirstplace?“Somethinkers,”AristotlewroteinNicomacheanEthics,“holdthatitisby

naturethatpeoplebecomegood,othersthatitisbyhabit,andothersthatitisbyinstruction.” For Aristotle, habits reigned supreme. The behaviors that occurunthinkinglyaretheevidenceofourtruestselves,hesaid.So“justasapieceoflandhastobepreparedbeforehandifitistonourishtheseed,sothemindofthepupilhastobepreparedinitshabitsifitistoenjoyanddisliketherightthings.”

Habits are not as simple as they appear. As I’ve tried to demonstratethroughout this book, habits—even once they are rooted in ourminds—aren’tdestiny.We can choose our habits, once we know how. Everything we knowabout habits, from neurologists studying amnesiacs and organizational expertsremakingcompanies,isthatanyofthemcanbechanged,ifyouunderstandhowtheyfunction.

Hundredsofhabits influenceourdays—theyguidehowwegetdressed inthemorning,talktoourkids,andfallasleepatnight; theyimpactwhatweeatfor lunch, howwe do business, andwhetherwe exercise or have a beer afterwork.Eachof themhas a different cue andoffers a unique reward. Some aresimple and others are complex, drawing upon emotional triggers and offeringsubtle neurochemical prizes. But every habit, no matter its complexity, ismalleable. The most addicted alcoholics can become sober. The most

dysfunctionalcompaniescan transform themselves.Ahighschooldropoutcanbecomeasuccessfulmanager.

However, to modify a habit, you must decide to change it. You mustconsciouslyacceptthehardworkofidentifyingthecuesandrewardsthatdrivethehabits’routines,andfindalternatives.Youmustknowyouhavecontrolandbeself-consciousenoughtouseit—andeverychapterinthisbookisdevotedtoillustratingadifferentaspectofwhythatcontrolisreal.

SothoughbothAngieBachmannandBrianThomasmadevariationsonthesame claim—that they acted out of habit, that they had no control over theiractionsbecausethosebehaviorsunfoldedautomatically—itseemsfairthattheyshould be treated differently. It is just that Angie Bachmann should be heldaccountableandthatBrianThomasshouldgofreebecauseThomasneverknewthepatterns thatdrovehim tokillexisted in the firstplace—much less thathecouldmasterthem.Bachmann,ontheotherhand,wasawareofherhabits.Andonceyouknowahabitexists,youhavetheresponsibilitytochangeit.Ifshehadtriedabitharder,perhapsshecouldhavereinedthemin.Othershavedoneso,eveninthefaceofgreatertemptations.

That, in some ways, is the point of this book. Perhaps a sleepwalkingmurderer can plausibly argue hewasn’t aware of his habit, and so he doesn’tbear responsibility forhis crime.But almost all theotherpatterns that exist inmost people’s lives—how we eat and sleep and talk to our kids, how weunthinkingly spend our time, attention, and money—those are habits that weknow exist. And once you understand that habits can change, you have thefreedom—and the responsibility—to remake them. Once you understand thathabitscanberebuilt, thepowerofhabitbecomeseasier tograsp,and theonlyoptionleftistogettowork.

“All our life,” William James told us in the prologue, “so far as it hasdefinite form, is but amass of habits—practical, emotional, and intellectual—systematicallyorganizedforourwealorwoe,andbearingusirresistiblytowardourdestiny,whateverthelattermaybe.”9.29

James,whodied in1910, hailed froman accomplished family.His fatherwas a wealthy and prominent theologian. His brother, Henry, was a brilliant,successfulwriterwhosenovelsarestillstudiedtoday.William,intohisthirties,

wastheunaccomplishedoneinthefamily.Hewassickasachild.Hewantedtobecome a painter, and then enrolled in medical school, then left to join anexpeditionuptheAmazonRiver.Thenhequitthat,aswell.Hechastisedhimselfinhisdiaryfornotbeinggoodatanything.What’smore,hewasn’tcertainifhecouldgetbetter.Inmedicalschool,hehadvisitedahospitalfortheinsaneandhadseenamanhurlinghimselfagainstawall.Thepatient,adoctorexplained,suffered fromhallucinations. Jamesdidn’t say thatheoften felt likehe sharedmoreincommonwiththepatientsthanhisfellowphysicians.

“Today I about touched bottom, and perceive plainly that Imust face thechoicewithopeneyes,”Jameswroteinhisdiaryin1870,whenhewastwenty-eight years old. “Shall I frankly throw the moral business overboard, as oneunsuitedtomyinnateaptitudes?”

Issuicide,inotherwords,abetterchoice?Twomonths later, Jamesmadeadecision.Beforedoinganything rash,he

wouldconductayearlongexperiment.Hewouldspendtwelvemonthsbelievingthathehadcontroloverhimselfandhisdestiny,thathecouldbecomebetter,thathehadthefreewilltochange.Therewasnoproofthatitwastrue.Buthewouldfreehimselftobelieve,allevidencetothecontrary,thatchangewaspossible.“Ithinkthatyesterdaywasacrisisinmylife,”hewroteinhisdiary.Regardinghisability tochange,“Iwillassumefor thepresent—untilnextyear—that it isnoillusion.Myfirstactoffreewillshallbetobelieveinfreewill.”

Over thenextyear,hepracticedeveryday. Inhisdiary,hewroteas ifhiscontroloverhimselfandhischoiceswasneverinquestion.Hegotmarried.Hestarted teaching at Harvard. He began spending time with Oliver WendellHolmes,Jr.,whowouldgoontobecomeaSupremeCourtjustice,andCharlesSandersPeirce,apioneer in thestudyof semiotics, inadiscussiongroup theycalledtheMetaphysicalClub.9.30Twoyearsafterwritinghisdiaryentry,JamessentalettertothephilosopherCharlesRenouvier,whohadexpoundedatlengthon freewill. “Imustnot lose thisopportunityof tellingyouof the admirationand gratitudewhich have been excited inme by the reading of yourEssais,”James wrote. “Thanks to you I possess for the first time an intelligible andreasonableconceptionoffreedom.…IcansaythatthroughthatphilosophyIambeginningtoexperiencearebirthofthemorallife;andIcanassureyou,sir,thatthisisnosmallthing.”

Later,hewouldfamouslywritethatthewilltobelieveisthemostimportantingredient in creating belief in change. And that one of the most importantmethodsforcreatingthatbeliefwashabits.Habits,henoted,arewhatallowusto“doathingwithdifficultythefirsttime,butsoondoitmoreandmoreeasily,

andfinally,withsufficientpractice,doitsemi-mechanically,orwithhardlyanyconsciousnessatall.”Oncewechoosewhowewanttobe,peoplegrow“tothewayinwhichtheyhavebeenexercised,justasasheetofpaperoracoat,oncecreasedorfolded,tendstofallforeverafterwardintothesameidenticalfolds.”

Ifyoubelieveyoucanchange—ifyoumakeitahabit—thechangebecomesreal.This is the real power of habit: the insight that your habits arewhat youchoose themtobe.Once thatchoiceoccurs—andbecomesautomatic—it’snotonly real, it starts to seem inevitable, the thing,as Jameswrote, thatbears“usirresistiblytowardourdestiny,whateverthelattermaybe.”

Thewaywehabitually thinkofour surroundingsandourselvescreate theworldsthateachofusinhabit.“Therearethesetwoyoungfishswimmingalongand they happen tomeet an older fish swimming the otherway,who nods atthem and says ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ ” the writer David FosterWallacetoldaclassofgraduatingcollegestudentsin2005.“Andthetwoyoungfishswimonforabit,andtheneventuallyoneofthemlooksoverattheotherandgoes‘Whatthehelliswater?’”

The water is habits, the unthinking choices and invisible decisions thatsurround us every day—and which, just by looking at them, become visibleagain.

Throughouthislife,WilliamJameswroteabouthabitsandtheircentralroleincreatinghappinessandsuccess.HeeventuallydevotedanentirechapterinhismasterpieceThePrinciplesofPsychologytothetopic.Water,hesaid,isthemostapt analogy for how a habit works. Water “hollows out for itself a channel,whichgrowsbroaderanddeeper; and, afterhavingceased to flow, it resumes,whenitflowsagain,thepathtracedbyitselfbefore.”9.31

Younowknowhowtoredirectthatpath.Younowhavethepowertoswim.1Itmayseemirrational foranyone tobelieve theycanbeat thehouse ina

casino.However, as regular gamblers know, it is possible to consistentlywin,particularly at games such as blackjack. Don Johnson of Bensalem,Pennsylvania,forinstance,wonareported$15.1millionatblackjackoverasix-monthspanstartingin2010.Thehousealwayswinsintheaggregatebecausesomany gamblers bet in a manner that doesn’t maximize their odds, and mostpeopledonothaveenoughmoneytoseethemselvesthroughlosses.Agamblercan consistently win over time, though, if he or she has memorized thecomplicated formulas and odds that guide how each hand should be played.Mostplayers,however,don’thave thedisciplineormathematicalskills tobeatthehouse.

2Harrah’s—now known as Caesars Entertainment—disputes some ofBachmann’sallegations.Theircommentscanbefoundinthenotes.

3In the late 1990s, one of the largest slot machinemanufacturers hired aformer video game executive to help them design new slots. That executive’sinsightwastoprogrammachinestodelivermorenearwins.Now,almosteveryslot contains numerous twists—such as free spins and sounds that eruptwheniconsalmostalign—aswellassmallpayoutsthatmakeplayersfeelliketheyarewinningwhen, in truth, they are putting inmoremoney than they are gettingback.“Nootherformofgamblingmanipulatesthehumanmindasbeautifullyasthese machines,” an addictive-disorder researcher at the University ofConnecticutSchoolofMedicinetoldaNewYorkTimesreporterin2004.

APPENDIX

AReader’sGuidetoUsingTheseIdeasThedifficultthingaboutstudyingthescienceofhabitsisthatmostpeople,

whentheyhearaboutthisfieldofresearch,wanttoknowthesecretformulaforquickly changing any habit. If scientists have discovered how these patternswork,thenitstandstoreasonthattheymusthavealsofoundarecipeforrapidchange,right?

Ifonlyitwerethateasy.It’snotthatformulasdon’texist.Theproblemisthatthereisn’toneformula

forchanginghabits.Therearethousands.Individuals andhabits are all different, and so the specifics of diagnosing

andchangingthepatternsinourlivesdifferfrompersontopersonandbehaviortobehavior.Givingupcigarettes isdifferentfromcurbingovereating,whichisdifferent from changing how you communicate with your spouse, which isdifferent from how you prioritize tasks at work. What’s more, each person’shabitsaredrivenbydifferentcravings.

Asa result, thisbookdoesn’t containoneprescription.Rather, Ihoped todeliver somethingelse: a framework forunderstandinghowhabitsworkandaguidetoexperimentingwithhowtheymightchange.Somehabitsyieldeasilytoanalysis and influence. Others are more complex and obstinate, and requireprolongedstudy.Andforothers,changeisaprocessthatneverfullyconcludes.

But thatdoesn’tmean it can’toccur.Eachchapter in thisbookexplainsadifferent aspect of why habits exist and how they function. The frameworkdescribedinthisappendixisanattempttodistill,inaverybasicway,thetacticsthat researchers have found for diagnosing and shapinghabitswithin our own

lives.Thisisn’tmeanttobecomprehensive.Thisismerelyapracticalguide,aplace to start.Andpairedwithdeeper lessons from thisbook’s chapters, it’s amanualforwheretogonext.

Changemightnotbefastanditisn’talwayseasy.Butwithtimeandeffort,almostanyhabitcanbereshaped.

THEFRAMEWORK:•Identifytheroutine•Experimentwithrewards•Isolatethecue•HaveaplanSTEPONE:IDENTIFYTHEROUTINETheMITresearchersinchapter1discoveredasimpleneurologicalloopat

thecoreofeveryhabit,aloopthatconsistsofthreeparts:acue,aroutine,andareward.

Tounderstandyourownhabits,youneedtoidentifythecomponentsofyourloops.Onceyouhavediagnosedthehabitloopofaparticularbehavior,youcanlookforwaystosupplantoldviceswithnewroutines.

As an example, let’s say you have a bad habit, like I did when I startedresearching this book, of going to the cafeteria and buying a chocolate chipcookieeveryafternoon.Let’ssaythishabithascausedyoutogainafewpounds.Infact,let’ssaythishabithascausedyoutogainexactlyeightpounds,andthatyourwifehasmadeafewpointedcomments.You’vetriedtoforceyourself tostop—youevenwentso faras toputaPost-itonyourcomputer that readsnomorecookies.

Buteveryafternoonyoumanagetoignorethatnote,getup,wandertowardthecafeteria,buyacookie,and,whilechattingwithcolleaguesaroundthecashregister, eat it. It feels good, and then it feels bad. Tomorrow, you promiseyourself,you’llmusterthewillpowertoresist.Tomorrowwillbedifferent.

Buttomorrowthehabittakesholdagain.Howdoyoustartdiagnosingandthenchangingthisbehavior?Byfiguring

out the habit loop.And the first step is to identify the routine. In this cookiescenario—aswithmosthabits—the routine is themostobviousaspect: It’s the

behavioryouwanttochange.Yourroutineisthatyougetupfromyourdeskintheafternoon,walktothecafeteria,buyachocolatechipcookie,andeatitwhilechattingwithfriends.Sothat’swhatyouputintotheloop:

Next, some less obvious questions:What’s the cue for this routine? Is ithunger?Boredom?Low blood sugar? That you need a break before plungingintoanothertask?

And what’s the reward? The cookie itself? The change of scenery? Thetemporarydistraction?Socializingwithcolleagues?Or theburstofenergythatcomesfromthatblastofsugar?

Tofigurethisout,you’llneedtodoalittleexperimentation.STEPTWO:EXPERIMENTWITHREWARDSRewards are powerful because they satisfy cravings. But we’re often not

consciousofthecravingsthatdriveourbehaviors.WhentheFebrezemarketingteamdiscovered that consumers desired a fresh scent at the end of a cleaningritual,forexample,theyhadfoundacravingthatnooneevenknewexisted.Itwashidinginplainsight.Mostcravingsarelikethis:obviousinretrospect,butincrediblyhardtoseewhenweareundertheirsway.

To figure out which cravings are driving particular habits, it’s useful toexperimentwith different rewards. Thismight take a few days, or aweek, orlonger.Duringthatperiod,youshouldn’tfeelanypressuretomakearealchange—thinkofyourselfasascientistinthedatacollectionstage.

On the first day of your experiment,when you feel the urge to go to thecafeteriaandbuyacookie,adjustyourroutinesoitdeliversadifferentreward.For instance, instead of walking to the cafeteria, go outside, walk around theblock,andthengobacktoyourdeskwithouteatinganything.Thenextday,gotothecafeteriaandbuyadonut,oracandybar,andeatitatyourdesk.Thenextday,gotothecafeteria,buyanapple,andeatitwhilechattingwithyourfriends.Then, tryacupofcoffee.Then, insteadofgoing to thecafeteria,walkover toyourfriend’sofficeandgossipforafewminutesandgobacktoyourdesk.

Youget the idea.Whatyouchoose todo insteadofbuyingacookie isn’timportant.Thepointistotestdifferenthypothesestodeterminewhichcravingisdrivingyourroutine.Areyoucravingthecookieitself,orabreakfromwork?Ifit’s the cookie, is it because you’re hungry? (In which case the apple should

work just as well.) Or is it because you want the burst of energy the cookieprovides? (And so the coffee should suffice.)Or are youwandering up to thecafeteriaasanexcusetosocialize,andthecookieisjustaconvenientexcuse?(Ifso,walkingtosomeone’sdeskandgossipingforafewminutesshouldsatisfytheurge.)

Asyoutestfourorfivedifferentrewards,youcanuseanoldtricktolookfor patterns: After each activity, jot down on a piece of paper the first threethingsthatcometomindwhenyougetbacktoyourdesk.Theycanbeemotions,randomthoughts,reflectionsonhowyou’refeeling,orjustthefirstthreewordsthatpopintoyourhead.

Then,setanalarmonyourwatchorcomputerforfifteenminutes.Whenitgoesoff,askyourself:Doyoustillfeeltheurgeforthatcookie?

Thereasonwhyit’simportanttowritedownthreethings—eveniftheyaremeaninglesswords—istwofold.First,itforcesamomentaryawarenessofwhatyou are thinking or feeling. Just asMandy, the nail biter in chapter 3, carriedaround a note card filled with hashmarks to force her into awareness of herhabitual urges, so writing three words forces a moment of attention. What’smore,studiesshowthatwritingdownafewwordshelpsinlaterrecallingwhatyou were thinking at that moment. At the end of the experiment, when youreviewyournotes, itwillbemucheasier torememberwhatyouwerethinkingand feeling at that precise instant, because your scribbledwordswill trigger awaveofrecollection.

Andwhy the fifteen-minute alarm?Because the point of these tests is todeterminetherewardyou’recraving.If,fifteenminutesaftereatingadonut,youstillfeelanurgetogetupandgotothecafeteria,thenyourhabitisn’tmotivatedby a sugar craving. If, after gossiping at a colleague’s desk, you still want acookie,thentheneedforhumancontactisn’twhat’sdrivingyourbehavior.

Ontheotherhand,iffifteenminutesafterchattingwithafriend,youfinditeasy to get back to work, then you’ve identified the reward—temporarydistractionandsocialization—thatyourhabitsoughttosatisfy.

By experimenting with different rewards, you can isolate what you areactuallycraving,whichisessentialinredesigningthehabit.

Once you’ve figured out the routine and the reward, what remains isidentifyingthecue.

STEPTHREE:ISOLATETHECUEAbout a decade ago, a psychologist at theUniversity ofWesternOntario

triedtoansweraquestionthathadbewilderedsocialscientistsforyears:Whydosome eyewitnesses of crimes misremember what they see, while other recalleventsaccurately?

Therecollectionsofeyewitnesses,ofcourse,areincrediblyimportant.Andyet studies indicate that eyewitnesses often misremember what they observe.Theyinsistthatthethiefwasaman,forinstance,whenshewaswearingaskirt;orthatthecrimeoccurredatdusk,eventhoughpolicereportssayithappenedat2:00intheafternoon.Othereyewitnesses,ontheotherhand,canrememberthecrimesthey’veseenwithnear-perfectrecall.

Dozensofstudieshaveexaminedthisphenomena,tryingtodeterminewhysome people are better eyewitnesses than others. Researchers theorized thatsome people simply have better memories, or that a crime that occurs in afamiliarplaceiseasiertorecall.Butthosetheoriesdidn’ttestout—peoplewithstrong and weak memories, or more and less familiarity with the scene of acrime,wereequallyliabletomisrememberwhattookplace.

The psychologist at the University of Western Ontario took a differentapproach.Shewondered if researchersweremaking amistakeby focusingonwhat questioners andwitnesses had said, rather thanhow theywere saying it.She suspected there were subtle cues that were influencing the questioningprocess.Butwhenshewatchedvideotapeaftervideotapeofwitnessinterviews,lookingforthesecues,shecouldn’tseeanything.Therewassomuchactivityineachinterview—allthefacialexpressions,thedifferentwaysthequestionswereposed,thefluctuatingemotions—thatshecouldn’tdetectanypatterns.

Soshecameupwithanidea:Shemadealistofafewelementsshewouldfocuson—thequestioners’ tone, thefacialexpressionsof thewitness,andhowclose the witness and the questioner were sitting to each other. Then sheremoved any information that would distract her from those elements. Sheturneddown thevolumeon the television so insteadofhearingwords, all shecoulddetectwas the toneof thequestioner’svoice.Shetapedasheetofpaperover thequestioner’s face,soallshecouldseewas thewitnesses’expressions.Sheheldatapemeasuretothescreentomeasuretheirdistancefromeachother.

And once she started studying these specific elements, patterns leapt out.

She saw thatwitnesseswhomisremembered facts usuallywere questioned bycopswhousedagentle,friendlytone.Whenwitnessessmiledmore,orsatclosertothepersonaskingthequestions,theyweremorelikelytomisremember.

In otherwords,when environmental cues said “we are friends”—agentletone,asmilingface—thewitnessesweremorelikelytomisrememberwhathadoccurred. Perhaps it was because, subconsciously, those friendship cuestriggeredahabittopleasethequestioner.

But the importance of this experiment is that those same tapes had beenwatchedbydozensofotherresearchers.Lotsofsmartpeoplehadseenthesamepatterns,butnoonehad recognized thembefore.Because therewas toomuchinformationineachtapetoseeasubtlecue.

Oncethepsychologistdecidedtofocusononlythreecategoriesofbehavior,however,andeliminatetheextraneousinformation,thepatternsleaptout.

Ourlivesarethesameway.Thereasonwhyitissohardtoidentifythecuesthattriggerourhabitsisbecausethereistoomuchinformationbombardingusasourbehaviorsunfold.Askyourself,doyoueatbreakfastatacertain timeeachdaybecauseyouarehungry?Orbecausetheclocksays7:30?Orbecauseyourkids have started eating? Or because you’re dressed, and that’s when thebreakfasthabitkicksin?

When you automatically turn your car left while driving to work, whattriggersthatbehavior?Astreetsign?Aparticulartree?Theknowledgethatthisis,infact,thecorrectroute?Allofthemtogether?Whenyou’redrivingyourkidto school and you find that you’ve absentmindedly started taking the route towork—rather than to the school—whatcaused themistake?Whatwas thecuethatcausedthe“drivetowork”habittokickin,ratherthanthe“drivetoschool”pattern?

To identify a cue amid the noise, we can use the same system as thepsychologist: Identify categories of behaviors ahead of time to scrutinize inorder to see patterns. Luckily, science offers some help in this regard.Experiments have shown that almost all habitual cues fit into one of fivecategories:

Location

Time

Emotionalstate

Otherpeople

ImmediatelyprecedingactionSoifyou’retryingtofigureoutthecueforthe“goingtothecafeteriaand

buyingachocolatechipcookie”habit,youwritedownfivethingsthemomenttheurgehits(thesearemyactualnotesfromwhenIwastryingtodiagnosemyhabit):

Whereareyou?(sittingatmydesk)Whattimeisit?(3:36P.M.)What’syouremotionalstate?(bored)Whoelseisaround?(noone)Whatactionprecededtheurge?(answeredanemail)Thenextday:Whereareyou?(walkingbackfromthecopier)Whattimeisit?(3:18P.M.)What’syouremotionalstate?(happy)Whoelseisaround?(JimfromSports)Whatactionprecededtheurge?(madeaphotocopy)Thethirdday:Whereareyou?(conferenceroom)Whattimeisit?(3:41P.M.)What’syouremotionalstate?(tired,excitedabout theprojectI’mworking

on)Whoelseisaround?(editorswhoarecomingtothismeeting)Whatactionprecededtheurge?(Isatdownbecausethemeetingisaboutto

start)Threedaysin,itwasprettyclearwhichcuewastriggeringmycookiehabit

—Ifeltanurgetogetasnackatacertaintimeofday.Ihadalreadyfiguredout,insteptwo,thatitwasn’thungerdrivingmybehavior.TherewardIwasseekingwasatemporarydistraction—thekindthatcomesfromgossipingwithafriend.Andthehabit,Inowknew,wastriggeredbetween3:00and4:00.

STEPFOUR:HAVEAPLANOnce you’ve figured out your habit loop—you’ve identified the reward

drivingyourbehavior,thecuetriggeringit,andtheroutineitself—youcanbegintoshiftthebehavior.Youcanchangetoabetterroutinebyplanningforthecueandchoosingabehaviorthatdeliverstherewardyouarecraving.Whatyouneedisaplan.

In the prologue, we learned that a habit is a choice that we deliberatelymake at some point, and then stop thinking about, but continue doing, ofteneveryday.

Putanotherway,ahabitisaformulaourbrainautomaticallyfollows:WhenIseeCUE,IwilldoROUTINEinordertogetaREWARD.

To re-engineer that formula,weneed tobeginmakingchoicesagain.Andthe easiest way to do this, according to study after study, is to have a plan.Withinpsychology,theseplansareknownas“implementationintentions.”

Take, for instance, my cookie-in-the-afternoon habit. By using thisframework,Ilearnedthatmycuewasroughly3:30intheafternoon.Iknewthatmyroutinewastogotothecafeteria,buyacookie,andchatwithfriends.And,throughexperimentation,Ihadlearnedthatitwasn’treallythecookieIcraved—rather,itwasamomentofdistractionandtheopportunitytosocialize.

SoIwroteaplan:At3:30,everyday,Iwillwalktoafriend’sdeskandtalkfor10minutes.TomakesureIrememberedtodothis,Isetthealarmonmywatchfor3:30.It didn’t work immediately. There were some days I was too busy and

ignored the alarm, and then fell off thewagon.Other times it seemed like toomuchworktofindafriendwillingtochat—itwaseasiertogetacookie,andsoIgaveintotheurge.ButonthosedaysthatIabidedbymyplan—whenmyalarmwentoff,Iforcedmyselftowalktoafriend’sdeskandchatfortenminutes—Ifound that I ended theworkday feelingbetter. I hadn’tgone to the cafeteria, Ihadn’t eat a cookie, and I felt fine. Eventually, it got be automatic:when thealarmrang,Ifoundafriendandendedthedayfeelingasmall,butreal,senseofaccomplishment.Afterafewweeks,Ihardlythoughtabouttheroutineanymore.AndwhenIcouldn’tfindanyonetochatwith,Iwenttothecafeteriaandboughtteaanddrankitwithfriends.

Thatallhappenedaboutsixmonthsago.Idon’thavemywatchanymore—Ilost it at somepoint.But at about 3:30 every day, I absentmindedly standup,lookaroundthenewsroomforsomeonetotalkto,spendtenminutesgossiping

about the news, and then go back to my desk. It occurs almost without methinkingaboutit.Ithasbecomeahabit.

Obviously,changingsomehabitscanbemoredifficult.Butthisframeworkisaplace to start.Sometimeschange takesa long time.Sometimes it requiresrepeatedexperimentsandfailures.Butonceyouunderstandhowahabitoperates—onceyoudiagnosethecue,theroutineandthereward—yougainpoweroverit.

ToOliver,JohnHarry,

JohnandDoris,

and,everlastingly,toLizACKNOWLEDGMENTSIhavebeenundeservedlyluckythroughoutmylifetoworkwithpeoplewho

aremore talented than Iam,and toget to steal theirwisdomandgracefulnessandpassitoffasmyown.

Whichiswhyyouarereadingthisbook,andwhyIhavesomanypeopletothank.

AndyWardacquiredThePowerofHabitbeforeheevenstartedasaneditoratRandomHouse.Atthetime,Ididnotknowthathewasakind,generous,andamazingly—astoundingly—talentededitor. I’dheardfromsomefriends thathehadelevatedtheirproseandheldtheirhandssogracefullytheyalmostforgotthetouch.ButIfiguredtheywereexaggerating,sincemanyofthemweredrinkingatthetime.Dearreader:it’salltrue.Andy’shumility,patienceand—mostofall—theworkheputsintobeingagoodfriendmakeeveryonearoundhimwanttobeabetterperson.Thisbookisasmuchhisasmine,andIamthankfulthatIhadachancetoknow,workwith,andlearnfromhim.Equally,Ioweanenormousdebt to some obscure deity for landingme at RandomHouse under the wiseguidanceofSusanKamil, theleadershipofGinaCentrello,andtheadviceandefforts of Avideh Bashirrad, Tom Perry, Sanyu Dillon, SallyMarvin, BarbaraFillon,MariaBraeckel,ErikaGreber,andtheever-patientKaelaMyers.

AsimilartwistoffortuneallowedmetoworkwithScottMoyers,AndrewWylie,andJamesPullenattheWylieAgency.Scott’scounselandfriendship—

asmanywritersknow—isasinvaluableasitisgenerous.Scotthasmovedbackinto the editorial world, and readers everywhere should consider themselveslucky.AndrewWylie is always steadfast and astute inmaking theworld safer(and more comfortable) for his writers, and I am enormously grateful. AndJamesPullenhashelpedmeunderstandhowtowriteinlanguagesIdidn’tknowexisted.

Additionally, Ioweanenormousamount to theNewYorkTimes.Ahugethanks goes to Larry Ingrassia, The Times’ business editor, whose friendship,advice and understanding allowed me to write this book, and to commitjournalismamongsomanyothertalentedreportersinanatmospherewhereourwork—andThe Times’ mission—is constantly elevated by his example. VickiIngrassia,too,hasbeenawonderfulsupport.AsanywriterwhohasmetAdamBryantknows,heisanamazingadvocateandfriend,withgiftedhands.Anditisa privilege to work for Bill Keller, Jill Abramson, Dean Baquet and GlennKramon, and to follow their examples of how journalists should carrythemselvesthroughtheworld.

A few other thanks: I’m indebted tomyTimes colleagues DeanMurphy,Winnie O’Kelly, Jenny Anderson, Rick Berke, Andrew Ross Sorkin, DavidLeonhardt, Walt Bogdanich, David Gillen, Eduardo Porter, Jodi Kantor, VeraTitunik,AmyO’leary,PeterLattman,DavidSegal,ChristineHaughney, JennySchussler, JoeNocera and JimSchacter (bothofwhom readchapters forme),JeffCane,MichaelBarbaro and otherswho have been so generouswith theirfriendshipandtheirideas.

Similarly, I’m thankful to Alex Blumberg, Adam Davidson, PaulaSzuchman, Nivi Nord, Alex Berenson, Nazanin Rafsanjani, BrendanKoerner,NicholasThompson,KateKelly,SarahEllison,KevinBleyer,AmandaSchaffer,DennisPotami,JamesWynn,NoahKotch,GregNelson,CaitlinPike,JonathanKlein, Amanda Klein, Donnan Steele, Stacey Steele, Wesley Morris, AdirWaldman,RichFrankel, JenniferCouzin,AaronBendikson,RichardRampell,Mike Bor, David Lewicki, Beth Waltemath, Ellen Martin, Russ Uman, ErinBrown, Jeff Norton, Raj De Datta, Ruben Sigala, Dan Costello, Peter Blake,Peter Goodman, Alix Spiegel, Susan Dominus, Jenny Rosenstrach, JasonWoodard, Taylor Noguera, and Matthew Bird, who all provided support andguidance. The book’s cover, and wonderful interior graphics, come from themindoftheincrediblytalentedAntonIoukhnovets.

Ialsooweadebttothemanypeoplewhoweregenerouswiththeirtimeinreporting this book. Many are mentioned in the notes, but I wanted to giveadditional thanks to TomAndrews at SYPartners, TonyDungy andDJ Snell,

PaulO’Neill,WarrenBennis,RickWarren,AnneKrumm,PacoUnderhill,LarrySquire, Wolfram Schultz, Ann Graybiel, Todd Heatherton, J. Scott Tonigan,TaylorBranch,BobBowman,TravisLeach,Howard Schultz,MarkMuraven,Angela Duckworth, Jane Bruno, Reza Habib, Patrick Mulkey and TerryNoffsinger.Iwasaidedenormouslybyresearchersandfactcheckers,includingDax Proctor, Josh Friedman, Cole Louison, Alexander Provan and NeelaSaldanha.

I am forever thankful to Bob Sipchen,who gavememy first real job injournalism,andamsorrythatIwon’tbeabletosharethisbookwithtwofriendslosttooearly,BrianChingandL.K.Case.

Finally, my deepest thanks are to my family. Katy Duhigg, JacquieJenkusky,DavidDuhigg,ToniMartorelli,DanielDuhigg,AlexandraAlter,andJakeGoldsteinhavebeenwonderful friends.My sons,Oliver and JohnHarry,havebeensourcesofinspirationandsleeplessness.Myparents,JohnandDoris,encouragedmefromayoungage towrite,evenasIwassetting thingsonfireandgivingthemreasontofigurethatfuturecorrespondencemightbeonprisonstationary.

And, of course, my wife, Liz, whose constant love, support, guidance,intelligenceandfriendshipmadethisbookpossible.

—September,2011ANOTEONSOURCESThe reporting in this book is based on hundreds of interviews, and

thousandsmore papers and studies.Many of those sources are detailed in thetext itselfor thenotes, alongwithguides toadditional resources for interestedreaders.

Inmostsituations, individualswhoprovidedmajorsourcesof informationorwhopublishedresearchthatwasintegraltoreportingwereprovidedwithanopportunity—afterreportingwascomplete—toreviewfactsandofferadditionalcomments, address discrepancies, or register issues with how information isportrayed.Manyofthosecommentsarereproducedinthenotes.(Nosourcewasgivenaccesstothebook’scompletetext—allcommentsarebasedonsummariesprovidedtosources.)

In a very small number of cases, confidentialitywas extended to sourceswho,foravarietyofreasons,couldnotspeakonafor-attributionbasis.Inaverytinynumberofinstances,someidentifyingcharacteristicshavebeenwithheldorslightlymodifiedtoconformwithpatientprivacylawsorforotherreasons.

NOTES

PROLOGUEprl.1So theymeasured subjects’ vital signs Reporting for Lisa Allen’s

story is based on interviews with Allen. This research study is ongoing andunpublished, and thus researchers were not available for interviews. Basicoutcomes, however, were confirmed by studies and interviews with scientistsworking on similar projects, includingA.DelParigi et al., “SuccessfulDietersHave Increased Neural Activity in Cortical Areas Involved in the Control ofBehavior,”InternationalJournalofObesity31(2007):440–48;DucSonNTLeet al., “Less Activation in the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in theReanalysis of the Response to aMeal in Obese than in LeanWomen and ItsAssociation with Successful Weight Loss,” American Journal of ClinicalNutrition86,no.3(2007):573–79;A.DelParigietal.,“PersistenceofAbnormalNeuralResponsestoaMealinPostobeseIndividuals,”InternationalJournalofObesity 28 (2004): 370–77; E. Stice et al., “Relation of Reward from FoodIntake and Anticipated Food Intake to Obesity: A Functional MagneticResonance Imaging Study,” Journal of Abnormal Psychology 117, no. 4(November 2008): 924–35; A. C. Janes et al., “Brain fMRI Reactivity toSmoking-Related Images Before and During Extended Smoking Abstinence,”ExperimentalandClinicalPsychopharmacology17(December2009):365–73;D. McBride et al., “Effects of Expectancy and Abstinence on the NeuralResponse to Smoking Cues in Cigarette Smokers: An fMRI Study,”Neuropsychopharmacology31 (December2006):2728–38;R.SinhaandC.S.Li, “Imaging Stress-and Cue-InducedDrug andAlcohol Craving: Associationwith Relapse and Clinical Implications,”Drug and Alcohol Review 26, no. 1(January 2007): 25–31; E. Tricomi, B. W. Balleine, and J. P. O’doherty, “ASpecific Role for Posterior Dorsolateral Striatum in Human Habit Learning,”EuropeanJournalofNeuroscience29,no.11(June2009):2225–32;D.Knoch,P.Bugger,andM.Regard,“SuppressingVersusReleasingaHabit:Frequency-Dependent Effects of Prefrontal TranscranialMagnetic Stimulation,”CerebralCortex15,no.7(July2005):885–87.

prl.2“Allourlife,sofaras ithas”WilliamJames,Talks toTeachersonPsychology and to Students on Some of Life’s Ideals, originally published in1899.

prl.3 One paper published Bas Verplanken and Wendy Wood,“InterventionstoBreakandCreateConsumerHabits,”JournalofPublicPolicyandMarketing 25, no. 1 (2006): 90–103; David T. Neal, Wendy Wood, andJeffrey M. Quinn, “Habits—A Repeat Performance,” Current Directions inPsychologicalScience15,no.4(2006):198–202.

prl.4TheU.S.military, it occurred tome Formy understanding of thefascinatingtopicofthemilitary’suseofhabittraining,IamindebtedtoDr.PeterSchifferle at theSchool ofAdvancedMilitaryStudies,Dr. JamesLussier, andthemanycommandersandsoldierswhoweregenerouswith their timeboth inIraqandatSAMS.Formoreonthistopic,seeScottB.ShadrickandJamesW.Lussier,“AssessmentoftheThinkLikeaCommanderTrainingProgram,”U.S.ArmyResearchInstitutefortheBehavioralandSocialSciencesResearchReport1824, July 2004; Scott B. Shadrick et al., “Positive Transfer of AdaptiveBattlefield Thinking Skills,” U.S. Army Research Institute for the BehavioralandSocialSciencesResearchReport1873, July2007;Thomas J.Carnahanetal., “Novice Versus Expert Command Groups: Preliminary Findings andTraining Implications for Future Combat Systems,” U.S. Army ResearchInstitute for theBehavioral andSocialSciencesResearchReport 1821,March2004; Carl W. Lickteig et al., “Human Performance Essential to BattleCommand: Report on Four Future Combat Systems Command and ControlExperiments,” U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and SocialSciencesResearchReport1812,November2003;andArmyFieldManual5–220,February2009.

CHAPTERONE1.1sixfeettallLisaStefanaccietal.,“ProfoundAmnesiaAfterDamageto

theMedialTemporalLobe:ANeuroanatomicalandNeuropsychologicalProfileofPatientE.P.,”JournalofNeuroscience20,no.18(2000):7024–36.

1.2“Who’sMichael?” Iam indebted to thePaulyandRayes families,aswell as the Squire laboratory and coverage such as Joshua Foer, “RememberThis,”NationalGeographic,November2007,32–57;“Don’tForget,”ScientificAmericanFrontiers,televisionprogram,producedbyChedd-AngierProductionCompany,PBS,episodefirstairedMay11,2004,hostedbyAlanAlda;“Solved:Two Controversial Brain Teasers,” Bioworld Today, August 1999; David E.Graham, “UCSD Scientist Unlocks Working of Human Memory,” The SanDiegoUnion-Tribune,August12,1999.

1.3The sample fromEugene’s spine Richard J.Whitley and DavidW.Kimberlan,“ViralEncephalitis,”PediatricsinReview20,no.6(1999):192–98.

1.4wassevenyearsoldSomepublishedpaperssaythatH.M.wasinjuredatagenine;otherssayseven.

1.5hewashitbyabicyclePreviousresearchindicatesthatH.M.washitbyabicycle.Newdocuments,asyetunpublished,indicatehemayhavefallenoffabike.

1.6 landed hard on his head Luke Dittrich, “The Brain That Changed

Everything,”Esquire,October2010.1.7 He was smart Eric Hargreaves, “H.M.,” Page O’Neuroplasticity,

http://www.nyu.edu.1.8When the doctor proposed cutting Benedict Carey, “H.M.,Whose

Loss of Memory Made Him Unforgettable, Dies,” The New York Times,December5,2008.

1.9withasmallstrawThiswasacommonpracticeatthetime.1.10 He introduced himself to his doctors Dittrich, “The Brain That

Changed Everything”; Larry R. Squire, “Memory and Brain Systems: 1969–2009,”JournalofNeuroscience29,no.41(2009):12711–26;LarryR.Squire,“TheLegacyofPatientH.M.forNeuroscience,”Neuron61,no.1(2009):6–9.

1.11transformedourunderstandingofhabits’powerJonathanM.Reedet al., “Learning About Categories That Are Defined by Object-Like StimuliDespite Impaired DeclarativeMemory,”Behavioral Neuroscience 113 (1999):411–19;B.J.Knowlton,J.A.Mangels,andL.R.Squire,“ANeostriatalHabitLearningSysteminHumans,”Science273(1996):1399–1402;P.J.Bayley,J.C. Frascino, and L. R. Squire, “Robust Habit Learning in the Absence ofAwarenessandIndependentoftheMedialTemporalLobe,”Nature436(2005):550–53.

1.12agolfball–sizedB.Bendriemetal.,“QuantitationoftheHumanBasalGangliawithPositronEmissionTomography:APhantomStudyoftheEffectofContrastandAxialPositioning,”IEEETransactionsonMedicalImaging10,no.2(1991):216–22.

1.13 an oval of cells G. E. Alexander and M. D. Crutcher, “FunctionalArchitecture of Basal Ganglia Circuits: Neural Substrates of ParallelProcessing,”TrendsinNeurosciences13(1990):266–71;AndréParentandLili-Naz Hazrati, “Functional Anatomy of the Basal Ganglia,” Brain ResearchReviews 20 (1995): 91–127; Roger L. Albin, Anne B. Young, and John B.Penney, “The Functional Anatomy of Basal Ganglia Disorders,” Trends inNeurosciences12(1989):366–75.

1.14 diseases such as Parkinson’s Alain Dagher and T. W. Robbins,“Personality,Addiction,Dopamine:InsightsfromParkinson’sDisease,”Neuron61(2009):502–10.

1.15 to open food containers I am indebted to the following sources forexpandingmyunderstandingoftheworkattheMITlabs,thebasalganglia,anditsroleinhabitsandmemory:F.GregoryAshbyandJohnM.Ennis,“TheRoleof the Basal Ganglia in Category Learning,” Psychology of Learning and

Motivation 46 (2006): 1–36; F. G. Ashby, B. O. Turner, and J. C. Horvitz,“CorticalandBasalGangliaContributionstoHabitLearningandAutomaticity,”Trends in Cognitive Sciences 14 (2010): 208–15; C. Da Cunha and M. G.Packard, “Preface:Special Issueon theRoleof theBasalGanglia inLearningandMemory,”BehaviouralBrainResearch199(2009):1–2;C.DaCunhaetal.,“Learning Processing in the Basal Ganglia: A Mosaic of Broken Mirrors,”Behavioural Brain Research 199 (2009): 157–70; M. Desmurget and R. S.Turner, “Motor Sequences and the Basal Ganglia: Kinematics, Not Habits,”JournalofNeuroscience30(2010):7685–90;J.J.EbbersandN.M.Wijnberg,“OrganizationalMemory:FromExpectationsMemory toProceduralMemory,”BritishJournalofManagement20(2009):478–90;J.A.Grahn,J.A.Parkinson,and A.M. Owen, “The Role of the Basal Ganglia in Learning andMemory:NeuropsychologicalStudies,”BehaviouralBrainResearch 199 (2009): 53–60;AnnM. Graybiel, “The Basal Ganglia: Learning New Tricks and Loving It,”CurrentOpinion in Neurobiology 15 (2005): 638–44;AnnM.Graybiel, “TheBasalGangliaandChunkingofActionRepertoires,”NeurobiologyofLearningandMemory 70, nos. 1–2 (1998): 119–36; F.GregoryAshby andV.Valentin,“Multiple Systems of Perceptual Category Learning: Theory and CognitiveTests,” inHandbook of Categorization in Cognitive Science, ed. Henri Cohenand Claire Lefebvre (Oxford: Elsevier Science, 2005); S. N Haber and M.JohnsonGdowski,“TheBasalGanglia,”inTheHumanNervousSystem,2nded.,ed. George Paxinos and Jürgen K. Mai (San Diego: Academic Press, 2004),676–738; T. D. Barnes et al., “Activity of Striatal Neurons ReflectsDynamicEncodingandRecodingofProceduralMemories,”Nature437(2005):1158–61;M.Laubach,“Who’sonFirst?What’sonSecond?TheTimeCourseofLearninginCorticostriatalSystems,”Trends inNeurosciences 28 (2005): 509–11;E.K.Miller and T. J. Buschman, “Bootstrapping Your Brain: How InteractionsBetweentheFrontalCortexandBasalGangliaMayProduceOrganizedActionsand Lofty Thoughts,” inNeurobiology of Learning andMemory, 2nd ed., ed.Raymond P. Kesner and Joe L. Martinez (Burlington, Vt.: Academic Press,2007), 339–54;M.G.Packard, “RoleofBasalGanglia inHabitLearning andMemory: Rats, Monkeys, and Humans,” in Handbook of BehavioralNeuroscience,ed.HeinzSteinerandKueiY.Tseng,561–69;D.P.SalmonandN. Butters, “Neurobiology of Skill and Habit Learning,”Current Opinion inNeurobiology5(1995):184–90;D.Shohamyetal.,“RoleoftheBasalGangliain Category Learning: How Do Patients with Parkinson’s Disease Learn?”BehavioralNeuroscience118 (2004):676–86;M.T.Ullman,“IsBroca’sAreaPartofaBasalGangliaThalamocorticalCircuit?”Cortex42(2006):480–85;N.M. White, “Mnemonic Functions of the Basal Ganglia,” Current Opinion in

Neurobiology7(1997):164–69.1.16Themaze was structured Ann M. Graybiel, “Overview at Habits,

Rituals, and theEvaluativeBrain,”AnnualReviewofNeuroscience 31 (2008):359–87; T. D. Barnes et al., “Activity of Striatal Neurons Reflects DynamicEncodingandRecodingofProceduralMemories,”Nature437(2005):1158–61;Ann M. Graybiel, “Network-Level Neuroplasticity in Cortico-Basal GangliaPathways,”Parkinsonism and Related Disorders 10 (2004): 293–96; N. FujiiandAnnM.Graybiel,“Time-VaryingCovarianceofNeuralActivitiesRecordedinStriatumandFrontalCortexasMonkeysPerformSequential-SaccadeTasks,”ProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences102(2005):9032–37.

1.17Tosee this capacity inactionThegraphs in this chapterhavebeensimplifiedtoexhibitsalientaspects.However,afulldescriptionofthesestudiescanbefoundamongDr.Graybiel’spapersandlectures.

1.18rootofhowhabits formAnnM.Graybiel, “TheBasalGanglia andChunking of Action Repertoires,”Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 70(1998):119–36.

1.19ahabitisbornFormore,seeA.DavidSmithandJ.PaulBolam,“TheNeural Network of the Basal Ganglia as Revealed by the Study of SynapticConnectionsofIdentifiedNeurones,”TrendsinNeurosciences13(1990):259–65; JohnG.McHaffle et al., “Subcortical LoopsThrough theBasalGanglia,”TrendsinNeurosciences28(2005):401–7;AnnM.Graybiel,“NeurotransmittersandNeuromodulatorsintheBasalGanglia,”TrendsinNeurosciences13(1990):244–54; J. Yelnik, “Functional Anatomy of the Basal Ganglia,” MovementDisorders17(2002):15–21.

1.20TheproblemisthatyourbrainFormore,seeCatherineA.Thornetal.,“DifferentialDynamicsofActivityChangesinDorsolateralandDorsomedialStriatalLoopsDuringLearning,”Neuron66(2010):781–95;AnnM.Graybiel,“TheBasalGanglia:LearningNewTricksandLoving It,”CurrentOpinion inNeurobiology15(2005):638–44.

1.21Ineachpairing,onepieceFormore,seePeterJ.Bayley,JenniferC.Frascino, and Larry R. Squire, “Robust Habit Learning in the Absence ofAwarenessandIndependentoftheMedialTemporalLobe,”Nature436(2005):550–53; J.M. Reed et al., “Learning About Categories That Are Defined byObject-Like Stimuli Despite Impaired Declarative Memory,” BehavioralNeuroscience 133 (1999): 411–19; B. J. Knowlton, J. A.Mangels, and L. R.Squire,“ANeostriatalHabitLearningSysteminHumans,”Science273(1996):1399–1402.

1.22Squire’s experiments with Eugene It is worth noting that Squire’s

work with Pauly is not limited to habits and has also provided insights intosubjects suchas spatialmemoryand theeffectsofprimingon thebrain.Foramore complete discussion of discoveriesmade possible byPauly, seeSquire’shomepageathttp://psychiatry.ucsd.edu/faculty/lsquire.html.

1.23ThehabitwassoingrainedFordiscussion,seeMonicaR.F.Hilarioetal.,“EndocannabinoidSignalingIsCriticalforHabitFormation,”FrontiersinIntegrativeNeuroscience 1 (2007):6;MonicaR.F.Hilario andRuiM.Costa,“HighonHabits,”Frontiers inNeuroscience 2 (2008): 208–17;A.Dickinson,“Appetitive-Aversive Interactions: Superconditioning of Fear by anAppetitiveCS,” Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 29 (1977): 71–83; J.LamarreandP.C.Holland,“TransferofInhibitionAfterSerialFeatureNegativeDiscrimination Training,” Learning and Motivation 18 (1987): 319–42; P. C.Holland, “DifferentialEffects ofReinforcement of an InhibitoryFeatureAfterSerialandSimultaneousFeatureNegativeDiscriminationTraining,”JournalofExperimentalPsychology:AnimalBehaviorProcesses10(1984):461–75.

1.24When researchers at the University of North Texas Jennifer L.Harris, Marlene B. Schwartz, and Kelly D. Brownell, “Evaluating Fast FoodNutrition and Marketing to Youth,” Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy andObesity,2010;H.QinandV.R.Prybutok,“DeterminantsofCustomer-PerceivedServiceQuality in Fast-FoodRestaurants and Their Relationship to CustomerSatisfaction and Behavioral Intentions,” The Quality Management Journal 15(2008):35;H.QinandV.R.Prybutok,“ServiceQuality,CustomerSatisfaction,and Behavioral Intentions in Fast-Food Restaurants,” International Journal ofQuality and Service Sciences 1 (2009): 78. Formore on this topic, seeK. C.Berridge,“BrainRewardSystemsforFoodIncentivesandHedonicsinNormalAppetite and Eating Disorders,” in Appetite and Body Weight, ed. Tim C.Kirkham and Steven J. Cooper (Burlington, Vt.: Academic Press, 2007), 91–215; K. C. Berridge et al., “The Tempted Brain Eats: Pleasure and DesireCircuitsinObesityandEatingDisorders,”BrainResearch1350(2010):43–64;J.M.Daveetal.,“RelationshipofAttitudesTowardFastFoodandFrequencyofFast-Food Intake inAdults,”Obesity 17 (2009): 1164–70;S.A. French et al.,“Fast Food Restaurant Use Among Adolescents: Associations with NutrientIntake,FoodChoicesandBehavioralandPsychosocialVariables,”InternationalJournal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 25 (2001): 1823; N.Ressler, “Rewards and Punishments, Goal-Directed Behavior andConsciousness,”NeuroscienceandBiobehavioralReviews28(2004):27–39;T.J.Richards,“FastFood,Addiction,andMarketPower,”JournalofAgriculturalandResourceEconomics32(2007):425–47;M.M.Torregrossa,J.J.Quinn,and

J.R.Taylor, “Impulsivity,Compulsivity, andHabit:TheRoleofOrbitofrontalCortexRevisited,”BiologicalPsychiatry63(2008):253–55;L.R.Vartanian,C.P. Herman, and B. Wansink, “Are We Aware of the External Factors ThatInfluence Our Food Intake?” Health Psychology 27 (2008): 533–38; T.Yamamoto and T. Shimura, “Roles of Taste in Feeding and Reward,” in TheSenses: A Comprehensive Reference, ed. Allan I. Basbaum et al. (New York:AcademicPress,2008),437–58;F.G.Ashby,B.O.Turner,andJ.C.Horvitz,“CorticalandBasalGangliaContributionstoHabitLearningandAutomaticity,”TrendsinCognitiveSciences14(2010):208–15.

1.25All the better for tightening K. C. Berridge and T. E. Robinson,“Parsing Reward,” Trends in Neurosciences 26 (2003): 507–13; Kelly D.BrownellandKatherineBattleHorgen,FoodFight:TheInsideStoryoftheFoodIndustry, America’s Obesity Crisis, andWhat We Can Do About It (Chicago:ContemporaryBooks,2004);KarlWeber,ed.,Food,Inc.:HowIndustrialFoodIsMakingUsSicker,Fatter,andPoorer—andWhatYouCanDoAboutIt(NewYork: PublicAffairs, 2004);RonaldD.Michman andEdwardM.Mazze,TheFood Industry Wars: Marketing Triumphs and Blunders (Westport, Conn.:Quorum Books, 1998); M. Nestle, Food Politics: How the Food IndustryInfluences Nutrition and Health (Berkeley: University of California Press,2002);D.R.ReedandA.Knaapila,“GeneticsofTasteandSmell:PoisonsandPleasures,” in Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science, ed.Claude Bouchard (New York: Academic Press); N. Ressler, “Rewards andPunishments, Goal-Directed Behavior and Consciousness,” Neuroscience andBiobehavioralReviews28(2004):27–39;T.YamamotoandT.Shimura,“RolesofTaste inFeedingandReward,” inTheSenses:AComprehensiveReference,ed.AllanI.Basbaumetal.(NewYork:AcademicPress,2008),437–58.

CHAPTERTWO2.1HopkinswouldconsenttoForthehistoryofHopkins,Pepsodent,and

dentalcareintheUnitedStates,IamindebtedtoScottSwank,curatorattheDr.SamuelD.HarrisNationalMuseumofDentistry;JamesL.Gutmann,DDS;andDavidA.Chemin,editoroftheJournaloftheHistoryofDentistry.Inaddition,IdrewheavilyonJamesTwitchell,TwentyAdsThatShooktheWorld(NewYork:Three Rivers Press, 2000); the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum ofDentistry; the Journal of the History of Dentistry; Mark E. Parry, “CrestToothpaste: The Innovation Challenge,” Social Science Research Network,October 2008; Robert Aunger, “Tooth Brushing as Routine Behavior,”International Dental Journal 57 (2007): 364–76; Jean-Paul Claessen et al.,“Designing Interventions to Improve Tooth Brushing,” International Dental

Journal 58 (2008): 307–20; Peter Miskell, “Cavity Protection or CosmeticPerfection:InnovationandMarketingofToothpasteBrandsintheUnitedStatesandWesternEurope,1955–1985,”BusinessHistoryReview 78 (2004): 29–60;James L. Gutmann, “The Evolution of America’s Scientific Advancements inDentistry in the Past 150 Years,” The Journal of the American DentalAssociation 140 (2009): 8S–15S; Domenick T. Zero et al., “The Biology,Prevention,Diagnosis andTreatment ofDentalCaries: ScientificAdvances intheUnitedStates,”TheJournaloftheAmericanDentalAssociation140(2009):25S–34S;AlyssaPicard,Making of theAmericanMouth:Dentists and PublicHealth in the Twentieth Century (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers UniversityPress, 2009); S. Fischman, “TheHistory of Oral Hygiene Products: How FarHaveWeComein6,000Years?”Periodontology200015(1997):7–14;VincentVinikas,Soft Soap,Hard Sell: AmericanHygiene in theAge ofAdvertisement(Ames:UniversityofIowaPress,1992).

2.2AsthenationhadbecomewealthierH.A.Levenstein,Revolutionatthe Table: The Transformation of the American Diet (New York: OxfordUniversityPress,1988);ScottSwank,ParadoxofPlenty:TheSocialHistoryofEatinginModernAmerica(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2003).

2.3 hardly anyone brushed their teeth Alyssa Picard, Making of theAmericanMouth:Dentists and Public Health in the Twentieth Century (NewBrunswick,N.J.:RutgersUniversityPress,2009).

2.4 everyone fromShirleyTemple Formore on celebrity advertising oftoothpaste,seeSteveCraig,“TheMoreTheyListen,theMoreTheyBuy:Radioand theModernizing of Rural America, 1930–1939,”AgriculturalHistory 80(2006):1–16.

2.5By1930,Pepsodentwas soldKerrySeagrave,America BrushesUp:The Use and Marketing of Toothpaste and Toothbrushes in the TwentiethCentury (Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland, 2010); Alys EveWeinbaum, et al.,TheModern Girl Around the World: Consumption, Modernity, and Globalization(Durham,N.C.:DukeUniversityPress,2008),28–30.

2.6 A decade after the first Scripps-Howard, Market Records, from aHomeInventoryStudyofBuyingHabitsandBrandPreferencesofConsumersinSixteenCities(NewYork:Scripps-HowardNewspapers,1938).

2.7ThefilmisanaturallyoccurringmembraneC.McGaugheyandE.C.Stowell,“TheAdsorptionofHumanSalivaryProteinsandPorcineSubmaxillaryMucinbyHydroxyapatite,”ArchivesofOralBiology12,no.7(1967):815–28;Won-KyuPark et al., “Influences ofAnimalMucins onLysozymeActivity inSolutionandonHydroxyapatiteSurface,”ArchivesofOralBiology 51,no.10

(2006):861–69.2.8 particularly Pepsodent—were worthless William J. Gies,

“Experimental Studies of the Validity of Advertised Claims for Products ofPublicImportanceinRelationtoOralHygieneorDentalTherapeutics,”JournalofDentalResearch2(September1920):511–29.

2.9Pepsodent removes the film! I am indebted to the Duke Universitydigitalcollectionofadvertisements.

2.10 Pepsodent was one of the top-selling Kerry Seagrave, AmericaBrushes Up: The Use and Marketing of Toothpaste and Toothbrushes in theTwentiethCentury (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2010); Jeffrey L. CruikshankandArthurW.Schultz,TheManWhoSoldAmerica:TheAmazing (butTrue!)Story of Albert D. Lasker and the Creation of the Advertising Century(Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardBusinessPress,2010),268–81.

2.11 best-selling toothpaste for more than Pepsodent was eventuallyoutsoldbyCrest,whichfeaturedfluoride—thefirstingredientintoothpastethatactuallymadeiteffectiveatfightingcavities.

2.12 A decade after Hopkins’s ad campaign Peter Miskell, “CavityProtection or Cosmetic Perfection: Innovation and Marketing of ToothpasteBrandsintheUnitedStatesandWesternEurope,1955–1985,”BusinessHistoryReview78(2004):29–60.

2.13StudiesofpeoplewhohavesuccessfullyH.Aarts,T.Paulussen,andH.Schaalma,“PhysicalExerciseHabit:OntheConceptualizationandFormationofHabitualHealthBehaviours,”HealthEducationResearch3(1997):363–74.

2.14Research on dieting says KrystinaA. Finlay,David Trafimow, andAimee Villarreal, “Predicting Exercise and Health Behavioral Intentions:Attitudes, Subjective Norms, and Other Behavioral Determinants,” Journal ofAppliedSocialPsychology32(2002):342–56.

2.15 In the clothes-washing market alone Tara Parker-Pope, “P&GTargetsTextilesTideCan’tClean,”TheWallStreetJournal,April29,1998.

2.16Its revenues topped $35 billion Peter Sander and John Slatter,The100BestStocksYouCanBuy(Avon,Mass.:AdamsBusiness,2009),294.

2.17Theydecided tocall itFebrezeThehistoryofFebrezecomes frominterviews and articles, including “Procter & Gamble—Jager’s Gamble,” TheEconomist, October 28, 1999; Christine Bittar, “P&G’s MonumentalRepackagingProject,”Brandweek,March2000,40–52;JackNeff,“DoesP&GStillMatter?”AdvertisingAge 71 (2000): 48–56; Roderick E.White andKenMark, “Procter & Gamble Canada: The Febreze Decision,” Ivey School of

Business,London,Ontario,2001.Procter&Gamblewasaskedtocommentonthe reporting contained in this chapter, and in a statement said: “P&G iscommittedtoensuringtheconfidentialityof informationsharedwithusbyourconsumers.Therefore,weareunabletoconfirmorcorrectinformationthatyouhavereceivedfromsourcesoutsideofP&G.”

2.18The second ad featured awoman ChristineBittar, “Freshbreeze atP&G,”Brandweek,October1999.

2.19Thecue:petsmellsAmericanVeterinaryMedicalAssociation,marketresearchstatisticsfor2001.

2.20SoanewgroupofresearchersjoinedA.J.LafleyandRamCharan,The Game Changer: How You Can Drive Revenue and Profit Growth withInnovation(NewYork:CrownBusiness,2008).

2.21 Rather than rats, however An overview of Wolfram Schultz’sresearch can be found in “Behavioral Theories and the Neurophysiology ofReward,”Annual Review of Psychology 57 (2006): 87–115;Wolfram Schultz,Peter Dayan, and P. Read Montague, “A Neural Substrate of Prediction andReward,”Science 275 (1997): 1593–99;WolframSchultz, “PredictiveRewardSignalofDopamineNeurons,”JournalofNeurophysiology80(1998):1–27;L.Tremblya and Wolfram Schultz, “Relative Reward Preference in PrimateOrbitofrontal Cortex,”Nature 398 (1999): 704–8; Wolfram Schultz, “GettingFormalwithDopamineandReward,”Neuron36(2002):241–63;W.Schultz,P.Apicella, and T. Ljungberg, “Responses of Monkey Dopamine Neurons toReward and Conditioned Stimuli During Successive Steps of Learning aDelayedResponseTask,”JournalofNeuroscience13(1993):900–913.

2.22hewas experiencing happiness It is important to note that Schultzdoes not claim that these spikes represent happiness.To a scientist, a spike inneuralactivityisjustaspike,andassigningitsubjectiveattributesisbeyondtherealmofprovableresults.Inafact-checkingemail,Schultzclarified:“Wecannottalkaboutpleasureandhappiness,aswedon’tknowthefeelingsofananimal.…Wetrytoavoidunsubstantiatedclaimsandsimplylookatthefacts.”Thatsaid,asanyonewhohaseverseenamonkey,orathree-year-oldhuman,receivesomejuicecanattest,theresultlooksalotlikehappiness.

2.23The anticipation and sense of craving Schultz, in a fact-checkingemail, clarifies that his research focused not only on habits but on otherbehaviorsaswell:“Ourdataarenotrestrictedtohabits,whichareoneparticularformofbehavior.Rewards,andrewardpredictionerrors,playageneralroleinallbehaviors.Irrespectiveofhabitornot,whenwedon’tgetwhatweexpect,wefeel disappointed. That we call a negative prediction error (the negative

differencebetweenwhatwegetandwhatweexpected).”2.24 Most food sellers locate their kiosks Brian Wansink, Mindless

Eating:WhyWeEatMoreThanWeThink (NewYork:Bantam, 2006); SheilaSasserandDavidMoore,“Aroma-DrivenCravingandConsumerConsumptionImpulses,”presentation,session2.4,AmericanMarketingAssociationSummerEducatorConference,SanDiego,California,August8–11,2008;DavidFields,“InSales,NothingYouSayMatters,”AscendantConsulting,2005.

2.25ThehabitloopisspinningbecauseHaroldE.Doweiko,ConceptsofChemicalDependency(Belmont,Calif.:BrooksCole,2008),362–82.

2.26hownewhabitsarecreatedK.C.BerridgeandM.L.Kringelbach,“Affective Neuroscience of Pleasure: Reward in Humans and Animals,”Psychopharmacology 199 (2008): 457–80; Wolfram Schultz, “BehavioralTheoriesandtheNeurophysiologyofReward,”AnnualReviewofPsychology57(2006):87–115.

2.27“wantingevolves intoobsessivecraving”T.E.RobinsonandK.C.Berridge, “The Neural Basis of Drug Craving: An Incentive-SensitizationTheoryofAddiction,”BrainResearchReviews18(1993):247–91.

2.28 In 2002 researchers at New Mexico Krystina A. Finlay, DavidTrafimow, and Aimee Villarreal, “Predicting Exercise and Health BehavioralIntentions: Attitudes, Subjective Norms, and Other Behavioral Determinants,”JournalofAppliedSocialPsychology32(2002):342–56.

2.29Thecue, inadditiontotriggeringHenkAarts,TheoPaulussen,andHerman Schaalma, “Physical Exercise Habit: On the Conceptualization andFormation of Habitual Health Behaviours,” Health Education Research 12(1997):363–74.

2.30Withinayear,customershadspentChristineBittar,“FreshbreezeatP&G,”Brandweek,October1999.

2.31UnlikeotherpastesPatent1,619,067,assignedtoRudolphA.Kuever.2.32WanttocraftaneweatingJ.Brug,E.deVet,J.deNooijer,andB.

Verplanken,“PredictingFruitConsumption:Cognitions,Intention,andHabits,”JournalofNutritionEducationandBehavior38(2006):73–81.

2.33ThecravingdrovethehabitForafullinventoryofstudiesfromtheNational Weight Control Registry, seehttp://www.nwcr.ws/Research/published%20research.htm.

2.34 Yet, while everyone brushes D. I. McLean and R. Gallagher,“Sunscreens:UseandMisuse,”DermatologicClinics16(1998):219–26.

CHAPTERTHREE

3.1ThegameclockatthefarendIamindebtedtothetimeandwritingsofTonyDungyandNathanWhitacker,includingQuietStrength:ThePrinciples,Practices,andPrioritiesofaWinningLife (CarolStream, Ill.:TyndaleHouse,2008); The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That WinConsistently (Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House, 2010); Uncommon: FindingYourPathtoSignificance(CarolStream,Ill.:TyndaleHouse,2011).IalsooweadebttoJeneBramelofFootballguys.com;MatthewBowenofNationalFootballPost and the St. Louis Rams, Green Bay Packers,Washington Redskins, andBuffaloBills;TimLaydenofSportsIllustratedandhisbookBlood,Sweat,andChalk:TheUltimateFootballPlaybook:HowtheGreatCoachesBuiltToday’sTeams(NewYork:SportsIllustrated,2010);PatKirwan,TakeYourEyeOfftheBall: How toWatch Football by KnowingWhere to Look (Chicago: TriumphBooks,2010);NunyoDemasio,“TheQuietLeader,”SportsIllustrated,February2007; Bill Plaschke, “Color Him Orange,” Los Angeles Times, September 1,1996; Chris Harry, “ ‘Pups’ Get to Bark for the Bucs,” Orlando Sentinel,September5,2001; JeffLegwold, “CoachesFindDefense inDemand,”RockyMountainNews,November 11, 2005; andMartin Fennelly, “QuietManTakesChargewithBucs,”TheTampaTribune,August9,1996.

3.2It’slateonaSundayIamindebtedtoFoxSportsforprovidinggametapes,and toKevinKernan,“TheBucksStompHere,”TheSanDiegoUnion-Tribune,November18,1996;JimTrotter,“HarperSaysHe’sDoneforSeason,”TheSanDiegoUnion-Tribune,November18,1996;LesEast,“StillWorth theWait,”TheAdvocate(BatonRouge,La.),November21,1996.

3.3 described as putting the “less” in “hopeless” Mitch Albom, “TheCourageofDetroit,”SportsIllustrated,September22,2009.

3.4 “America’s Orange Doormat” Pat Yasinskas, “Behind the Scenes,”TheTampaTribune,November19,1996.

3.5HeknewfromexperienceInafact-checkingletter,Dungyemphasizedthat thesewerenotnewstrategies,but insteadwereapproaches“Ihad learnedfromworkingwiththeSteelersintheseventiesandeighties.Whatwasunique,andwhatI thinkspread,was the ideaofhowtoget those ideasacross.…[Myplanwas]notoverwhelmingopponentswithstrategyorabundanceofplaysandformationsbutwinningwithexecution.Beingverysureofwhatweweredoinganddoing itwell.Minimize themistakeswewouldmake.Playingwith speedbecausewewerenotfocusingontoomanythings.”

3.6WhenhisstrategyworksFormoreontheTampa2defense,seeRickGosselin, “The Evolution of the Cover Two,” The Dallas Morning News,November3,2005;MohammedAlo,“Tampa2Defense,”TheFootballTimes,

July 4, 2006; Chris Harry, “Duck and Cover,”Orlando Sentinel, August 26,2005; Jason Wilde, “What to Do with Tampa-2?” Wisconsin State Journal,September 22, 2005; JimThomas, “RamsTake aRun at Tampa 2,”St. LouisPost-Dispatch,October 16, 2005;Alan Schmadtke, “Dungy’s ‘D’No Secret,”OrlandoSentinel,September6,2006;JeneBramel,“Guide toNFLDefenses,”TheFifthDown(blog),TheNewYorkTimes,September6,2010.

3.7 Sitting in the basement William L. White, Slaying the Dragon(Bloomington,Ill.:LighthouseTrainingInstitute,1998).

3.8named BillWilson Alcoholics AnonymousWorld Service, The A.A.ServiceManualCombinedwithTwelveConceptsforWorldService(NewYork:Alcoholics Anonymous, 2005); Alcoholics Anonymous World Service,AlcoholicsAnonymous:TheStoryofHowManyThousandsofMenandWomenHave Recovered fromAlcoholism (NewYork: Alcoholics Anonymous, 2001);AlcoholicsAnonymousWorldService,AlcoholicsAnonymousComesofAge:ABrief History of A.A. (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous, 1957); AlcoholicsAnonymousWorldService,AsBillSeesIt(NewYork:AlcoholicsAnonymous,1967);BillW.,BillW.:MyFirst40Years—AnAutobiographybytheCofounderofAlcoholicsAnonymous (HazeldenCenter City,Minn.:Hazelden Publishing,2000); Francis Hartigan, Bill W.: A Biography of Alcoholics AnonymousCofounderBillWilson(NewYork:ThomasDunneBooks,2009).

3.9HetookasipandfeltSusanCheever,MyNameIsBill:BillWilson—His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous (New York: Simon andSchuster,2004).

3.10WilsoninvitedhimoverIbid.3.11Atthatmoment,helaterwroteErnestKurtz,Not-God:AHistoryof

Alcoholics Anonymous (Hazelden Center City, Minn.: Hazelden Publishing,1991).

3.12 An estimated 2.1 million people Data provided by AA GeneralServiceOfficeStaff,basedon2009figures.

3.13 as many as 10 million alcoholics Getting firm figures on AA’smembership or those who have achieved sobriety through the program isnotoriously difficult, in part because membership is anonymous and in partbecausethereisnorequirementtoregisterwithacentralauthority.However,the10million person figure, based on conversations with AA researchers, seemsreasonable(ifunverifiable)giventheprogram’slonghistory.

3.14What’sinterestingaboutAAInpsychology,thiskindoftreatment—targeting habits—is often referred to under the umbrella term of “cognitivebehavioral therapy,” or in an earlier era, “relapse prevention.” CBT, as it is

generally used within the treatment community, often incorporates five basictechniques:(1)Learning,inwhichthetherapistexplainstheillnesstothepatientand teaches thepatient to identify thesymptoms; (2)Monitoring, inwhich thepatientusesadiarytomonitor thebehaviorandthesituations triggeringit; (3)Competing response, in which the patient cultivates new routines, such asrelaxationmethods,tooffsettheproblematicbehavior;(4)Rethinking,inwhicha therapistguides thepatient to reevaluatehow thepatient sees situations;and(5)Exposing, inwhich the therapisthelps thepatient exposehim-orherself tosituationsthattriggerthebehavior.

3.15What AA provides insteadWriting about AA is always a difficultproposition,becausetheprogramhassomanycriticsandsupporters,andtherearedozensofinterpretationsforhowandwhytheprogramworks.Inanemail,for instance, Lee Ann Kaskutas, a senior scientist at the Alcohol ResearchGroup,wrotethatAAindirectly“providesamethodforattackingthehabitsthatsurroundalcoholuse.ButthatisviathepeopleinAA,nottheprogramofAA.The program of AA attacks the base problem, the alcoholic ego, the self-centered, spiritually bereft alcoholic.” It is accurate, Kaskutas wrote, that AAprovidessolutions foralcoholichabits, suchas theslogans“go toameeting ifyou want to drink,” and “avoid slippery people, places, and things.” But,Kaskutaswrote,“Theslogansaren’ttheprogram.Theprogramisthesteps.AAaims to go much deeper than addressing the habit part of drinking, and AAfounderswouldarguethatattackingthehabitisahalfmeasurethatwon’tholdyouingoodstead;youwilleventuallysuccumbtodrinkunlessyouchangemorebasic things.”Formoreon the explorationsofAA’s science, anddebatesovertheprogram’s effectiveness, seeC.D.Emrick et al., “AlcoholicsAnonymous:WhatIsCurrentlyKnown?”inB.S.McCradyandW.R.Miller,eds.,Researchon Alcoholics Anonymous: Opportunities and Alternatives (New Brunswick,N.J.:Rutgers,1993),41–76; JohnF.KellyandMarkG.Myers, “Adolescents’Participation in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous: Review,Implications, andFutureDirections,”JournalofPsychoactiveDrugs 39,no.3(September 2007): 259–69;D.R.Groh,L.A. Jason, andC.B.Keys, “SocialNetwork Variables in Alcoholics Anonymous: A Literature Review,”ClinicalPsychologyReview28,no.3(March2008):430–50;JohnFrancisKelly,MollyMagill, and Robert Lauren Stout, “How Do People Recover from AlcoholDependence?ASystematicReviewoftheResearchonMechanismsofBehaviorChange inAlcoholicsAnonymous,”AddictionResearch andTheory 17, no. 3(2009):236–59.

3.16sittinginbedKurtz,Not-God.

3.17HechosethenumbertwelveIamindebtedtoBrendanI.Koernerforhis advice, and tohis article, “SecretofAA:After75Years,WeDon’tKnowHow ItWorks,”Wired, July 2010; D. R. Davis and G. G. Hansen, “MakingMeaningofAlcoholicsAnonymousforSocialWorkers:Myths,Metaphors,andRealities,”SocialWork43,no.2(1998):169–82.

3.18stepthree,whichsaysAlcoholicsAnonymousWorldServices,TwelveSteps and Twelve Traditions (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous WorldServices, Inc., 2002), 34. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, AlcoholicsAnonymous:TheBigBook, 4thed. (NewYork:AlcoholicsAnonymousWorldServices,Inc.,2002),59.

3.19Becauseoftheprogram’slackArthurCain,“AlcoholicsAnonymous:CultorCure?”Harper’sMagazine,February1963,48–52;M.Ferri,L.Amato,and M. Davoli, “Alcoholics Anonymous and Other 12-Step Programmes forAlcoholDependence,”Addiction 88, no. 4 (1993): 555–62;HarrisonM.Triceand Paul Michael Roman, “Delabeling, Relabeling, and AlcoholicsAnonymous,”Social Problems 17, no. 4 (1970): 538–46; Robert E. Tournie,“AlcoholicsAnonymousasTreatment andas Ideology,”JournalofStudiesonAlcohol40,no.3(1979):230–39;P.E.Bebbington,“TheEfficacyofAlcoholicsAnonymous:TheElusivenessofHardData,”BritishJournalofPsychiatry128(1976):572–80.

3.20 “It’s not obvious from the way they’re written” Emrick et al.,“Alcoholics Anonymous: What Is Currently Known?”; J. S. Tonigan, R.Toscova, and W. R. Miller, “Meta-analysis of the Literature on AlcoholicsAnonymous:SampleandStudyCharacteristicsModerateFindings,”JournalofStudies on Alcohol 57 (1995): 65–72; J. S. Tonigan,W. R.Miller, and G. J.Connors, “ProjectMATCHClient ImpressionsAboutAlcoholicsAnonymous:Measurement Issues and Relationship to Treatment Outcome,” AlcoholismTreatment Quarterly 18 (2000): 25–41; J. S. Tonigan, “Spirituality andAlcoholicsAnonymous,”SouthernMedicalJournal100,no.4(2007):437–40.

3.21 One particularly dramatic demonstration Heinze et al.,“Counteracting Incentive Sensitization in Severe Alcohol Dependence UsingDeepBrainStimulationoftheNucleusAccumbens:ClinicalandBasicScienceAspects,”FrontiersinHumanNeuroscience3,no.22(2009).

3.22graduate studentnamedMandy “Mandy” is apseudonymusedbytheauthorofthecasestudythispassagedrawsfrom.

3.23MississippiStateUniversityB.A.Dufrene,SteuartWatson,andJ.S.Kazmerski, “Functional Analysis and Treatment of Nail Biting,” BehaviorModification32(2008):913–27.

3.24ThecounselingcenterreferredMandy Inafact-checkingletter, theauthorofthisstudy,BradDufrene,wrotethatthepatient“consentedtoservicesat a university-based clinic which was a training and research clinic. At theoutsetofparticipatingintherapy,sheconsentedtoallowingustousedatafromhercaseasinresearchpresentationsorpublications.”

3.25oneofthedevelopersofhabitreversaltrainingN.H.AzrinandR.G.Nunn,“Habit-Reversal:AMethodofEliminatingNervousHabitsandTics,”BehaviourResearchandTherapy11,no.4(1973):619–28;NathanH.AzrinandAlan L. Peterson, “Habit Reversal for the Treatment of Tourette Syndrome,”BehaviourResearchandTherapy26,no.4(1988):347–51;N.H.Azrin,R.G.Nunn, and S. E. Frantz, “Treatment of Hairpulling (Trichotillomania): AComparativeStudyofHabitReversalandNegativePracticeTraining,”JournalofBehaviorTherapyandExperimentalPsychiatry11(1980):13–20;R.G.Nunnand N. H. Azrin, “Eliminating Nail-Biting by the Habit Reversal Procedure,”BehaviourResearchandTherapy14 (1976):65–67;N.H.Azrin,R.G.Nunn,andS.E.Frantz-Renshaw,“HabitReversalVersusNegativePracticeTreatmentofNervousTics,”BehaviorTherapy11,no.2(1980):169–78;N.H.Azrin,R.G. Nunn, and S. E. Frantz-Renshaw, “Habit Reversal Treatment ofThumbsucking,”BehaviourResearchandTherapy18,no.5(1980):395–99.

3.26 Today, habit reversal therapy In a fact-checking letter, DufreneemphasizedthatmethodssuchasthoseusedwithMandy—knownas“simplifiedhabit reversal training”—sometimes differ from other methods of HRT. “Myunderstanding is thatSimplifiedHabitReversal iseffectivefor reducinghabits(e.g., hair pulling, nail biting, thumb sucking), tics (motor and vocal), andstuttering,” he wrote. However, other conditions might require more intenseforms of HRT. “Effective treatments for depression, smoking, gamblingproblems,etc. fall under the umbrella term ‘CognitiveBehavioral Therapy,’ ”Dufrene wrote, emphasizing that simplified habit replacement is often noteffectiveforthoseproblems,whichrequiremoreintensiveinterventions.

3.27verbalandphysical ticsR.G.Nunn,K.S.Newton,andP.Faucher,“2.5 Years Follow-up ofWeight and BodyMass Index Values in theWeightControlforLife!Program:ADescriptiveAnalysis,”AddictiveBehaviors17,no.6(1992):579–85;D.J.Horne,A.E.White,andG.A.Varigos,“APreliminaryStudyofPsychologicalTherapyintheManagementofAtopicEczema,”BritishJournalofMedicalPsychology62,no.3(1989):241–48;T.Deckersbachetal.,“Habit Reversal Versus Supportive Psychotherapy in Tourette’s Disorder: ARandomizedControlledTrialandPredictorsofTreatmentResponse,”BehaviourResearch and Therapy 44, no. 8 (2006): 1079–90; Douglas W. Woods and

Raymond G. Miltenberger, “Habit Reversal: A Review of Applications andVariations,”JournalofBehaviorTherapyandExperimentalPsychiatry26,no.2(1995): 123–31; D. W. Woods, C. T. Wetterneck, and C. A. Flessner, “AControlled Evaluation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Plus HabitReversal for Trichotillomania,” Behaviour Research and Therapy 44, no. 5(2006):639–56.

3.28 More than three dozen studies J. O. Prochaska and C. C.DiClemente, “Stages and Processes of Self-Change in Smoking: Toward anIntegrativeModel ofChange,”JournalofConsultingandClinicalPsychology51, no. 3 (1983): 390–95; James Prochaska, “Strong andWeak Principles forProgressing fromPrecontemplation toActionon theBasis ofTwelveProblemBehaviors,” Health Psychology 13 (1994): 47–51; James Prochaska et al.,“StagesofChangeandDecisionalBalance for12ProblemBehaviors,”HealthPsychology13(1994):39–46;JamesProchaskaandMichaelGoldstein,“ProcessofSmokingCessation: Implications forClinicians,”Clinics inChestMedicine12, no. 4 (1991): 727–35; James O. Prochaska, John Norcross, and CarloDiClemente, Changing for Good: A Revolutionary Six-Stage Program forOvercomingBadHabitsandMovingYourLifePositivelyForward(NewYork:HarperCollins,1995).

3.29“Mostofthetime,it’snotphysical”DevinGordon,“CoachTillYouDrop,”Newsweek,September2,2002,48.

3.30 during crucial, high-stress moments In fact-checkingcorrespondence,Dungysaidhe“wouldnotcharacterizeitasfallingapartinbiggames. Iwould call it not playingwell enough in crucial situations, not beingabletoputthoselessonsintopracticewhenitwasallontheline.St.LouishadoneofthehighestscoringoffensesinthehistoryoftheNFL.TheymanagedoneTD that game with about 3 minutes left. A team that was scoring almost 38pointsagamegot1TDand1FGagainstthedefense,soIhardlythinkthey‘fellapart.’”

3.31 “What they were really saying” In fact-checking correspondence,Dungysaid“wedidloseagainintheplayoffstoPhil,inanotherpoorshowing.Thiswasprobablyourworstplayoffgameand itwasdoneunder thecloudofrumors, so everyone knew that … ownership would be making a coachingchange. I think we had instances in the past where we didn’t truly trust thesystem,but I’mnot sure thatwas thecasehere.Philadelphiawas just a toughmatch-upforusandwecouldn’tgetpastthem.Andnotplayingwell,thescoreturned out to be ugly.However, it was one of ourworst games since the ’96season.”

3.32 began asking alcoholics John W. Traphagan, “MultidimensionalMeasurementofReligiousness/SpiritualityforUseinHealthResearchinCross-CulturalPerspective,”ResearchonAging 27 (2005): 387–419.Many of thosestudies use the scale published inG. J.Conners et al., “Measure ofReligiousBackgroundandBehaviorforUseinBehaviorChangeResearch,”PsychologyofAddictiveBehaviors10,no.2(June1996):90–96.

3.33Then they looked at the data Sarah Zemore, “ARole for SpiritualChange in the Benefits of 12-Step Involvement,” Alcoholism: Clinical andExperimentalResearch31(2007):76s–79s;LeeAnnKaskutasetal.,“TheRoleof Religion, Spirituality, and Alcoholics Anonymous in Sustained Sobriety,”Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 21 (2003): 1–16; Lee Ann Kaskutas et al.,“AlcoholicsAnonymousCareers:PatternsofAAInvolvementFiveYearsAfterTreatmentEntry,”Alcoholism:Clinical andExperimental Research 29, no. 11(2005):1983–1990;LeeAnnKaskutas,“AlcoholicsAnonymousEffectiveness:FaithMeetsScience,”JournalofAddictiveDiseases28,no.2(2009):145–57;J.Scott Tonigan, W. R. Miller, and Carol Schermer, “Atheists, Agnostics, andAlcoholicsAnonymous,”JournalofStudiesonAlcohol63,no.5 (2002):534–54.

3.34ParamedicshadrushedhimJarrettBell,“TragedyForcesDungy‘toLiveinthePresent,’”USAToday,September1,2006;OhmYoungmisuk,“TheFight toLiveOn,”NewYorkDailyNews,September10,2006;PhilRichards,“Dungy:Son’sDeathWasa ‘Test,’”TheIndianapolisStar, January25,2007;DavidGoldberg,“TragedyLessenedbyGame,”TulsaWorld,January30,2007;“DungyMakesHistoryAfterRoughJourney,”AkronBeaconJournal,February5, 2007; “FromPain, aRevelation,”TheNewYorkTimes, July2007; “SonofColts’ Coach Tony Dungy Apparently Committed Suicide,” Associated Press,December 22, 2005; Larry Stone, “Colts Take FieldwithHeavyHearts,”TheSeattle Times, December 25, 2005; Clifton Brown, “Dungy’s Son Is FoundDead;SuicideSuspected,”TheNewYorkTimes,December23,2005;PeterKing,“AFather’sWish,”SportsIllustrated,February2007.

3.35Ina1994HarvardstudyToddF.HeathertonandPatriciaA.Nichols,“Personal Accounts of Successful Versus Failed Attempts at Life Change,”PersonalityandSocialPsychologyBulletin20,no.6(1994):664–75.

3.36Dungy’s team, once again, was I am indebted to Michael Smith,“‘Simple’SchemeNetsBigGainsforTrioofDefenses,”ESPN.comDecember26,2005.

3.37 It’s our timeMichael Silver, “This Time, It’sManning’sMoment,”SportsIllustrated,February2007.

CHAPTERFOUR4.1TheyweretheretomeetFordetailsonO’Neill’slifeandAlcoa,Iam

indebted to Paul O’Neill for his generous time, as well as numerous Alcoaexecutives.IalsodrewonPamelaVarley,“VisionandStrategy:PaulH.O’NeillatOMBandAlcoa,”KennedySchoolofGovernment,1992;PeterZimmerman,“Vision and Strategy: Paul H. O’Neill at OMB and Alcoa Sequel,” KennedySchoolofGovernment,1994;KimB.Clarkand JoshuaMargolis, “WorkplaceSafety at Alcoa (A),”Harvard Business Review, October 31, 1999; Steven J.Spear, “WorkplaceSafety atAlcoa (B),”Harvard Business Review, December22,1999;StevenSpear,ChasingtheRabbit:HowMarketLeadersOutdistancetheCompetitionandHowGreatCompaniesCanCatchUpandWin(NewYork:McGraw-Hill, 2009); Peter Kolesar, “Vision, Values, and Milestones: PaulO’NeillStartsTotalQualityatAlcoa,”CaliforniaManagementReview35,no.3(1993):133–65;RonSuskind,ThePriceofLoyalty:GeorgeW.Bush,theWhiteHouse, and the Education of Paul O’Neill (New York: Simon and Schuster,2004); Michael Arndt, “How O’Neill Got Alcoa Shining,” BusinessWeek,February 2001; Glenn Kessler, “O’Neill Offers Cure forWorkplace Injuries,”TheWashingtonPost,March31,2001;“PittsburghHealthInitiativeMayServeasUSModel,”Reuters,May31;S.Smith,“America’sSafestCompanies:Alcoa:FindingTrueNorth,”OccupationalHazards64,no.10(2002):53;ThomasA.Stewart,“ANewWaytoWakeUpaGiant,”Fortune,October1990;“O’Neill’sTenureatAlcoaMixed,”AssociatedPress,December21,2000;LeslieWayne,“Designee Takes a Deft Touch and a FirmWill to Treasury,” The New YorkTimes,January16,2001;TerenceRoth,“AlcoaHadLossof$14.7Millionin4thQuarter,”The Wall Street Journal, January 21, 1985; Daniel F. Cuff, “AlcoaHedges Its Bets, Slowly,”The New York Times, October 24, 1985; “Alcoa IsStuckasTwoUnionsRejectFinalBid,”TheWallStreetJournal,June2,1986;MarkRussell,“AlcoaStrikeEndsasTwoUnionsAgreetoCutsinBenefitsandtoWageFreezes,”TheWall Street Journal, July 7, 1986; Thomas F.O’BoyleandPeterPae,“TheLongView:O’NeillRecastsAlcoawithHisEyesFixedontheDecadeAhead,”TheWallStreetJournal,April9,1990;TraceyE.Benson,“PaulO’Neill:True Innovation,TrueValues,TrueLeadership,” IndustryWeek242,no.8(1993):24;JosephKahn,“IndustrialistwithaTwist,”TheNewYorkTimes,December21,2000.

4.2O’NeillwasoneMichaelLewis,“O’Neill’sList,”TheNewYorkTimes,January 123, 2002; Ron Suskind,The Price of Loyalty: GeorgeW. Bush, theWhite House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill (New York: Simon andSchuster,2004).

4.3WhatmatteredwaserectingInafact-checkingconversation,O’Neillmadeclear that thecomparisonbetweenorganizational routinesand individualhabitsisonethatheunderstandsandagreeswith,butdidnotexplicitlyoccurtohimatthetime.“Icanrelatetothat,butIdon’townthatidea,”hetoldme.Then,asnow,herecognizes routinessuchas thehospital-buildingprogram,which isknownas theHill-BurtonAct, as anoutgrowthof a pattern. “The reason theykept building was because the political instincts are still there that bringingmoney back home to the district is how people think they get reelected, nomatterhowmuchovercapacitywewerecreating,”hetoldme.

4.4 “Routines are the organizational analogue” GeoffreyM. Hodgson,“TheNatureandReplicationofRoutines,”unpublishedmanuscript,Universityof Hertfordshire, 2004,http://www.gredeg.cnrs.fr/routines/workshop/papers/Hodgson.pdf.

4.5Itbecameanorganizational Ina fact-checkingconversation,O’NeillwantedtostressthattheseexamplesofNASAandtheEPA,thoughillustrative,donotdrawonhisinsightsorexperiences.Theyareindependentlyreported.

4.6When lawyers asked for permission Karl E. Weick, “Small Wins:Redefining the Scale of Social Problems,” American Psychologist 39 (1984):40–49.

4.7By1975,theEPAwasissuinghttp://www.epa.gov.4.8He instituted an automatic routine In a fact-checking conversation,

O’Neillstressedthathebelievesthatpromotionsandbonusesshouldnotbetiedtoworkersafety,anymorethantheyshouldbetiedtohonesty.Rather,safetyisavalue thateveryAlcoaworkershouldembrace, regardlessof therewards.“It’slikesaying,‘We’regoingtopaypeoplemoreif theydon’t lie,’whichsuggeststhatit’sokaytoliealittlebit,becausewe’llpayyoualittlebitless,”hetoldme.However, it is important tonote that in interviewswithotherAlcoaexecutivesfromthisperiod,theysaiditwaswidelyknownthatpromotionswereavailableonly to those employees who evidenced a commitment to safety, and thatpromise of promotion served as a reward, even if that was not O’Neill’sintention.

4.9 Any time someone was injured In a fact-checking conversation,O’Neill made clear that, at the time, the concept of the “habit loop” wasunknown to him.He didn’t necessarily think of these programs as fulfilling acriterion for habits, though in retrospect, he acknowledges howhis efforts arealignedwithmorerecentresearchindicatinghoworganizationalhabitsemerge.

4.10Take,forinstance,studiesfromP.Callaghan,“Exercise:ANeglectedInterventioninMentalHealthCare?”JournalofPsychiatricandMentalHealth

Nursing 11 (2004): 476–83; S. N. Blair, “Relationships Between Exercise orPhysical Activity and Other Health Behaviors,” Public Health Reports 100(2009):172–80;K.J.VanRensburg,A.Taylor,andT.Hodgson,“TheEffectsofAcute Exercise on Attentional Bias Toward Smoking-Related Stimuli DuringTemporaryAbstinencefromSmoking,”Addiction104,no.11(2009):1910–17;E.R.Ropelleetal.,“IL-6andIL-10Anti-inflammatoryActivityLinksExerciseto Hypothalamic Insulin and Leptin Sensitivity Through IKKb and ER StressInhibition,”PLoSBiology8,no.8(2010);P.M.Dubbert,“PhysicalActivityandExercise:RecentAdvancesandCurrentChallenges,”JournalofConsultingandClinical Psychology 70 (2002): 526–36; C. Quinn, “Training as Treatment,”NursingStandard24(2002):18–19.

4.11 Studies have documented that families S. K. Hamilton and J. H.Wilson, “FamilyMealtimes:Worth the Effort?” Infant, Child, and AdolescentNutrition1(2009):346–50;AmericanDieteticAssociation,“EatingTogetherasa Family Creates Better Eating Habits Later in Life,” ScienceDaily.comSeptember4,2007,accessedApril1,2011.

4.12 Making your bed every morning Richard Layard, Happiness:Lessons fromaNewScience (NewYork:PenguinPress, 2005);DanielNettle,Happiness: The ScienceBehind Your Smile (Oxford:OxfordUniversity Press,2005);MarcIanBarasch,FieldNotesontheCompassionateLife:ASearchforthe Soul of Kindness (Emmaus, Penn.: Rodale, 2005); Alfie Kohn,UnconditionalParenting:Moving fromRewardsandPunishments toLoveandReason (New York: Atria Books, 2005); P. Alex Linley and Stephen Joseph,eds.,PositivePsychologyinPractice(Hoboken,N.J.:Wiley,2004).

4.13By 7A.M., I am indebted to the time and help of BobBowman inunderstanding Phelps’s training, as well as to Michael Phelps and AlanAbrahamson,No Limits: The Will to Succeed (New York: Free Press, 2009);Michael Phelps and Brian Cazeneuve, Beneath the Surface (Champaign, Ill.:SportsPublishingLLC,2008);BobSchaller,MichaelPhelps:TheUntoldStoryofaChampion(NewYork:St.Martin’sGriffin,2008);KarenCrouse,“AvoidingtheDeepEndWhen ItComes to Jitters,”TheNewYorkTimes, July26,2009;MarkLevine,“OutThere,”TheNewYorkTimes,August3,2008;EricAdelson,“And After That, Mr. PhelpsWill Leap a Tall Building in a Single Bound,”ESPN.comJuly28,2008;SeanGregory,“MichaelPhelps:ARealGOAT,”Time,August 13, 2008;NormanFrauenheim, “PhelpsTakes 4th, 5thGoldMedals,”TheArizonaRepublic,August12,2008.

4.14“Onceasmallwinhasbeenaccomplished”KarlE.Weick,“SmallWins: Redefining the Scale of Social Problems,” American Psychologist 39

(1984):40–49.4.15Smallwins fuel transformative changes “SmallWins—TheSteady

Application of a Small Advantage,” Center for Applied Research, 1998,accessedJune24,2011,http://www.cfar.com/Documents/Smal_win.pdf.

4.16Itseemedlikethegaycommunity’sFormoredetailsonthisincident,see Alix Spiegel’s wonderful “81 Words,” broadcast on This American Life,January18,2002,http://www.thisamericanlife.org/.

4.17 HQ 71-471 (“Abnormal Sexual Relations, Including SexualCrimes”)MalcolmSpectorandJohn I.Kitsuse,ConstructingSocialProblems(NewBrunswick,N.J.:TransactionPublishers,2001).

4.18He couldn’t tell if they were leaking Phelps and Abrahamson,NoLimits.

4.19 It was one additional victory For further discussion of habits andOlympic swimmers, see Daniel Chambliss, “The Mundanity of Excellence,”SociologicalTheory7(1989):70–86.

4.20HewaskilledinstantlyPaulO’Neillkeynotespeech,June25,2002,at the JuranCenter,CarlsonSchool ofManagement,University ofMinnesota,Minneapolis.

4.21 Rural areas, in particular “Infant Mortality Rates, 1950–2005,”http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0779935.html;WilliamH.Berentsen,“GermanInfant Mortality 1960–1980,”Geographical Review 77 (1987): 157–70; PaulNorman et al., “Geographical Trends in InfantMortality: England andWales,1970–2006,”HealthStatisticsQuarterly40(2008):18–29.

4.22Today, the U.S. infantmortalityWorld Bank,World DevelopmentIndicators. In an email sent in response to fact-checking questions, O’Neillwrote:“Thisiscorrect,butIwouldnottakecreditforoursocietydoingabetterjobinreducinginfantmortality.”

4.23TheybegandietsandjoinedgymsT.A.Wadden,M.L.Butryn,andC. Wilson, “Lifestyle Modification for the Management of Obesity,”Gastro-enterology132(2007):2226–38.

4.24Then,in2009agroupofresearchersJ.F.Hollisetal.,“WeightLossDuringtheIntensiveInterventionPhaseoftheWeight-LossMaintenanceTrial,”American Journal ofPreventativeMedicine 35 (2008): 118–26. See alsoL. P.Svetkeyetal.,“ComparisonofStrategiesforSustainingWeightLoss,theWeightLossMaintenanceRandomizedControlledTrial,”JAMA299(2008):1139–48;A. Fitch and J. Bock, “Effective Dietary Therapies for Pediatric ObesityTreatment,”ReviewsinEndocrineandMetabolicDisorders10(2009):231–36;

D.Engstrom,“EatingMindfullyandCultivatingSatisfaction:ModifyingEatingPatternsinaBariatricSurgeryPatient,”BariatricNursingandSurgicalPatientCare2(2007):245–50;J.R.Petersetal.,“EatingPatternAssessmentTool:ASimpleInstrumentforAssessingDietaryFatandCholesterolIntake,”JournaloftheAmericanDieteticAssociation94(1994):1008–13;S.M.Rebroetal.,“TheEffectofKeepingFoodRecordsonEatingPatterns,”Journalof theAmericanDieteticAssociation98(1998):1163–65.

4.25“Afterawhile,thejournal”Formoreonweightlossstudies,seeR.R. Wing and James O. Hill, “Successful Weight Loss Maintenance,” AnnualReviewofNutrition21(2001):323–41;M.L.Klemetal.,“ADescriptiveStudyof Individuals Successful at Long-Term Maintenance of Substantial WeightLoss,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66 (1997): 239–46; M. J.Mahoney, N. G. Moura, and T. C.Wade, “Relative Efficacy of Self-Reward,Self-Punishment,andSelf-MonitoringTechniquesforWeightLoss,”JournalofConsulting and Clinical Psychology 40 (1973): 404–7; M. J. Franz et al.,“WeightLossOutcomes:ASystematicReview andMeta-Analysis ofWeight-Loss Clinical Trials with a Minimum 1-Year Follow-up,” Journal of theAmerican Dietetic Association 107 (2007): 1755–67; A. DelParigi et al.,“SuccessfulDietersHaveIncreasedNeuralActivityinCorticalAreasInvolvedintheControlofBehavior,”InternationalJournalofObesity31(2007):440–48.

4.26 researchers referred to as “grit” Jonah Lehrer, “The Truth AboutGrit,”TheBostonGlobe,August2,2009.

4.27 “despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress” A. L.Duckworth et al., “Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals,”JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology92(2007):1087–1101.

CHAPTERFIVE5.1willpoweristhesinglemostimportantJ.P.Tangney,R.F.Baumeister,

and A. L. Boone, “High Self-Control Predicts Good Adjustment, LessPathology,BetterGrades,andInterpersonalSuccess,”JournalofPersonality72,no. 2 (2004): 271–324; Paul Karoly, “Mechanisms of Self-Regulation: ASystemsView,”AnnualReviewofPsychology44(1993):23–52;JamesJ.Gross,JaneM.Richards,andOliverP.John,“EmotionalRegulationinEverydayLife,”inEmotion Regulation in Families: Pathways to Dysfunction and Health, ed.DouglasK.Snyder,JeffryA.Simpson,andJanN.Hughes(Washington,D.C.:American Psychological Association, 2006); Katleen De Stobbeleir, SusanAshford, and Dirk Buyens, “From Trait and Context to Creativity at Work:Feedback-Seeking Behavior as a Self-Regulation Strategy for CreativePerformance,”VlerickLeuvenGentWorkingPaperSeries,September17,2008;

BabetteRaabe,MichaelFrese,andTerryA.Beehr,“ActionRegulationTheoryandCareerSelf-Management,”JournalofVocationalBehavior70(2007):297–311; Albert Bandura, “The Primacy of Self-Regulation in Health Promotion,”AppliedPsychology54(2005):245–54;RobertG.Lordetal.,“Self-RegulationatWork,”AnnualReviewofPsychology61(2010):543–68;ColetteA.FrayneandGaryP.Latham,“ApplicationofSocialLearningTheorytoEmployeeSelf-ManagementofAttendance,”JournalofAppliedPsychology72(1987):387–92;Colette Frayne and J.M.Geringer, “Self-ManagementTraining for ImprovingJob Performance: A Field Experiment Involving Salespeople,” Journal ofAppliedPsychology85(2000):361–72.

5.2 “Self-discipline has a bigger effect on” Angela L. Duckworth andMartin E. P. Seligman, “Self-Discipline Outdoes IQ in Predicting AcademicPerformanceofAdolescents,”PsychologicalScience16(2005):939–44.

5.3Executiveswroteworkbooks that Information on Starbucks trainingmethodsisdrawnfromnumerousinterviews,aswellasthecompany’strainingmaterials. Information on training materials comes from copies provided byStarbucks employees and court records, including the following internalStarbucksdocumentsandtrainingmanuals:StarbucksCoffeeCompanyPartnerGuide,U.S.StoreVersion;LearningCoachGuide; In-StoreLearningCoachesGuide; Shift Supervisor Learning Journey; Retail Management Training;SupervisorySkillsFacilitatorGuide;SupervisorySkillsPartnerWorkbook;ShiftSupervisorTraining:StoreManager’sPlanningandCoachesGuide;Managers’Guide:Learning toLead,LevelOneandTwo;SupervisorySkills:Learning toLead Facilitators Guide; First Impressions Guide; Store Manager TrainingPlan/Guide;DistrictManagerTrainingPlan/Guide;PartnerResourcesManual;Values Walk. In a statement sent in response to fact-checking inquiries, aStarbucks representativewrote: “In reviewing,we felt that your overall themefocuses on emotional intelligence (EQ) and thatwe attract partnerswho needdevelopmentinthisarea—thisisnottrueholistically.It’simportanttonotethat70percentofU.S.partnersarestudentsandlearninginalotofwaysintheirlife.WhatStarbucksprovides—andpartnersareinclinedtojoinbecauseofit—isanenvironmentthatmatchestheirvalues,aplacetobeapartofsomethingbigger(likecommunity),anapproachthatfocusesonproblemsolvingbyshowingnottelling and a successfulway to deliver inspired service.” The company addedthat“we’dliketonotethataspartofourCustomerServiceVision,ourpartnersaretrustedcompletelyandareempoweredtousetheirbestjudgment.Webelievethatthisleveloftrustandempowermentisunique,andthatpartnersrisetotheoccasionwhenwetreatthemwithrespect.”

5.4 It was as if the marshmallow-ignoring kids Harriet Mischel andWalter Mischel, “The Development of Children’s Knowledge of Self-ControlStrategies,”ChildDevelopment54 (1983),603–19;W.Mischel,Y.Shoda,andM.I.Rodriguez,“DelayofGratificationinChildren,”Science244(1989):933–38;WalterMischeletal.,“TheNatureofAdolescentCompetenciesPredictedbyPreschoolDelayofGratification,”JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology54(1988):687–96;J.MetcalfeandW.Mischel,“AHot/Cool-SystemAnalysisofDelayofGratification:DynamicsofWillPower,”PsychologicalReview106(1999):3–19;JonahLehrer,“TheSecretofSelfControl,”TheNewYorker,May18,2009.

5.5 Some have suggested it helps clarify In a fact-checking email,Muravenwrote:“Thereisresearchtosuggestthatmaritalproblemsspringfromlowself-controland thatdepletioncontributes topooroutcomeswhencouplesarediscussing tense relationship issues.Likewise,wehave found thatondaysthat require more self-control than average, people are more likely to losecontrol over their drinking.There is also some research that suggests depletedindividualsmakepoorerdecisionsthannondepletedindividuals.Thesefindingsmaybeextended to explain extramarital affairsormistakesbyphysicians,butthathasnotbeen”directlyshowntobeacause-and-effectrelationship.

5.6“Ifyouuseituptooearly”RoyF.Baumeisteretal.,“Ego-Depletion:Is the Active Self a Limited Resource?” Journal of Personality and SocialPsychology18(1998):130–50;R.F.Baumeister,M.Muraven,andD.M.Tice,“Self-Control as a Limited Resource: Regulatory Depletion Patterns,”PsychologicalBulletin126(1998):247–59;R.F.Baumeister,M.Muraven,andD.M. Tice, “Longitudinal Improvement of Self-Regulation Through Practice:BuildingSelf-ControlStrengthThroughRepeatedExercise,”JournalofSocialPsychology139(1999):446–57;R.F.Baumeister,M.Muraven,andD.M.Tice,“EgoDepletion:AResourceModelofVolition,Self-Regulation,andControlledProcessing,”SocialCognition74(2000):1252–65;RoyF.BaumeisterandMarkMuraven, “Self-Regulation and Depletion of Limited Resources: Does Self-ControlResembleaMuscle?”PsychologicalBulletin 126 (2000):247–59;SeealsoM.S.Haggeretal.,“EgoDepletionandtheStrengthModelofSelf-Control:A Meta-Analysis,” Psychological Bulletin 136 (2010): 495–25; R. G.Baumeister,K.D.Vohs,andD.M.Tice,“TheStrengthModelofSelf-Control,”CurrentDirectionsinPsychologicalScience16(2007):351–55;M.I.PosneandM. K. Rothbart, “Developing Mechanisms of Self-Regulation,” Developmentand Psychopathology 12 (2000): 427–41; Roy F. Baumeister and Todd F.Heatherton, “Self-Regulation Failure: An Overview,”Psychological Inquiry 7

(1996): 1–15; Kathleen D. Vohs et al., “Making Choices Impairs SubsequentSelf-Control: A Limited-Resource Account of Decision Making, Self-Regulation,andActiveInitiative,”JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology94(2008):883–98;DanielRomeretal.,“CanAdolescentsLearnSelf-Control?Delay of Gratification in the Development of Control over Risk Taking,”PreventionScience11(2010):319–30.Inafact-checkingemail,Muravenwrote:“Ourresearchsuggeststhatpeopleoftendon’tevenrealizethattheyaredepletedandthatthefirstactofself-controlaffectedthem.Instead,exertingself-controlcausespeopletobelesswillingtoworkhardonsubsequentself-controlefforts(ultimately,thisisatheoryofmotivation,notcognition).…[E]venafterthemostdepleting day, people still don’t urinate on the floor. Again, this suggests themotivationalaspectofthetheory—theylackthemotivationtoforcethemselvestodothingsthatarelessimportanttothem.Irealizethismayseemlikesplittinghairs, but it is critical to understand that self-control doesn’t fail because theperson cannot muster the needed resources. Instead it fails because the effortseemstoogreatforthepayoff.Basically,Idon’twantthenextmurderertosaythathewasdepletedsohecouldn’tcontrolhimself.”

5.7 They enrolled two dozen people Megan Oaten and K. Cheng,“Longitudinal Gains in Self-Regulation from Regular Physical Exercise,”JournalofHealthPsychology11(2006):717–33.SeealsoRoyF.Baumeisteretal., “Self-Regulation and Personality: How Interventions Increase RegulatorySuccess, and How Depletion Moderates the Effects of Traits on Behavior,”JournalofPersonality74(2006):1773–1801.

5.8So they designed another experiment Megan Oaten and K. Cheng,“Improvements in Self-Control from Financial Monitoring,” Journal ofEconomicPsychology28(2007):487–501.

5.9 fifteen fewer cigarettes each day Roy F. Baumeister et al., “Self-RegulationandPersonality.”

5.10Theyenrolledforty-fiveIbid.5.11 Heatherton, a researcher at Dartmouth For a selection of

Heatherton’s fascinating work, see Todd F. Heatherton, Ph.D.,http://www.dartmouth.edu/~heath/#PubslastmodifiedJune30,2009.

5.12ManyoftheseschoolshavedramaticallyLehrer,“TheSecretofSelfControl.”

5.13 A five-year-old who can follow In a fact-checking email, Dr.Heatherton expanded upon this idea: “Exactly how the brain does this issomewhatunclear,althoughIproposethatpeopledevelopbetterfrontalcontrolover subcortical reward centers.… The repeated practice helps strengthen the

‘muscle’ (althoughclearly it isnotamuscle;more likely it isbetterprefrontalcorticalcontrolorthedevelopmentofastrongnetworkofbrainregionsinvolvedin controlling behavior).” For more information, see Todd F. Heatherton andDylanD.Wagner,“CognitiveNeuroscienceofSelf-RegulationFailure,”TrendsinCognitiveSciences15(2011):132–39.

5.14 They sponsored weight-loss classes In a fact-checking email, aStarbucks spokesmanwrote:“Currently,Starbucksoffersdiscountsatmanyofthenationalfitnessclubs.Webelievethatthisdiscussionshouldbemorearoundoverallhealthandwellnessoptionsprovidedtoourpartners,ratherthanfocusingspecificallyongymmemberships.Weknowthatourpartnerswanttofindwaysto bewell andwe continue to look for programs thatwill enable them to dothat.”

5.15 opening seven new stores every day Michael Herriman et al., “ACrackintheMug:CanStarbucksMendIt?”HarvardBusinessReview,October2008.

5.16In1992, aBritishpsychologist SheinaOrbell and Paschal Sheeran,“MotivationalandVolitionalProcessesinActionInitiation:AFieldStudyoftheRoleof Implementation Intentions,”Journal ofAppliedSocialPsychology 30,no.4(April2000):780–97.

5.17AnimpatientcrowdmightoverwhelmInafact-checkingstatement,aStarbucksspokesmanwrote:“Overallaccurateassessment,however,wewouldarguethatanyjobisstressful.Asmentionedabove,oneofthekeyelementsofourCustomerServiceVisionisthateverypartnerownsthecustomerexperience.Thisempowerment letspartnersknow that thecompany trusts them to resolveissuesandhelpscreatetheconfidencetosuccessfullynavigatethesemoments.”

5.18 The company identified specific rewards These details wereconfirmed with Starbucks employees and executives. In a fact-checkingstatement,however, aStarbucks spokesmanwrote:“This isnotaccurate.”Thespokesmandeclinedtoprovidefurtherdetails.

5.19WeListentothecustomer Ina fact-checkingstatement,aStarbucksspokesmanwrote: “While it is certainly not incorrect or wrong to refer to it,LATTE is no longer part of our formal training. In fact,we aremoving awayfrom more prescriptive steps like LATTE and are widening the guardrails toenablestorepartners toengageinproblemsolvingtoaddress themanyuniqueissues that arise in our stores. This model is very dependent on continualeffectivecoachingbyshiftsupervisors,store,anddistrictmanagers.”

5.20 Then they practice those plans In a fact-checking statement, aStarbucksspokesmanwrote:“Overallaccurateassessment—westrivetoprovide

toolsand trainingonbothskillsandbehaviors todeliverworld-classcustomerservice toeverycustomeroneveryvisit.Wewould like tonote,however, thatsimilartoLATTE(andforthesamereasons),wedonotformallyuseConnect,Discover,Respond.”

5.21“‘Thisisbetterthanavisit’”ConstanceL.Hays,“TheseDaystheCustomer Isn’t Always Treated Right,” The New York Times, December 23,1998.

5.22Schultz,themanwhobuiltStarbucks InformationonSchultz fromAdiIgnatius,“WeHadtoOwntheMistakes,”HarvardBusinessReview, July-August 2010;WilliamW.George andAndrewN.McLean, “Howard Schultz:Building Starbucks Community (A),” Harvard Business Review, June 2006;Koehn,Besharov,andMiller,“StarbucksCoffeeCompanyinthe21stCentury,”Harvard Business Review, June 2008; Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang,PourYourHeart Into It:HowStarbucksBuilt aCompanyOneCupat aTime(NewYork:Hyperion,1997);TaylorClark,Starbucked:ADoubleTallTaleofCaffeine, Commerce, and Culture (New York: Little, Brown, 2007); HowardBehar,It’sNotAbouttheCoffee:LessonsonPuttingPeopleFirstfromaLifeatStarbucks (NewYork: Portfolio Trade, 2009); JohnMoore,Tribal Knowledge(NewYork:Kaplan,2006);BryantSimon,EverythingbuttheCoffee:LearningAboutAmericafromStarbucks(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2009).Inafact-checkingstatement,aStarbucksspokesmanwrote:“Althoughataveryhighlevel,theoverallstoryiscorrect,agoodportionofthedetailsareincorrectorcannotbeverified.”Thatspokespersondeclinedtodetailwhatwasincorrectorprovideanyclarifications.

5.23MarkMuraven,whowasby thenM.Muraven,M.Gagné, andH.Rosman, “Helpful Self-Control: Autonomy Support, Vitality, and Depletion,”JournalofExperimentalandSocialPsychology44,no.3 (2008):573–85.Seealso Mark Muraven, “Practicing Self-Control Lowers the Risk of SmokingLapse,”PsychologyofAddictiveBehaviors24,no.3(2010):446–52;BrandonJ.Schmeichel andKathleenVohs, “Self-Affirmation andSelf-Control:AffirmingCore Values Counteracts Ego Depletion,” Journal of Personality and SocialPsychology 96, no. 4 (2009): 770–82; Mark Muraven, “Autonomous Self-ControlIsLessDepleting,”JournalofResearchinPersonality42,no.3(2008):763–70;MarkMuraven,DiklaShmueli,andEdwardBurkley,“ConservingSelf-Control Strength,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91, no. 3(2006): 524–37;Ayelet Fishbach, “TheDynamics of Self-Regulation,” in11thSydneySymposiumofSocialPsychology (NewYork:PsychologyPress,2001);TylerF.Stillmanetal.,“PersonalPhilosophyandPersonnelAchievement:Belief

in Free Will Predicts Better Job Performance,” Social Psychological andPersonalityScience1 (2010):43–50;MarkMuraven,“LackofAutonomyandSelf-Control: Performance Contingent Rewards Lead to Greater Depletion,”MotivationandEmotion31,no.4(2007):322–30.

5.24One2010studyThis study,asof the timeofwriting thisbook,wasunpublished and shared with me on the condition its authors would not berevealed. However, further details on employee empowerment studies can befound in C. O. Longenecker, J. A. Scazzero, and T. T. Standfield, “QualityImprovementThroughTeamGoalSetting,Feedback, andProblemSolving:AFieldExperiment,”InternationalJournalofQualityandReliabilityManagement11, no. 4 (1994): 45–52; Susan G. Cohen and Gerald E. Ledford, “TheEffectivenessofSelf-ManagingTeams:AQuasi-Experiment,”HumanRelations47, no. 1 (1994): 13–43; Ferris, Rosen, and Barnum, Handbook of HumanResourceManagement (Cambridge,Mass.:BlackwellPublishers,1995);LindaHonold, “A Review of the Literature on Employee Empowerment,”Empowerment in Organizations 5, no. 4 (1997): 202–12; Thomas C. Powell,“Total Quality Management and Competitive Advantage: A Review andEmpiricalStudy,”StrategicManagementJournal16(1995):15–37.

CHAPTERSIX6.1Afterward,hehad trouble stayingawakeDetails on this case come

fromavarietyofsources,includinginterviewswiththeprofessionalsinvolved,witnesses in the operating roomand emergency room, andnews accounts anddocumentspublishedbytheRhodeIslandDepartmentofHealth.Thoseincludeconsent orders published by the Rhode Island Department of Health; theStatement of Deficiencies and Plan of Correction published by Rhode IslandHospitalonAugust8,2007;FeliciaMello,“Wrong-SiteSurgeryCaseLeadstoProbe,”TheBostonGlobe,August4,2007;FeliceFreyer,“DoctortoBlameinWrong-SideSurgery,PanelSays,”TheProvidence Journal,October14,2007;Felice Freyer, “R.I. Hospital Cited forWrong-Side Surgery,” The ProvidenceJournal, August 3, 2007; “DoctorDisciplined forWrong-Site Brain Surgery,”AssociatedPress,August3,2007;FeliceFreyer,“SurgeonReliedonMemory,Not CT Scan,” The Providence Journal, August 24, 2007; Felicia Mello,“Wrong-Site Surgery Case Leads to Probe 2ndCase of Error at R.I. HospitalThis Year,” The Boston Globe, August 4, 2007; “Patient Dies After SurgeonOperatesonWrongSideofHead,”AssociatedPress,August24,2007;“DoctorBack toWorkAfterWrong-SiteBrainSurgery,”AssociatedPress,October15,2007;FeliceFreyer,“R.I.HospitalFinedAfterSurgicalError,”TheProvidenceJournal,November27,2007.

6.2UnlessthebloodwasdrainedAccountsofthiscaseweredescribedbymultipleindividuals,andsomeversionsofeventsdifferwithoneanother.Thosedifferences,whereappropriate,aredescribedinthenotes.

6.3 In 2002, the National Coalition on Health Carehttp://www.rhodeislandhospital.org.

6.4“Theycan’ttakeawayourpride.”MarkPratt,“NursesRallyonEveof Contract Talks,” Associated Press, June 22, 2000; “Union Wants MoreCommunitySupportDuringHospitalContractDispute,”AssociatedPress,June25, 2000; “Nurses Say Staff Shortage Hurting Patients,” Associated Press,August 31, 2000; “Health Department Surveyors Find Hospitals Stressed,”Associated Press, November 18, 2001; “R.I. Hospital Union Delivers StrikeNotice,”AssociatedPress,June20,2000.

6.5 Administrators eventually agreed to limit In a statement, aspokeswoman for Rhode Island Hospital said: “The strike was not aboutrelationshipsbetweenphysiciansandnurses,itwasaboutwagesandworkrules.Mandatoryovertime is a commonpractice andhasbeenan issue inunionizedhospitalsacross thecountry. Idon’tknowwhether thereweresignswith thosemessagesduringthe2000unionnegotiations,butifso,theywouldhavereferredtomandatoryovertime,notrelationshipsbetweenphysiciansandnurses.”

6.6 to make sure mistakes are avoided American Academy ofOrthopaedic Surgeons Joint Commission Guidelines,http://www3.aaos.org/member/safety/guidelines.cfm.

6.7 A half hour later RIDH Statement of Deficiencies and Plan ofCorrection,August7,2007.

6.8TherewasnoclearindicationofInastatement,RhodeIslandHospitalsaid some of these details are incorrect, and referred to the August 7, 2007,RIDHStatement ofDeficiencies and Plan ofCorrection. That document says,“There is no evidence in the medical record that the Nurse Practitioner,employedby the coveringNeurosurgeon, received, or attempted to obtain, thenecessaryinformationrelatedtothepatient’sCTscan…toconfirmthecorrectside of the bleed and [sic] prior to having the consent form signed forcraniotomy surgery.… The medical record indicates that the surgical consentwasobtainedbyaNursePractitionerworkingfortheNeurosurgeonwhowasoncall.Althoughthesurgicalconsentindicatesthattheproceduretobeperformedwasa‘Rightcraniotomyandevacuationofsubduralhematoma,’theside(right)wasnotinitiallyenteredontotheconsentform.Interviewon8/2/07at2:05PMwith the Director of Perioperative Surgery indicated that patient … wastransported from the emergency department with an incomplete (as to side)

signed surgical consent. The Circulating Nurse noted that the site of thecraniotomy was not included on the signed surgical consent as required byhospital policy.She indicated that the site of the craniotomy surgerywas thenaddedbytheNeurosurgeon, in theoperatingroom,oncehewasquestionedbythe Circulating Nurse regarding the site of the surgery.” In a follow-upstatement, Rhode Island Hospital wrote that the surgeon “and his assistantfinishedthespinalsurgery,theORwasreadied,andwhentheywereinthehall,abouttoreturntotheOR,theORnursesawtheconsentformdidnotincludethesideofthesurgeryandtold[thesurgeon].Thedoctortooktheconsentfromthenurseandwrote‘right’onit.”

6.9“Wehavetooperateimmediately.”Inalettersentinresponsetofact-checkinginquiries,thephysicianinvolvedinthiscasecontradictedorchallengedsomeoftheeventsdescribedinthischapter.Thephysicianwrotethatthenursein this casewas not concerned that the physicianwas operating on thewrongside.Thenurse’sconcernfocusedonpaperworkissues.Thephysiciancontendedthat thenursedidnotquestionthephysician’sexpertiseoraccuracy.Thenursedidnot ask thephysician topullup the films, according to thephysician.Thephysiciansaidthatheaskedthenursetofindthefamilytoseeifitwaspossibleto“redotheconsentformproperly,”ratherthantheotherwayaround.Whenthefamilycouldnotbe found,according to thephysician, thephysicianasked forclarificationfromthenurseregardingtheproceduretoimprovethepaperwork.Thenurse,according to thephysician, saidhewasn’t sure,andasa result, thephysiciandecidedto“putacorrectiontotheconsentformandwriteanoteinthechartdetailing thatweneeded toproceed.”Thephysiciansaidhenever sworeandwasnotexcited.

RhodeIslandHospital,whenaskedaboutthisaccountofevents,saiditwasnotaccurateandreferredtotheAugust7,2007,RIDHStatementofDeficienciesand Plan of Correction. In a statement, the hospital wrote, “During ourinvestigation,noonesaidtheyheard[thesurgeon]saythatthepatientwasgoingtodie.”

“Those quotes with all the excitement and irritation in mymanner, evenswearing was completely inaccurate,” the physician wrote. “I was calm andprofessional.IshowedsomeemotiononlyforabriefmomentwhenIrealizedIhadstartedonthewrongside.Thecriticalproblemwasthatwewouldnothavefilmstolookatduringtheprocedure.…Nothavingfilmstoviewduringthecaseismalpracticebythehospital;howeverwehadnochoicebuttoproceedwithoutfilms.”

RhodeIslandHospitalrespondedthattheinstitution“can’tcommenton[the

surgeon’s] statement but would note that the hospital assumed that surgeonswouldputfilmsupastheyperformedsurgeryiftherewasanyquestionaboutthecase.Afterthisevent,thehospitalmandatedthatfilmswouldbeavailablefortheteam to view.” In a second statement, the hospitalwrote the surgeon “did notswear during this exchange. The nurse told [the surgeon] he had not receivedreport from theED and the nurse spent severalminutes in the room trying toreachthecorrectpersonintheED.TheNPindicatedhehadreceivedreportfromtheEDphysician.However, theCRNA(nurseanesthetist)needed toknowthedrugsthathadbeengivenintheED,sothenursewasgoingthrutherecordtogethertheinfo.”

TheRhodeIslandBoardofMedicalLicensureandDiscipline,inaconsentorder, wrote that the physician “failed tomake an accurate assessment of thelocationofthehematomapriortoperformingthesurgicalevacuation.”TheStateDepartment of Health found that “an initial review of this incident revealshospital surgical safeguards are deficient and that some systems were notfollowed.”

Representatives of both the Board and Department of Health declined tocommentfurther.

6.10 the surgeon yelled In a statement, a representative of Rhode IslandHospitalwrote“Ibelieve[thesurgeon]wastheonewhonoticedthattherewasnobleeding—therearevariousversionsastowhathesaidatthattime.Heaskedforthefilmstobepulledup,confirmedtheerrorandtheyproceededtocloseandperformtheprocedureonthecorrectside.Exceptfor[thesurgeon’s]comments,thestaffsaidtheroomwasveryquietoncetheyrealizedtheerror.”

6.11everworkingatRhodeIslandHospitalagainInthephysician’sletterrespondingtofact-checkinginquiries,hewrotethat“noonehasclaimedthatthismistakecost[thepatient]hislife.Thefamilyneverclaimedwrongfuldeath,andtheypersonally expressed their gratitude tome for savinghis life on that day.Thehospitalandthenursepractitionercombinedpaidmoretowardsa$140,000settlement than I did.”Rhode IslandHospital,when asked about this account,declinedtocomment.

6.12Thebook’sblandcoveranddauntingR.R.NelsonandS.G.Winter,AnEvolutionaryTheoryofEconomicChange(Cambridge,Mass.:BelknapPressofHarvardUniversityPress,1982).

6.13 candidates didn’t pretend to understand R. R. Nelson and S. G.Winter, “The Schumpeterian Tradeoff Revisited,” The American EconomicReview 72 (1982): 114–32. Winter, in a note in response to fact-checkingquestions,wrote:“The‘Schumpeterian tradeoff’(subjectofa1982AERpaper

andakindredchapter,14,inourbook)wasonlyafacetoftheproject,andnotamotivating one. Nelson and I were discussing a collection of issues aroundtechnological change, economic growth and firm behavior long before 1982,long beforewewere together at Yale, and particularly at RAND in 1966–68.NelsonwenttoYalein1968;IwenttoMichiganthatyearandjoinedtheYalefacultyin1976.Wewere‘onthetrail’ofthe1982bookfrom1967,andstartedpublishingrelatedworkin1973.…Inshort,whilethe‘Schumpeter’influenceisobviouslystrongintheheritage,thespecific‘Schumpeteriantradeoff’aspectisnot.”

6.14WithintheworldofbusinessstrategyForanoverviewofsubsequentresearch, see M. C. Becker, “Organizational Routines: A Review of theLiterature,” Industrial and Corporate Change 13 (2004): 643–78; Marta S.Feldman, “Organizational Routines as a Source of Continuous Change,”OrganizationScience11(2000):611–29.

6.15 before arriving at their central conclusion Winter, in a note inresponse to fact-checking questions, wrote: “There was very little empiricalworkofmyown,andevenlessthatgotpublished—mostofthatbeingNelsononaspects of technological change. In the domain of firm behavior, we mostlystoodontheshouldersofthegiantsoftheCarnegieSchool(Simon,Cyert,andMarch), and relied on a wide range of other sources—technology studies,businesshistories,developmenteconomics,somepsychologists…andMichaelPolanyi,howeveryouclassifyhim.”

6.16thousandsofemployees’independentdecisionsWinter, inanoteinresponsetofact-checkingquestions,clarifiedthatsuchpatternsthatemergefromthousands of employees’ independent decisions are an aspect of routines, butroutines also “get shaped from a lot of directions, one of which is deliberatemanagerialdesign.Weemphasized,however,thatwhenthathappens,theactualroutine that emerges, as opposed to the nominal one that was deliberatelydesigned,isinfluenced,again,byalotofchoicesattheindividuallevel,aswellasotherconsiderations(seebook[EvolutionaryTheoryofEconomicChange]p.108).”

6.17 These organizational habits—or “routines” For more on thefascinating topicof howorganizational routines emerge andwork, seePaulS.Adler,BarbaraGoldoftas,andDavidI.Levine,“FlexibilityVersusEfficiency?ACase Study of Model Changeovers in the Toyota Production System,”Organization Science 10 (1999): 43–67; B. E. Ashforth and Y. Fried, “TheMindlessness ofOrganisationalBehaviors,”HumanRelations 41 (1988): 305–29;DondeP.Ashmos,DennisDuchon,andReubenR.McDaniel,“Participation

in Strategic DecisionMaking: The Role of Organisational Predisposition andIssueInterpretation,”DecisionSciences29(1998):25–51;M.C.Becker,“TheInfluence of Positive and Negative Normative Feedback on the Developmentand Persistence ofGroupRoutines,” doctoral thesis, PurdueUniversity, 2001;M. C. Becker and N. Lazaric, “The Role of Routines in Organizations: AnEmpirical and Taxonomic Investigation,” doctoral thesis, Judge Institute ofManagement,University ofCambridge, 2004;Bessant,Caffyn, andGallagher,“The Influence of Knowledge in the Replication of Routines,” EconomieAppliquée LVI, 65–94; “An Evolutionary Model of Continuous ImprovementBehaviour,”Technovation21(2001):67–77;TilmannBetsch,KlausFiedler,andJulia Brinkmann, “Behavioral Routines in Decision Making: The Effects ofNovelty in Task Presentation and Time Pressure onRoutineMaintenance andDeviation,” European Journal of Psychology 28 (1998): 861–78; TilmannBetschetal.,“WhenPriorKnowledgeOverrulesNewEvidence:AdaptiveUseof Decision Strategies and Role Behavioral Routines,” Swiss Journal ofPsychology58(1999):151–60;TilmannBetschetal.,“TheEffectsofRoutineStrengthonAdaptationandInformationSearchinRecurrentDecisionMaking,”OrganisationalBehaviourandHumanDecisionProcesses84(2001):23–53;J.Burns, “The Dynamics of Accounting Change: Interplay Between NewPractices,Routines,Institutions,Power,andPolitics,”Accounting,AuditingandAccountabilityJournal13 (2000):566–86;M.D.Cohen,“IndividualLearningand Organisational Routine: Emerging Connections,”Organisation Science 2(1991): 135–39; M. Cohen and P. Bacdayan, “Organisational Routines AreStored as Procedural Memory: Evidence from a Laboratory Study,”OrganisationScience5(1994):554–68;M.D.Cohenetal.,“RoutinesandOtherRecurring Action Patterns of Organisations: Contemporary Research Issues,”Industrial and Corporate Change 5 (1996): 653–98; B. Coriat, “Variety,Routines,andNetworks:TheMetamorphosisofFordistFirms,” IndustrialandCorporateChange4(1995):205–27;B.CoriatandG.Dosi,“LearningHowtoGovern and Learning How to Solve Problems: On the Co-evolution ofCompetences, Conflicts, and Organisational Routines,” in The Role ofTechnology, Strategy, Organisation, and Regions, ed. A. D. J. Chandler, P.Hadstroem, and O. Soelvell (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998); L.D’adderio, “ConfiguringSoftware,ReconfiguringMemories: The Influence ofIntegratedSystemsontheReproductionofKnowledgeandRoutines,”IndustrialandCorporateChange12(2003):321–50;P.A.David,PathDependenceandthe Quest for Historical Economics: One More Chorus of the Ballad ofQWERTY (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997); G. Delmestri, “Do AllRoads Lead to Rome … or Berlin? The Evolution of Intra-and Inter-

organisationalRoutinesintheMachine-BuildingIndustry,”OrganisationStudies19 (1998): 639–65; Giovanni Dosi, Richard R. Nelson, and Sidney Winter,“Introduction: The Nature and Dynamics of Organisational Capabilities,” TheNatureandDynamicsofOrganisationalCapabilities,ed.G.Dosi,R.R.Nelson,andS.G.Winter(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2000),1–22;G.DowellandA. Swaminathan, “Racing and Back-pedalling into the Future: New ProductIntroduction and Organisational Mortality in the US Bicycle Industry, 1880–1918,” Organisation Studies 21 (2000): 405–31; A. C. Edmondson, R. M.Bohmer, and G. P. Pisano, “Disrupted Routines: Team Learning and NewTechnologyImplementationinHospitals,”AdministrativeScienceQuarterly46(2001): 685–716; M. Egidi, “Routines, Hierarchies of Problems, ProceduralBehaviour:SomeEvidencefromExperiments,”inTheRationalFoundationsofEconomicBehaviour,ed.K.Arrowetal. (London:Macmillan,1996),303–33;M.S.Feldman, “OrganisationalRoutines as aSourceofContinuousChange,”OrganisationScience 11 (2000): 611–29;Marta S. Feldman, “A PerformativePerspectiveonStabilityandChangeinOrganizationalRoutines,”IndustrialandCorporate Change 12 (2003): 727–52;Marta S. Feldman andB. T. Pentland,“Reconceptualizing Organizational Routines as a Source of Flexibility andChange,” Administrative Science Quarterly 48 (2003): 94–118; Marta S.Feldman and A. Rafaeli, “Organisational Routines as Sources of Connectionsand Understandings,” Journal of Management Studies 39 (2002): 309–31; A.GarapinandA.Hollard,“RoutinesandIncentives inGroupTasks,”JournalofEvolutionary Economics 9 (1999): 465–86; C. J. Gersick and J. R.Hackman,“HabitualRoutinesinTask-PerformingGroups,”OrganisationalBehaviourandHumanDecisionProcesses47(1990):65–97;R.Grant,“TowardaKnowledge-BasedTheoryoftheFirm,”StrategicManagementJournal17(1996):109–22;R.Heiner,“TheOriginofPredictableBehaviour,”AmericanEconomicReview73 (1983): 560–95; G. M. Hodgson, “The Ubiquity of Habits and Rules,”Cambridge Journal of Economics 21 (1997): 663–84; G. M. Hodgson, “TheMysteryof theRoutine:TheDarwinianDestinyofAnEvolutionaryTheoryofEconomicChange,”RevueÉconomique54(2003):355–84;G.M.HodgsonandT. Knudsen, “The Firm as an Interactor: Firms as Vehicles for Habits andRoutines,” Journal of Evolutionary Economics 14, no. 3 (2004): 281–307; A.Inam,“Institutions,Routines,andCrises:Post-earthquakeHousingRecoveryinMexico City and Los Angeles,” doctoral thesis, University of SouthernCalifornia,1997;A.Inam,“Institutions,Routines,andCrises—Post-earthquakeHousingRecoveryinMexicoCityandLosAngeles,”Cities16(1999):391–407;O.JonesandM.Craven,“BeyondtheRoutine:InnovationManagementandtheTeaching Company Scheme,” Technovation 21 (2001): 267–79; M. Kilduff,

“PerformanceandInteractionRoutinesinMultinationalCorporations,”Journalof InternationalBusinessStudies23 (1992):133–45;N.Lazaric,“TheRoleofRoutines,Rules,andHabits inCollectiveLearning:SomeEpistemologicalandOntologicalConsiderations,”EuropeanJournalofEconomicandSocialSystems14(2000):157–71;N.LazaricandB.Denis,“HowandWhyRoutinesChange:Some Lessons from the Articulation of Knowledge with ISO 9002ImplementationintheFoodIndustry,”EconomiesetSociétés6(2001):585–612;B.LevittandJ.March,“OrganisationalLearning,”AnnualReviewofSociology14 (1988): 319–40; P. Lillrank, “The Quality of Standard, Routine, andNonroutineProcesses,”OrganizationStudies 24 (2003):215–33;S.Massini etal., “The Evolution of Organizational Routines Among Large Western andJapaneseFirms,”ResearchPolicy31(2002):1333–48;T.J.McKeown,“PlansandRoutines,BureaucraticBargaining,andtheCubanMissileCrisis,”Journalof Politics 63 (2001): 1163–90; A. P. Minkler, “The Problem with DispersedKnowledge: Firms in Theory and Practice,” Kyklos 46 (1993): 569–87; P.Morosini,S.Shane,andH.Singh,“NationalCulturalDistanceandCross-BorderAcquisitionPerformance,”JournalofInternationalBusinessStudies29(1998):137–58;A.Narduzzo,E.Rocco,andM.Warglien,“TalkingAboutRoutinesintheField,” inTheNatureandDynamicsofOrganizationalCapabilities,ed.G.Dosi,R.Nelson,andS.Winter(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2000),27–50;R. R. Nelson, “Routines,” in The Elgar Companion to Institutional andEvolutionary Economics, vol. 2, ed. G. Hodgson, W. Samuels, and M. Tool(Aldershot, U.K.: Edward Elgar, 1992), 249–53; B. T. Pentland,“Conceptualizing and Measuring Variety in the Execution of OrganizationalWorkProcesses,”ManagementScience49 (2003):857–70;B.T.PentlandandH. Rueter, “Organisational Routines as Grammars of Action,” AdministrativeSciencesQuarterly39(1994):484–510;L.PerrenandP.Grant,“TheEvolutionof Management Accounting Routines in Small Businesses: A SocialConstructionPerspective,”ManagementAccountingResearch 11 (2000): 391–411;D.J.Phillips,“AGenealogicalApproachtoOrganizationalLifeChances:The Parent–Progeny Transfer Among SiliconValley Law Firms, 1946–1996,”AdministrativeScienceQuarterly47(2002):474–506;S.PostrelandR.Rumelt,“Incentives,Routines,andSelf-Command,”IndustrialandCorporateChange1(1992): 397–425; P. D. Sherer, N. Rogovksy, and N. Wright, “What DrivesEmployment Relations in Taxicab Organisations?” Organisation Science 9(1998):34–48;H.A.Simon,“ProgramsasFactorsofProduction,”Proceedingsof theNineteenthAnnualWinterMeeting, 1966, Industrial RelationsResearchAssociation, 1967, 178–88; L. A. Suchman, “Office Procedure as PracticalAction: Models of Work and System Design,” ACM Transactions on Office

InformationSystems 1 (1983): 320–28;G. Szulanski, “Appropriability and theChallengeofScope:BancOneRoutinizesReplication,”inNatureandDynamicsofOrganisational Capabilities, ed. G. Dosi, R. R. Nelson, and S. G. Winter(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 69–97; D. Tranfield and S. Smith,“The Strategic Regeneration of Manufacturing by Changing Routines,”International Journal of Operations and Production Management 18 (1998):114–29;KarlE.Weick, “TheVulnerableSystem:AnAnalysis of theTenerifeAirDisaster,”JournalofManagement16(1990):571–93;KarlE.Weick,“TheCollapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann–Gulch Disaster,”Administrative ScienceQuarterly 38 (1993): 628–52; H.M.Weiss and D. R.Ilgen, “Routinized Behaviour in Organisations,” Journal of BehavioralEconomics14(1985):57–67;S.G.Winter,“Economic‘NaturalSelection’andtheTheoryoftheFirm,”YaleEconomicEssays4(1964):225–72;S.G.Winter,“OptimizationandEvolutionintheTheoryoftheFirm,”inAdaptiveEconomicModels,ed.R.DayandT.Groves(NewYork:AcademicPress,1975),73–118;S.G.WinterandG.Szulanski,“ReplicationasStrategy,”OrganizationScience12 (2001): 730–43; S. G. Winter and G. Szulanski, “Replication ofOrganisational Routines: Conceptualizing the Exploitation of KnowledgeAssets,” in The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital andOrganisationalKnowledge:ACollectionofReadings,ed.N.BontisandC.W.Choo(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2001),207–21;M.Zollo,J.Reuer,and H. Singh, “Interorganizational Routines and Performance in StrategicAlliances,”OrganizationScience13(2002):701–13.

6.18 hundreds of unwritten rules Esbjoern Segelod, “The Content andRole of the Investment Manual: A Research Note,”Management AccountingResearch 8, no. 2 (1997): 221–31; Anne Marie Knott and Bill McKelvey,“Nirvana Efficiency: A Comparative Test of Residual Claims and Routines,”Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 38 (1999): 365–83; J. H.Gittell, “Coordinating Mechanisms in Care Provider Groups: RelationalCoordination as a Mediator and Input Uncertainty as a Moderator ofPerformanceEffects,”ManagementScience 48 (2002): 1408–26;A.M.KnottandHartPosen,“FirmR&DBehaviorandEvolvingTechnologyinEstablishedIndustries,”OrganizationScience20(2009):352–67.

6.19companiesneedtooperateG.M.Hodgson,EconomicsandEvolution(Cambridge: Polity Press, 1993); Richard N. Langlois, “Transaction-CostEconomicsinRealTime,”IndustrialandCorporateChange(1992):99–127;R.R. Nelson, “Routines”; R. Coombs and J. S. Metcalfe, “Organizing forInnovation:CoordinatingDistributed InnovationCapabilities,” inCompetence,

Governance, and Entrepreneurship, ed. J. N. Foss and V. Mahnke (Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2000);R.AmitandM.Belcourt,“HRMProcesses:AValue-Creating Source of Competitive Advantage,” European ManagementJournal17(1999):174–81.

6.20Theyprovideakindof“organizationalmemory”G.Dosi,D.Teece,and S. G. Winter, “Toward a Theory of Corporate Coherence: PreliminaryRemarks,” in Technology and Enterprise in a Historical Perspective, ed. G.Dosi,R.Giannetti, andP.A.Toninelli (Oxford:ClarendonPress, 1992), 185–211;S.G.Winter,Y.M.Kaniovski,andG.Dosi,“ABaselineModelofIndustryEvolution,” Journal of Evolutionary Economics 13, no. 4 (2003): 355–83; B.LevittandJ.G.March,“OrganizationalLearning,”AnnualReviewofSociology14 (1988): 319–40; D. Teece and G. Pisano, “The Dynamic Capabilities ofFirms:AnIntroduction,”IndustrialandCorporateChange3(1994):537–56;G.M.Hodgson,“TheApproachofInstitutionalEconomics,”JournalofEconomicLiterature 36 (1998): 166–92; Phillips, “Genealogical Approach toOrganizational Life Chances”; M. Zollo, J. Reuer, and H. Singh,“Interorganizational Routines and Performance in Strategic Alliances,”OrganizationScience13(2002):701–13;P.Lillrank,“TheQualityofStandard,Routine,andNonroutineProcesses,”OrganizationStudies24(2003):215–33.

6.21RoutinesreduceuncertaintyM.C.Becker,“OrganizationalRoutines:AReviewoftheLiterature,”IndustrialandCorporateChange13,no.4(2004):643–78.

6.22But among the most important benefits B. Coriat and G. Dosi,“LearningHow toGovern andLearningHow to Solve Problems:On theCo-evolutionofCompetences,Conflicts,andOrganisationalRoutines,”inTheRoleof Technology, Strategy, Organisation, and Regions, ed. A. D. J. Chandler, P.Hadstroem, and O. Soelvell (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998); C. I.Barnard,TheFunctionsoftheExecutive(Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress, 1938); P. A. Mangolte, “La dynamique des connaissances tacites etarticulées:uneapprochesocio-cognitive,”EconomieAppliquée50,no.2(1997):105–34; P. A. Mangolte, “Le concept de ‘routine organisationelle’ entrecognition et institution,” doctoral thesis, Université Paris-Nord, U.F.R. deSciences Economiques et de Gestion, Centre de Recherche en EconomieIndustrielle, 1997; P. A. Mangolte, “Organisational Learning and theOrganisationalLink:TheProblemofConflict,PoliticalEquilibriumandTruce,”European Journal of Economic and Social Systems 14 (2000): 173–90; N.Lazaric and P. A. Mangolte, “Routines et mémoire organisationelle: unquestionnementcritiquedelaperspectivecognitiviste,”RevueInternationalede

Systémique12(1998):27–49;N.LazaricandB.Denis,“HowandWhyRoutinesChange: Some Lessons from the Articulation of Knowledge with ISO 9002ImplementationintheFoodIndustry,”EconomiesetSociétés6(2001):585–612;N.Lazaric,P.A.Mangolte,andM.L.Massué,“ArticulationandCodificationofKnow-HowintheSteelIndustry:SomeEvidencefromBlastFurnaceControlinFrance,” Research Policy 32 (2003): 1829–47; J. Burns, “The Dynamics ofAccounting Change: Interplay Between New Practices, Routines, Institutions,Power, and Politics,” Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 13(2000):566–86.

6.23 you’ll probably get taken care of over time Winter, in a note inresponse to fact-checkingquestions,wrote:“The ‘routineas truce’ formulationhasturnedouttohaveparticularlylonglegs,andIthinkthatisbecauseanybodywithsomeexperienceinworkinginsideanorganizationquicklyrecognizesitasaconvenientlabelforthesortsofgoings-onthattheyareveryfamiliarwith.…But some of your example about the salesperson evokes issues of trust,cooperation,andorganizationalculture thatgobeyondthescopeof‘routineastruce.’ Those are subtle issues, which can be illuminated from a variety ofdirections.The ‘routine as truce’ idea is a lotmore specific than related ideasabout‘culture.’Itsays,‘Ifyou,Mr.orMs.Manager,VISIBLYDEFECTfromawidelysharedunderstandingof‘howwedothingsaroundhere,’youaregoingtoencounterstrongresistance,fueledbylevelsofsuspicionaboutyourmotivesthat are far beyond anything you might reasonably expect. And if theseresponses are not entirely independent of the quality of the arguments youadvance,theywillbesonearlyindependentthatyouwillfindithardtoseeanydifference.’So,forexample,supposewetakeyour‘redthisyear’exampledownthe roadabit, into the implementationphase,whereenormousefforthasgoneintomakingsurethattheredonthesweateristhesameonthecatalogcoverandoncatalogp.17andbothofthosematchwhatisintheCEO’shead,andthatredis also the same one produced in response to contracts with suppliers inMalaysia,Thailand,andGuatemala.Thatstuffisattheotherendoftheroutinesspectrumfromthedecisionon‘red’;peopleareengagedincomplexcoordinatedbehavior—it is more like the semiconductor case. People in the organizationthink theyknowwhat theyaredoing (because theydidmoreor less the samewiththegreenpulloversfeaturedlastyear),andtheyareworkinglikehelltodoit,moreorlessontime.Thisisgutsmanagementstuff,anditisveryhardwork,thankspartly,inthiscase,tothe(alleged)factthatthehumaneyecandistinguish7milliondifferentcolors.Intothat,YOU,Mr.orMs.Manager,comeinandsay‘Sorry,it’samistake,itshouldbepurple.Iknowwearewelldowntheroadwithourcommitmenttored,buthearmeout,because…’Ifyouhavelinedupstrong

alliesintheorganizationwhoalsofavorabelatedswitchtopurple,youhavejusttouchedoffanotherbattleinthe‘civilwar,’withuncertainconsequence.Ifyoudon’t have such allies, your espoused cause and you are both dead in theorganization,inshortorder.Anditdoesn’tmatterwhatlogicandevidenceyouofferfollowingyour‘because.’”

6.24 of throwing a rival overboard” Nelson and Winter, EvolutionaryTheoryofEconomicChange,110.

6.25 But that’s not enough Rik Wenting, “Spinoff Dynamics and theSpatial Formation of the Fashion Design Industry, 1858–2005,” Journal ofEconomicGeography8,no.5(2008):593–614.Wenting,inaresponsetofact-checkingquestions,wrote:“NelsonandWinterspeakoforganisationalroutinesasrepetitivecollectiveactionswhichdeterminefirmbehaviourandperformance.Notablytheyarguethatroutinesarehardtocodifyandpartofcompanyculture,and as such are hard to change. Also, routines are amajor reasonwhy firmsdifferintheirperformanceandthecontinueddifferenceovertimebetweenfirms.TheliteraturestartedbyStevenKlepperinterpretedthisaspectofroutinesaspartofthereasonwhyspinoffsareinperformancesimilartotheirparents.Iusethissamereasoninginthefashiondesignindustry:fashiondesignentrepreneursformtoalargeextenttheirnewfirm’sblueprintbasedontheorganisationalroutineslearned at their former employer. In my PhD research, I found evidence thatfromthestartofthehautecoutureindustry(1858Paris),spinoffdesignerfirms(whetherlocatedinNY,Paris,MilanorLondon,etc.)doindeedhaveasimilarperformanceastheirmotherfirms.”

6.26andfoundtherightalliancesDetailsregardingtruces—asopposedtoroutines—within the fashion industry draw on interviews with designersthemselves.Wenting,inaresponsetofact-checkingquestions,wrote:“NotethatIdonotspeakof trucesbetweenentrepreneurandformeremployer.This isanextensionof theorganisationalroutinesliteratureIdidnotspecificallyexplore.However, in my research on the ‘inheritage’ effect between motherfirm andspinoff, the roleof ‘reputation’and‘socialnetwork’areoften timesmentionedbydesignersinhowtheyexperienceadvantagesoftheirmothercompany.”

6.27 Philip Brickell, a forty-three-year-old Rodney Cowton and TonyDawe, “Inquiry Praises PC Who Helped to Fight King’s Cross Blaze,” TheTimes,February5,1988.

6.28 at the bottom of a nearby escalator Details on this incident comefrom a variety of sources, including interviews, as well as D. Fennell,Investigation into the King’s Cross Underground Fire (Norwich, U.K.:StationeryOfficeBooks,1988);P.Chambers,Body115:TheStoryof theLast

Victim of the King’s Cross Fire (NewYork: JohnWiley and Sons, 2006); K.Moodie, “The King’s Cross Fire: Damage Assessment and Overview of theTechnical Investigation,”FireSafety Journal 18 (1992): 13–33;A.F.Roberts,“TheKing’sCrossFire:ACorrelationoftheEyewitnessAccountsandResultsof the Scientific Investigation,” Fire Safety Journal, 1992; “Insight: KingsCross,”The Sunday Times, November 22, 1987; “RelativesAngryOver TubeInquest;King’sCrossFire,”TheTimes,October5,1988.

6.29 if they aren’t designed just right In the Fennell report, theinvestigator was ambiguous about howmuch of the tragedy could have beenavertediftheburningtissuehadbeenreported.TheFennellreportisdeliberatelyagnosticaboutthispoint:“Itwillremainamatterofconjecturewhatwouldhavehappened if the London Fire Brigade had been summoned to deal with theburning tissue.… It is amatter of speculationwhat course thingswould havetakenifhehadfollowedthenewprocedureandcalledtheLondonFireBrigadeimmediately.”

6.30“Whydidn’tsomeonetakecharge?”“AnswersThatMustSurface—The King’s Cross Fire Is Over but the Controversy Continues,” The Times,December 2, 1987; “Businessman Praised for Rescuing Two from BlazingStationStairwell;King’sCrossFireInquest,”TheTimes,October6,1998.

6.31 responsibility for passengers’ safety In a statement in response tofact-checkingquestions,aspokesmanforLondonUndergroundandRailwrote:“LondonUndergroundhasgiventhiscarefulconsiderationandwillnot,onthisoccasion, be able to provide further comment or assistance on this. LU’sresponsetotheKing’sCrossfireandtheorganisationalchangesmadetoaddresstheissuesarewell-documented,andthesequenceofeventsleadingtothefireiscovered in great detail in Mr Fennell’s report, so LU does not consider itnecessarytoaddmorecommenttothealreadylargebodyofworkonthematter.Iappreciatethisisnottheresponseyouwerehopingfor.”

6.32 the hospital was fined another $450,000 Felice Freyer, “AnotherWrong-Site Surgery at R.I. Hospital,” The Providence Journal, October 28,2009;“InvestigatorsProbing5thWrong-SiteSurgeryatRhode IslandHospitalSince2007,”AssociatedPress,October23,2009;“R.I.HospitalFined$150,000in 5th Wrong-Site Surgery Since 2007, Video Cameras to Be Installed,”Associated Press, November 2, 2009; Letter to Rhode Island Hospital fromRhodeIslandDepartmentofHealth,November2,2009;LettertoRhodeIslandHospitalfromRhodeIslandDepartmentofHealth,October26,2010;LettertoRhode Island Hospital from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,October25,2010.

6.33 “The problem’s not going away,” “ ‘The Problem’s Not GoingAway’: Mistakes Lead to Wrong-Side Brain Surgeries at R.I. Hospital,”AssociatedPress,December15,2007.

6.34 “everything was out of control.” In a statement, a Rhode IslandHospital spokeswoman wrote: “I never heard of any reporter ‘ambushing’ adoctor—andneversawanysuch incidentonanyof thenewsstations.While Ican’t comment on individual perceptions, the quote implies a media frenzy,whichdidnothappen.While the incidents receivednationalattention,noneofthenationalmediacametoRhodeIsland.”

6.35 a sense of crisis emerged In a statement, a Rhode Island Hospitalspokeswomanwrote:“Iwouldnotdescribetheatmosphereasbeingoneofcrisis—itwasmoreaccuratelyoneofdemoralizationamongmany.Manypeoplefeltbeleaguered.”

6.36tomakesuretimeoutsoccurredThecameraswereinstalledaspartofaconsentorderwiththestate’sdepartmentofhealth.

6.37 A computerized system Rhode Island Hospital Surgical SafetyBackgrounder,providedbyhospitaladministrators.MoreinformationonRhodeIslandHospital’ssafetyinitiativesisavailableathttp://rhodeislandhospital.org.

6.38ButonceasenseofcrisisgrippedFormoreonhowcrisescancreatean atmosphere where change is possible in medicine, and how wrong-sitesurgeriesoccur,seeDouglasMcCarthyandDavidBlumenthal,“StoriesfromtheSharpEnd:CaseStudiesinSafetyImprovement,”MilbankQuarterly84(2006):165–200;J.W.Sendersetal.,“TheEgocentricSurgeonortheRootsofWrongSideSurgery,”QualityandSafetyinHealthCare17(2008):396–400;MaryR.Kwaan et al., “Incidence, Patterns, and Prevention of Wrong-Site Surgery,”ArchivesofSurgery141,no.4(April2006):353–57.

6.39OtherhospitalshavemadesimilarForadiscussiononthistopic,seeMcCarthy and Blumenthal, “Stories from the Sharp End”; Atul Gawande,Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance (New York: Metropolitan Books,2008);AtulGawande,TheChecklistManifesto:HowtoGetThingsRight(NewYork:MetropolitanBooks,2009).

6.40InthewakeofthattragedyNASA,“ReporttothePresident:Actionsto Implement the Recommendations of the Presidential Commission on theSpaceShuttleChallengerAccident,” July14, 1986;MatthewW.Seeger, “TheChallengerTragedyandSearchforLegitimacy,”CommunicationStudies37,no.3(1986):147–57;JohnNobleWilford,“NewNASASystemAimstoEncourageBlowingtheWhistle,”TheNewYorkTimes,June5,1987;JosephLorenzoHall,“ColumbiaandChallenger:OrganizationalFailureatNASA,”SpacePolicy19,

no. 4 (November 2003), 239–47; Barbara Romzek and Melvin Dubnick,“Accountability in the Public Sector: Lessons from theChallenger Tragedy,”PublicAdministrationReview47,no.3(May–June1987):227–38.

6.41Then,a runwayerrorKarl E.Weick, “TheVulnerable System:AnAnalysisoftheTenerifeAirDisaster,”JournalofManagement16,no.3(1990):571–93;William Evan andMarkManion,Minding theMachines: PreventingTechnologicalDisasters (UpperSaddleRiver,N.J.: PrenticeHall Professional,2002); Raimo P. Hämäläinen and Esa Saarinen, Systems Intelligence:Discovering a Hidden Competence in Human Action and Organizational Life(Helsinki:HelsinkiUniversityofTechnology,2004).

CHAPTERSEVEN7.1 grab an extra box The details on subconscious tactics retailers use

comesfromJeremyCaplan,“SupermarketScience,”Time,May24,2007;PacoUnderhill, Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping (New York: Simon andSchuster,2000);JackHitt;“TheTheoryofSupermarkets,”TheNewYorkTimes,March 10, 1996; “The Science of Shopping: TheWay the Brain Buys,” TheEconomist,December20,2008;“UnderstandingtheScienceofShopping,”Talkof theNation,NationalPublicRadio,December 12, 2008;MalcolmGladwell,“TheScienceofShopping,”TheNewYorker,November4,1996.

7.2 to buy almost anything There are literally thousands of studies thathave scrutinized how habits influence consumer behaviors—and howunconsciousandsemi-consciousurgesinfluencedecisionsthatmightotherwiseseemimmunefromhabitual triggers.Formoreon these fascinating topics, seeH.Aarts,A.vanKnippenberg,andB.Verplanken,“HabitandInformationUseinTravelModeChoices,”ActaPsychologica 96, nos. 1–2 (1997): 1–14; J.A.Bargh,“TheFourHorsemenofAutomaticity:Awareness,Efficiency,Intention,andControl in SocialCognition,” inHandbook of SocialCognition, ed. R. S.Wyer,Jr.,andT.K.Srull(Hillsdale,N.J.:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,1994);D.Bell,T.Ho,andC.Tang,“DeterminingWheretoShop:FixedandVariableCostsofShopping,”JournalofMarketingResearch35,no.3(1998):352–69;T.Betsch,S.Haberstroh,B.Molter,A.Glöckner,“Oops,IDidItAgain—RelapseErrors in RoutinizedDecisionMaking,”OrganizationalBehavior and HumanDecisionProcesses93,no.1(2004):62–74;M.Cunha,C.Janiszewski,Jr.,andJ. Laran, “Protection of Prior Learning in Complex Consumer LearningEnvironments,” Journal of ConsumerResearch 34, no. 6 (2008): 850–64; H.Aarts, U. Danner, and N. de Vries, “Habit Formation andMultipleMeans toGoalAttainment:RepeatedRetrievalofTargetMeansCausesInhibitedAccesstoCompetitors,”PersonalityandSocialPsychologyBulletin33,no.10(2007):

1367–79;E. Ferguson andP.Bibby, “PredictingFutureBloodDonorReturns:PastBehavior, Intentions, andObserverEffects,”HealthPsychology 21, no. 5(2002): 513–18; Edward Fox and John Semple, “Understanding ‘CherryPickers’: How Retail Customers Split Their Shopping Baskets,” unpublishedmanuscript,SouthernMethodistUniversity,2002;S.Gopinath,R.Blattberg,andE. Malthouse, “Are Revived Customers as Good as New?” unpublishedmanuscript, Northwestern University, 2002; H. Aarts, R. Holland, and D.Langendam, “Breaking and Creating Habits on the Working Floor: A Field-Experiment on the Power of Implementation Intentions,” Journal ofExperimentalSocialPsychology42,no.6(2006):776–83;MindyJiandWendyWood,“PurchaseandConsumptionHabits:NotNecessarilyWhatYouIntend,”Journal ofConsumerPsychology 17, no. 4 (2007): 261–76; S. Bellman, E. J.Johnson, andG. Lohse, “Cognitive Lock-In and the Power Law of Practice,”JournalofMarketing 67, no. 2 (2003): 62–75; J.Bettmanet al., “Adapting toTime Constraints,” in Time Pressure and Stressing Human Judgment andDecisionMaking, ed. O. Svenson and J. Maule (New York: Springer, 1993);AdwaitKhare and J. Inman, “HabitualBehavior inAmericanEatingPatterns:TheRoleofMealOccasions,”JournalofConsumerResearch32,no.4(2006):567–75;DavidBellandR.Lal,“TheImpactofFrequentShopperProgramsinGrocery Retailing,” Quantitative Marketing and Economics 1, no. 2 (2002):179–202; Yuping Liu, “The Long-Term Impact of Loyalty Programs onConsumer Purchase Behavior and Loyalty,” Journal of Marketing 71, no. 4(2007): 19–35; NealeMartin,Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore(Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press, 2008); H. Aarts, K. Fujia, and K. C.McCulloch, “Inhibition in Goal Systems: A Retrieval-Induced ForgettingAccount,”JournalofExperimentalSocialPsychology44,no.3(2008):614–23;GeraldHäubl andK.B.Murray, “ExplainingCognitiveLock-In:TheRole ofSkill-BasedHabitsofUseinConsumerChoice,”JournalofConsumerResearch34 (2007) 77–88; D. Neale, J. Quinn, and W. Wood, “Habits: A RepeatPerformance,”Current Directions in Psychological Science 15, no. 4 (2006)198–202;R.L.Oliver,“WhenceConsumerLoyalty?”JournalofMarketing63(1999):33–44;C.T.Orleans,“Promoting theMaintenanceofHealthBehaviorChange:Recommendationsfor theNextGenerationofResearchandPractice,”HealthPsychology19(2000):76–83;AndyOuelletteandWendyWood,“HabitandIntentioninEverydayLife:TheMultipleProcessesbyWhichPastBehaviorPredictsFutureBehavior,”PsychologicalBulletin 124, no. 1 (1998) 54–74;E.Iyer, D. Smith, and C. Park, “The Effects of Situational Factors on In-StoreGroceryShoppingBehavior:TheRoleofStoreEnvironmentandTimeAvailablefor Shopping,” Journal of Consumer Research 15, no. 4 (1989): 422–33; O.

Amir, R. Dhar, and A. Pocheptsova, “DecidingWithout Resources: ResourceDepletion and Choice in Context,” Journal ofMarketing Research 46, no. 3(2009): 344–55; H. Aarts, R. Custers, and P. Sheeran, “The Goal-DependentAutomaticityofDrinkingHabits,”BritishJournalofSocialPsychology44,no.1(2005): 47–63; S. Orbell and P. Sheeran, “Implementation Intentions andRepeated Behavior: Augmenting the Predictive Validity of the Theory ofPlannedBehavior,”EuropeanJournalofSocialPsychology29,nos.2–3(1999):349–69;P.Sheeran,P.Gollwitzer, andP.Webb, “The InterplayBetweenGoalIntentions and Implementation Intentions,”Personality and SocialPsychologyBulletin31,no.1(2005):87–98;H.ShenandR.S.Wyer,“ProceduralPrimingandConsumer Judgments: Effects on the Impact of Positively andNegativelyValencedInformation,”JournalofConsumerResearch 34, no. 5 (2007): 727–37;ItamarSimonson,“TheEffectofPurchaseQuantityandTimingonVariety-SeekingBehavior,”JournalofMarketingResearch27,no.2(1990):150–62;G.Taylor and S. Neslin, “The Current and Future Sales Impact of a RetailFrequencyRewardProgram,”JournalofRetailing81,no.4,293–305;H.AartsandB.Verplanken,“Habit,Attitude,andPlannedBehavior:IsHabitanEmptyConstruct or an Interesting Case of Goal-Directed Automaticity?” EuropeanReviewofSocialPsychology10(1999):101–34;B.Verplanken,HenkAarts,andAd Van Knippenberg, “Habit, Information Acquisition, and the Process ofMakingTravelModeChoices,”EuropeanJournalofSocialPsychology27,no.5 (1997): 539–60; B. Verplanken et al., “Attitude Versus General Habit:AntecedentsofTravelModeChoice,”JournalofAppliedSocialPsychology24,no.4(1994):285–300;B.Verplankenetal.,“ConsumerStyleandHealth:TheRoleofImpulsiveBuyinginUnhealthyEating,”PsychologyandHealth20,no.4 (2005): 429–41; B. Verplanken et al., “Context Change and Travel ModeChoice: Combining the Habit Discontinuity and Self-Activation Hypotheses,”JournalofEnvironmentalPsychology 28 (2008): 121–27;BasVerplanken andWendyWood,“InterventionstoBreakandCreateConsumerHabits,”JournalofPublic Policy and Marketing 25, no. 1 (2006): 90–103; H. Evanschitzky, B.Ramaseshan, and V. Vogel, “Customer Equity Drivers and Future Sales,”Journal of Marketing 72 (2008): 98–108; P. Sheeran and T. L.Webb, “DoesChangingBehavioralIntentionsEngenderBehavioralChange?AMeta-AnalysisoftheExperimentalEvidence,”PsychologicalBulletin132,no.2(2006):249–68;P.Sheeran,T.L.Webb,andA.Luszczynska,“PlanningtoBreakUnwantedHabits:HabitStrengthModeratesImplementationIntentionEffectsonBehaviorChange,”British Journal of Social Psychology 48, no. 3 (2009): 507–23; D.WegnerandR.Wenzlaff,“ThoughtSuppression,”AnnualReviewofPsychology51 (2000): 59–91; L. Lwin, A. Mattila, and J. Wirtz, “How Effective Are

Loyalty Reward Programs in Driving Share of Wallet?” Journal of ServiceResearch9,no.4(2007):327–34;D.Kashy,J.Quinn,andW.Wood,“HabitsinEveryday Life: Thought, Emotion, and Action,” Journal of Personality andSocialPsychology 83,no.6 (2002):1281–97;L.Tam,M.Witt, andW.Wood(2005), “Changing Circumstances, Disrupting Habits,” Journal of PersonalityandSocialPsychology88,no.6(2005):918–33;AlisonJingXuandRobertS.Wyer, “The Effect ofMindsets onConsumerDecision Strategies,” Journal ofConsumerResearch 34, no. 4 (2007): 556–66;C.Cole,M.Lee, andC.Yoon,“Consumer Decision Making and Aging: Current Knowledge and FutureDirections,” Journal of Consumer Psychology 19 (2009): 2–16; S. Dhar, A.Krishna, andZ. Zhang, “TheOptimalChoice of PromotionalVehicles: Front-Loaded or Rear-Loaded Incentives?”Management Science 46, no. 3 (2000):348–62.

7.3“potatochipsareonsale!”C.Park,E.Iyer,andD.Smith,“TheEffectsof Situational Factors on In-Store Grocery Shopping Behavior: The Role ofStoreEnvironmentandTimeAvailableforShopping,”TheJournalofConsumerResearch 15, no. 4 (1989): 422–33. Formore on this topic, see J. BelyavskyBayuk,C. Janiszewski, andR.Leboeuf, “LettingGoodOpportunitiesPassUsBy:ExaminingtheRoleofMindsetDuringGoalPursuit,”JournalofConsumerResearch 37, no. 4 (2010): 570–83; Ab Litt and Zakary L. Tormala, “FragileEnhancement of Attitudes and Intentions Following Difficult Decisions,”JournalofConsumerResearch37,no.4(2010):584–98.

7.4 University of Southern California D. Neal and W. Wood, “TheHabitualConsumer,”JournalofConsumerPsychology 19, no. 4 (2009): 579–92.Formoreonsimilarresearch,seeR.FazioandM.Zanna,“DirectExperienceand Attitude–Behavior Consistency,” in Advances in Experimental SocialPsychology, ed.L.Berkowitz (NewYork:AcademicPress, 2005);R.AbelsonandR.Schank,“KnowledgeandMemory:TheRealStory,”inKnowledgeandMemory:TheRealStory,ed.R.S.Wyer,Jr.(Hillsdale,N.J.:LawrenceErlbaum,2004); Nobert Schwarz, “Meta-Cognitive Experiences in Consumer JudgmentandDecisionMaking,”JournalofConsumerPsychology14,no.4 (September2004):332–48;R.WyerandA.Xu,“TheRoleofBehavioralMindsetsinGoal-DirectedActivity:ConceptualUnderpinningsandEmpiricalEvidence,”JournalofConsumerPsychology20,no.2(2010):107–25.

7.5 news or deals on cigarettes Julia Angwin and Steve Stecklow,“‘Scrapers’DigDeepforDataonWeb,”TheWallStreetJournal,October12,2010;MarkMaremontandLeslieScism,“InsurersTestDataProfilestoIdentifyRiskyClients,”TheWall Street Journal,November 19, 2010; Paul Sonne and

Steve Stecklow, “Shunned Profiling Technology on the Verge of Comeback,”TheWallStreetJournal,November24,2010.

7.6Pole flashed a slide This slide is from a keynote speech by Pole atPredicted Analytics World, New York, October 20, 2009. It is no longeravailable online. Additionally, see Andrew Pole, “Challenges of IncrementalSalesModelinginDirectMarketing.”

7.7 buying different brands of beer It’s difficult to make specificcorrelationsbetween typesof life changesand specificproducts.So,whileweknowthatpeoplewhomoveorgetdivorcedwillchange theirbuyingpatterns,wedon’tknowthatdivorcealwaysinfluencesbeer,orthatanewhomealwaysinfluencescerealpurchases.Butthegeneraltrendholds.AlanAndreasen,“LifeStatus Changes and Changes in Consumer Preferences and Satisfaction,”JournalofConsumerResearch11,no.3(1984):784–94.Formoreonthistopic,seeE.Lee,A.Mathur,andG.Moschis,“ALongitudinalStudyoftheEffectsofLife Status Changes on Changes in Consumer Preferences,” Journal of theAcademyofMarketingScience36,no.2(2007):234–46;L.Euehun,A.Mathur,and G. Moschis, “Life Events and Brand Preferences Changes,” Journal ofConsumerBehavior3,no.2(2003):129–41.

7.8and they care quite a bit Formore on the fascinating topic of howparticularmoments offer opportunities formarketers (or government agencies,health activists, or anyone else, for that matter) to influence habits, see BasVerplanken andWendyWood, “Interventions to Break and Create ConsumerHabits,”JournalofPublicPolicyandMarketing25,no.1 (2006):90–103;D.Albarracin, A. Earl, and J. C. Gillette, “A Test ofMajor Assumptions AboutBehaviorChange:AComprehensiveLookat theEffectsofPassiveandActiveHIV-Prevention Interventions Since the Beginning of the Epidemic,”PsychologicalBulletin131,no.6(2005):856–97;T.Betsch,J.Brinkmann,andK.Fiedler,“BehavioralRoutinesinDecisionMaking:TheEffectsofNoveltyinTaskPresentation andTimePressureonRoutineMaintenance andDeviation,”EuropeanJournalofSocialPsychology 28,no.6 (1998):861–78;L.Breslow,“Social Ecological Strategies for Promoting Healthy Lifestyles,” AmericanJournalofHealthPromotion10,no.4(1996),253–57;H.BuddelmeyerandR.Wilkins, “The Effects of Smoking Ban Regulations on Individual SmokingRates,”MelbourneInstituteWorkingPaperSeriesno.1737,MelbourneInstituteofAppliedEconomic andSocialResearch,University ofMelbourne, 2005; P.Butterfield,“ThinkingUpstream:NurturingaConceptualUnderstandingof theSocietal Context ofHealth Behavior,”Advances in Nursing Science 12, no. 2(1990):1–8;J.DerzonandM.Lipsey,“AMeta-AnalysisoftheEffectivenessof

MassCommunication forChangingSubstance-UseKnowledge,Attitudes, andBehavior,” inMass Media andDrug Prevention: Classic and ContemporaryTheoriesandResearch, ed.W.D.Crano andM.Burgoon (EastSussex,U.K.:Psychology, 2001); R. Fazio, J. Ledbetter, andT. Ledbetter, “On theCosts ofAccessibleAttitudes:DetectingThattheAttitudeObjectHasChanged,”JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology78,no.2(2000):197–210;S.Foxetal.,“CompetitiveFoodInitiativesinSchoolsandOverweightinChildren:AReviewoftheEvidence,”WisconsinMedicalJournal104,no.8(2005):38–43;S.Fujii,T.Gärling,andR.Kitamura,“ChangesinDrivers’PerceptionsandUseofPublicTransportDuringaFreewayClosure:EffectsofTemporaryStructuralChangeonCooperationinaReal-LifeSocialDilemma,”EnvironmentandBehavior33,no.6 (2001): 796–808; T. Heatherton and P. Nichols, “Personal Accounts ofSuccessful Versus Failed Attempts at Life Change,” Personality and SocialPsychologyBulletin20,no.6(1994):664–75;J.HillandH.R.Wyatt,“Obesityand the Environment:Where DoWe Go fromHere?” Science 299, no. 5608(2003):853–55;P.Johnson,R.Kane,andR.Town,“AStructuredReviewoftheEffectofEconomicIncentivesonConsumers’PreventiveBehavior,”AmericanJournal of PreventiveMedicine 27, no. 4 (2004): 327–52; J. Fulkerson, M.Kubrik, and L. Lytle, “Fruits, Vegetables, and Football: Findings from FocusGroupswithAlternativeHighSchool StudentsRegardingEating andPhysicalActivity,”JournalofAdolescentHealth36,no.6(2005):494–500;M.Abraham,S.Kalmenson,andL.Lodish,“HowT.V.AdvertisingWorks:AMeta-Analysisof 389 Real World Split Cable T.V. Advertising Experiments,” Journal ofMarketingResearch 32, no. 5 (1995): 125–39; J.McKinlay, “ACase for Re-FocusingUpstream:ThePoliticalEconomyofIllness,”inApplyingBehavioralScience toCardiovascular Risk, ed. A. J. Enelow and J. B. Henderson (NewYork: American Heart Association, 1975); N. Milio, “A Framework forPrevention: Changing Health-Damaging to Health-Generating Life Patterns,”American Journal of Public Health 66, no. 5 (1976): 435–39; S. Orbell,“Intention-Behavior Relations: A Self-Regulatory Perspective,” inContemporaryPerspectivesonthePsychologyofAttitudes,ed.G.HaddockandG.Maio (NewYork: Psychology Press, 2004); C. T.Orleans, “Promoting theMaintenance of Health Behavior Change: Recommendations for the NextGenerationofResearchandPractice,”HealthPsychology19,no.1(2000):76–83; C. G. DiClemente, J. C. Norcross, and J. Prochaska, “In Search of HowPeople Change: Applications to Addictive Behaviors,”American Psychologist47, no. 9 (1992): 1102–14; J. Quinn and W. Wood, “Inhibiting Habits andTemptations: Depends on Motivational Orientation,” 2006 manuscript undereditorial review; T.Mainieri, S. Oskamp, and P. Schultz, “WhoRecycles and

When?AReviewofPersonalandStructuralFactors,”JournalofEnvironmentalPsychology 15,no.2 (1995):105–21;C.D. Jenkins,C.T.Orleans, andT.W.Smith, “Prevention and Health Promotion: Decades of Progress, NewChallenges, and an Emerging Agenda,”Health Psychology 23, no. 2 (2004):126–31; H. C. Triandis, “Values, Attitudes, and Interpersonal Behavior,”NebraskaSymposiumonMotivation27(1980):195–259.

7.9 before a child’s first birthday “Parents Spend £5,000 on NewbornBabyBeforeItsFirstBirthday,”DailyMail,September20,2010.

7.10$36.3billionayearBrooksBarnes,“DisneyLookingintoCradleforCustomers,”TheNewYorkTimes,February6,2011.

7.11 JennyWard, a twenty-three-year-old The names in this paragraphare pseudonyms, used to illustrate the types of customersTarget’smodels candetect.Thesearenotrealshoppers.

7.12profiletheirbuyinghabits“McDonald’s,CBS,Mazda,andMicrosoftSuedfor‘HistorySniffing,’”Forbes.comJanuary3,2011.

7.13 ferretout theirmailingaddressesTerryBaynes,“CaliforniaRulingSetsOffMoreCreditCardSuits,”Reuters,February16,2011.

7.14 forecasted ifa tunewas likely tosucceedA.Elberse, J.Eliashbert,and J. Villanueva, “Polyphonic HMI: Mixing Music with Math,” HarvardBusinessReview,August24,2005.

7.15thirty-seventimesthroughoutthemonthMythankstoAdamFoster,directorofdataservices,NielsenBDS.

7.16Listeners didn’t just dislike “Hey Ya!”My thanks to Paul Heine,now of Inside Radio; Paul Heine, “Fine-tuning People Meter,” Billboard,November6,2004;PaulHeine,“MscoreDataShowsVaryingRelationshipwithAirplay,”Billboard,April3,2010.

7.17make“HeyYa!” intoahit In fact-checking communications,SteveBartels, theArista promotions executive, emphasized that he saw the fact that“HeyYa!”waspolarizingasagoodthing.Thesongwasreleasedandpromotedwithanother tune—“TheWayYouMove”—thatwas theotherbigsingle fromOutKast’stwo-discreleaseSpeakerboxxx/TheLoveBelow.“Youwanttheretobeareaction,”Bartelstoldme.“Someofthesmarter[programdirectors]lookedatthe polarization as anopportunity to give the station an identity.The fact thattherewasaquickturn-offreaction, tome,doesn’tmeanwe’renotsucceeding.It’smyjobtoconvincePDsthat’swhytheyshouldlookatthissong.”

7.18 they stayed glued Stephanie Clifford, “You Never Listen to CelineDion?RadioMeterBegstoDiffer,”TheNewYorkTimes,December15,2009;

TimFeran,“WhyRadio’sChangingItsTune,”TheColumbusDispatch,June13,2010.

7.19thesuperiorparietalcortexG.S.Berns,C.M.Capra,andS.Moore,“NeuralMechanisms of the Influence of Popularity onAdolescent Ratings ofMusic,”NeuroImage49,no.3(2010):2687–96;J.Bharucha,F.Musiek,andM.Tramo, “Music Perception and Cognition Following Bilateral Lesions ofAuditoryCortex,”JournalofCognitiveNeuroscience2,no.3(1990):195–212;Stefan Koelsch and Walter Siebel, “Towards a Neural Basis of MusicPerception,”TrendsinCognitiveSciences9,no.12(2005):578–84;S.Brown,M.Martinez,andL.Parsons,“PassiveMusicListeningSpontaneouslyEngagesLimbic and Paralimbic Systems,” NeuroReport 15, no. 13 (2004): 2033–37;JosefRauschecker,“CorticalProcessingofComplexSounds,”CurrentOpinioninNeurobiology 8, no. 4 (1998): 516–21; J.Kaas, T.Hackett, andM.Tramo,“Auditory Processing in Primate Cerebral Cortex,” Current Opinion inNeurobiology 9, no. 2 (1999): 164–70; S. Koelsch, “Neural Substrates ofProcessingSyntaxandSemantics inMusic,”CurrentOpinion inNeurobiology15 (2005): 207–12; A. Lahav, E. Saltzman, and G. Schlaug, “ActionRepresentationofSound:AudiomotorRecognitionNetworkWhileListeningtoNewlyAcquiredActions,”JournalofNeuroscience27,no.2(2007):308–14;D.LevitinandV.Menon,“MusicalStructureIsProcessedin‘Language’Areasofthe Brain: A Possible Role for Brodmann Area 47 in Temporal Coherence,”NeuroImage 20, no. 4 (2003): 2142–52; J.Chen,V.Penhume, andR.Zatorre,“WhentheBrainPlaysMusic:Auditory-MotorInteractionsinMusicPerceptionandProduction,”NatureReviewsNeuroscience8,547–58.

7.20 a cacophony of noise N. S. Rickard and D. Ritossa, “The RelativeUtility of ‘Pleasantness’ and ‘Liking’ Dimensions in Predicting the EmotionsExpressedbyMusic,”PsychologyofMusic32,no.1(2004):5–22;G.Berns,C.Capra, and S.Moore, “NeuralMechanisms of the Influence of Popularity onAdolescentRatingsofMusic,”NeuroImage 49, no. 3 (2010): 2687–96;DavidHargreavesandAdrianNorth,“SubjectiveComplexity,Familiarity,andLikingforPopularMusic,”Psychomusicology14,no.1996(1995):77–93.Formoreonthis fascinating topic of how familiarity influences attractiveness acrossnumeroussenses,seealsoG.Berns,S.McClure,andG.Pagnoni,“PredictabilityModulatesHumanBrainResponsetoReward,”JournalofNeuroscience21,no.8 (2001):2793–98;D.Brainard, “ThePsychophysicsToolbox,”Spatial Vision10 (1997): 433–36; J.Cloutier,T.Heatherton, andP.Whalen, “AreAttractivePeople Rewarding? Sex Differences in the Neural Substrates of FacialAttractiveness,”JournalofCognitiveNeuroscience20,no.6(2008):941–51;J.

Kable and P. Glimcher, “The Neural Correlates of Subjective Value DuringIntertemporal Choice,”Nature Neuroscience 10, no. 12 (2007): 1625–33; S.McClure et al., “Neural Correlates of Behavioral Preference for CulturallyFamiliar Drinks,”Neuron 44, no. 2 (2004): 379–87; C. J. Assad and Padoa-Schioppa, “Neurons in the Orbitofrontal Cortex Encode Economic Value,”Nature441,no.7090(2006):223–26;H.Plassmannetal.,“MarketingActionsCan Modulate Neural Representations of Experienced Pleasantness,”Proceedings of theNational Academy of Science 105, no. 3 (2008): 1050–54;MuzaferSherif,ThePsychologyofSocialNorms(NewYork:HarperandRow,1936); Wendy Wood, “Attitude Change: Persuasion and Social Influence,”AnnualReviewofPsychology51(2000):539–70;GustaveLeBon,TheCrowd:A Study of the Popular Mind (Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 2001); G.Bernsetal.,“NeuralMechanismsofSocialInfluenceinConsumerDecisions,”working paper, 2009; G. Berns et al., “Nonlinear Neurobiological ProbabilityWeighting Functions for Aversive Outcomes,”NeuroImage 39, no. 4 (2008):2047–57;G.Bernset al., “NeurobiologicalSubstratesofDread,”Science 312,no. 5 (2006): 754–58;G.Berns, J.Chappelow, andC.Zink, “NeurobiologicalCorrelates of Social Conformity and Independence During Mental Rotation,”Biological Psychiatry 58, no. 3 (2005): 245–53; R. Bettman,M. Luce, and J.Payne, “Constructive Consumer Choice Processes,” Journal of ConsumerResearch 25, no. 3 (1998): 187–217; A. Blood and R. Zatorre, “IntenselyPleasurable Responses to Music Correlate with Activity in Brain RegionsImplicated inReward andEmotion,”Proceedings of theNational Academy ofScience 98, no. 20 (2001): 11818–23; C. Camerer, G. Loewenstein, and D.Prelec,“Neuroeconomics:HowNeuroscienceCanInformEconomics,”JournalofEconomicLiterature43,no.1(2005):9–64;C.Capraetal.,“NeurobiologicalRegret andRejoice Functions forAversiveOutcomes,”NeuroImage 39, no. 3(2008):1472–84;H.Critchleyetal.,“NeuralSystemsSupportingInteroceptiveAwareness,”NatureNeuroscience7,no.2(2004):189–95;H.Bayer,M.Dorris,and P. Glimcher, “Physiological Utility Theory and the Neuroeconomics ofChoice,”Games and Economic Behavior 52, no. 2, 213–56; M. Brett and J.Grahn,“RhythmandBeatPerceptioninMotorAreasoftheBrain,”JournalofCognitive Neuroscience 19, no. 5 (2007): 893–906; A. Hampton and J.O’doherty, “Decoding the Neural Substrates of Reward-Related Decision-MakingwithFunctionalMRI,”ProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofScience104,no.4 (2007):1377–82; J.Birket al., “TheCorticalTopographyofTonalStructures Underlying Western Music,” Science 298 (2002): 2167–70; B.Knutsonetal.,“NeuralPredictorsofPurchases,”Neuron53,no.1(2007):147–56;B.Knutson et al., “DistributedNeuralRepresentationofExpectedValue,”

Journal of Neuroscience 25, no. 19 (2005): 4806–12; S. Koelsch, “NeuralSubstratesofProcessingSyntaxandSemantics inMusic,”CurrentOpinion inNeurobiology 15, no. 2 (2005): 207–12; T. Fritz et al., “Adults and ChildrenProcessingMusic:AnfMRIStudy,”NeuroImage25(2005):1068–76;T.Fritzetal., “Investigating Emotion with Music: An fMRI Study,” Human BrainMapping 27 (2006):239–50;T.Koyamaet al., “TheSubjectiveExperienceofPain: Where Expectations Becomes Reality,” Proceedings of the NationalAcademyofScience102,no.36(2005):12950–55;A.Lahav,E.Saltzman,andG. Schlaug, “Action Representation of Sound: Audiomotor RecognitionNetworkWhileListeningtoNewlyAcquiredActions,”JournalofNeuroscience27, no. 2 (2007): 308–14; D. Levitin and V. Menon, “Musical Structure IsProcessedin‘Language’AreasoftheBrain:APossibleRoleforBrodmannArea47 inTemporalCoherence,”NeuroImage 20,no.4 (2003):2142–52;G.Bernsand P. Montague, “Neural Economics and the Biological Substrates ofValuation,” Neuron 36 (2002): 265–84; C. Camerer, P. Montague, and A.Rangel,“AFrameworkforStudyingtheNeurobiologyofValue-BasedDecisionMaking,” Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9 (2008): 545–56; C. Chafe et al.,“NeuralDynamics ofEvent Segmentation inMusic:ConvergingEvidence forDissociableVentral andDorsalNetworks,”Neuron 55, no. 3 (2007): 521–32;DamianRitossaandNikkiRickard,“TheRelativeUtilityof‘Pleasantness’and‘Liking’ Dimensions in Predicting the Emotions Expressed by Music,”PsychologyofMusic 32, no. 1 (2004): 5–22;GregoryS.Berns et al., “NeuralMechanisms of the Influence of Popularity onAdolescent Ratings ofMusic,”NeuroImage 49, no. 3 (2010): 2687–96;AdrianNorth andDavidHargreaves,“Subjective Complexity, Familiarity, and Liking for Popular Music,”Psychomusicology 14, nos. 1–2 (1995): 77–93;Walter Ritter, Elyse Sussman,andHerbertVaughan,“AnInvestigationoftheAuditoryStreamingEffectUsingEvent-Related Brain Potentials,” Psychophysiology 36, no. 1 (1999): 22–34;Elyse Sussman, Rika Takegata, and István Winkler, “Event-Related BrainPotentials Reveal Multiple Stages in the Perceptual Organization of Sound,”CognitiveBrainResearch25,no.1(2005):291–99;IsabellePeretzandRobertZatorre, “Brain Organization for Music Processing,” Annual Review ofPsychology56,no.1(2005):89–114.

7.21 a black market for poultry Charles Grutzner, “Horse MeatConsumptionbyNewYorkers IsRising,”TheNewYorkTimes, September 25,1946.

7.22camouflageitineverydaygarbItisworthnotingthatthiswasonlyone of the committee’s many findings (which ranged far and wide). For a

fascinating study on the committee and its impacts, see Brian Wansink,“ChangingEatingHabitsontheHomeFront:LostLessonsfromWorldWarIIResearch,”JournalofPublicPolicyandMarketing21,no.1(2002):90–99.

7.23 present-day researcher Wansink, “Changing Eating Habits on theHomeFront.”

7.24cheerforsteakandkidneypie”BrianWansink,MarketingNutrition:Soy,FunctionalFoods,Biotechnology,andObesity (Champaign:UniversityofIllinois,2007).

7.25itwasup50percentDanUsher,“MeasuringRealConsumptionfromQuantityData,Canada1935–1968,”inHouseholdProductionandConsumption,ed.NestorTerleckyj(NewYork:NationalBureauofEconomicResearch,1976).It’sveryhardtogetU.S.dataonoffalconsumption,andsothesecalculationsarebased on Canadian trends, where data on the topic is more plentiful. Ininterviews,U.S. officials said thatCanada is a fair proxy forU.S. trends.Thecalculations in Usher’s paper draw on calculations of “canned meat,” whichcontainedoffal.

7.26 “sizable increases in trips and sales” Target Corporation AnalystMeeting,October18,2005.

CHAPTEREIGHT8.1a tencent fare into the tillFormyunderstandingof theMontgomery

bus boycott, I am indebted to those historians who have made themselvesavailabletome,includingJohnA.KirkandTaylorBranch.Myunderstandingofthese events also draws on JohnA.Kirk,Martin Luther King, Jr.: Profiles inPower (New York: Longman, 2004); Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters:America in theKing Years, 1954–63 (NewYork: Simon and Schuster, 1988);TaylorBranch,PillarofFire:AmericaintheKingYears,1963–65(NewYork:SimonandSchuster,1998);TaylorBranch,AtCanaan’sEdge:America in theKingYears,1965–68(NewYork:SimonandSchuster,2006);DouglasBrinkley,MineEyesHaveSeen theGlory:TheLifeofRosaParks (London:Weidenfeldand Nicolson, 2000); Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Toward Freedom: TheMontgomeryStory (NewYork:HarperandBrothers,1958);ClayborneCarson,ed.,ThePapers ofMartinLutherKing, Jr., vol. 1,Called to Serve (Berkeley:University ofCalifornia, 1992), vol. 2,RediscoveringPreciousValues (1994),vol.3,BirthofaNewAge(1997),vol.4,SymboloftheMovement(2000),vol.5,ThresholdofaNewDecade (2005);AldonD.Morris,TheOriginsof theCivilRightsMovement(NewYork:FreePress,1986);JamesForman,TheMakingofBlack Revolutionaries (Seattle: University of Washington, 1997). Where notcited,factsdrawprimarilyfromthosesources.

8.2“Youmaydothat,”ParkssaidHenryHamptonandSteveFayer,eds.,Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the1950sThroughthe1980s(NewYork:BantamBooks,1995);RosaParks,RosaParks:MyStory(NewYork:Puffin,1999).

8.3“thelawisthelaw”JohnA.Kirk,MartinLutherKing,Jr.:ProfilesinPower(NewYork:Longman,2004).

8.4athree-partprocessFormoreonthesociologyofmovements,seeG.Davis,D.McAdam,andW.Scott,SocialMovementsandOrganizations (NewYork: Cambridge University, 2005); Robert Crain and Rita Mahard, “TheConsequencesofControversyAccompanyingInstitutionalChange:TheCaseofSchoolDesegregation,”AmericanSociologicalReview 47, no. 6 (1982): 697–708;Azza Salama Layton, “International Pressure and theU.S.Government’sResponsetoLittleRock,”ArkansasHistoricalQuarterly56,no.3(1997):257–72; Brendan Nelligan, “The AlbanyMovement and the Limits of NonviolentProtest in Albany, Georgia, 1961–1962,” Providence College Honors Thesis,2009;CharlesTilly,SocialMovements,1768–2004 (London:Paradigm,2004);AndrewWalder,“PoliticalSociologyandSocialMovements,”AnnualReviewofSociology 35 (2009): 393–412; Paul Almeida, Waves of Protest: PopularStruggle in El Salvador, 1925–2005 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota,2008);RobertBenford,“AnInsider’sCritiqueoftheSocialMovementFramingPerspective,”SociologicalInquiry67,no.4(1997):409–30;RobertBenfordandDavid Snow, “Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview andAssessment,”AnnualReviewofSociology26(2000):611–39;MichaelBurawoy,Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under MonopolyCapitalism(Chicago:UniversityofChicago,1979);CarolConellandKimVoss,“FormalOrganizationandtheFateofSocialMovements:CraftAssociationandClassAllianceintheKnightsofLabor,”AmericanSociologicalReview55,no.2(1990): 255–69; James Davies, “Toward a Theory of Revolution,” AmericanSociologicalReview27,no.1 (1962):5–18;WilliamGamson,TheStrategyofSocialProtest (Homewood, Ill.:Dorsey, 1975);RobertBenford, “An Insider’sCritiqueoftheSocialMovementFramingPerspective,”SociologicalInquiry67,no. 4 (1997): 409–30; Jeff Goodwin, No Other Way Out: States andRevolutionary Movements, 1945–1991 (New York: Cambridge University,2001); Jeff Goodwin and James Jasper, eds., Rethinking Social Movements:Structure, Meaning, and Emotion (Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield,2003); Roger Gould, “Multiple Networks and Mobilization in the ParisCommune, 1871,” American Sociological Review 56, no. 6 (1991): 716–29;JosephGusfield,“SocialStructureandMoralReform:AStudyoftheWoman’s

ChristianTemperanceUnion,”AmericanJournalofSociology61,no.3(1955):221–31; Doug McAdam, Political Process and the Development of BlackInsurgency, 1930–1970 (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1982); DougMcAdam,“RecruitmenttoHigh-RiskActivism:TheCaseofFreedomSummer,”AmericanJournalofSociology92,no.1 (1986):64–90;DougMcAdam,“TheBiographicalConsequencesofActivism,”AmericanSociologicalReview54,no.5 (1989): 744–60; Doug McAdam, “Conceptual Origins, Current Problems,FutureDirections,”inComparativePerspectivesonSocialMovements:PoliticalOpportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framings, ed. DougMcAdam,JohnMcCarthy,andMayerZald(NewYork:CambridgeUniversity,1996); Doug McAdam and Ronnelle Paulsen, “Specifying the RelationshipBetween Social Ties andActivism,”American Journal of Sociology 99, no. 3(1993):640–67;D.McAdam,S.Tarrow,andC.Tilly,DynamicsofContention(Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2001); Judith Stepan-Norris and JudithZeitlin,“‘WhoGetstheBird?’or,HowtheCommunistsWonPowerandTrustinAmerica’sUnions,”AmericanSociologicalReview54,no.4(1989):503–23;Charles Tilly, From Mobilization to Revolution (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley,1978).

8.5 talking back to aMontgomery bus driver PhillipHoose,ClaudetteColvin:TwiceTowardJustice(NewYork:Farrar,StrausandGiroux,2009).

8.6andrefusingtomoveIbid.8.7sittingnexttoawhitemanRussellFreedman,FreedomWalkers:The

StoryoftheMontgomeryBusBoycott(NewYork:HolidayHouse,2009).8.8 “indignities which came with it” Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride

TowardFreedom(NewYork:HarperandBrothers,1958).8.9 “a dozen or so sociopaths” Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters:

AmericaintheKingYears,1954–63(NewYork:SimonandSchuster,1988).8.10“white folkswillkillyou”DouglasBrinkley,MineEyesHave Seen

theGlory:TheLifeofRosaParks(London:WeidenfeldandNicolson,2000).8.11“happy togoalongwith it” JohnA.Kirk,MartinLutherKing, Jr.:

ProfilesinPower(NewYork:Longman,2004).8.12 in protest of the arrest and trial Carson,Papers ofMartin Luther

King,Jr.8.13how282menhad found theirMarkGranovetter,Getting a Job:A

StudyofContactsandCareers(Chicago:UniversityofChicago,1974).8.14wewouldotherwiseneverhearaboutAndreasFlacheandMichael

Macy, “The Weakness of Strong Ties: Collective Action Failure in a Highly

CohesiveGroup,”JournalofMathematicalSociology21(1996):3–28.Formoreon this topic, see Robert Axelrod, The Evolution of Cooperation (New York:BasicBooks,1984);RobertBushandFrederickMosteller,StochasticModelsforLearning (NewYork:Wiley,1984); I.Erev,Y.Bereby-Meyer,andA.E.Roth,“TheEffectofAddingaConstanttoAllPayoffs:ExperimentalInvestigationandImplications for Reinforcement Learning Models,” Journal of EconomicBehavior and Organization 39, no. 1 (1999): 111–28; A. Flache and R.Hegselmann, “Rational vs. Adaptive Egoism in Support Networks: HowDifferent Micro Foundations Shape Different Macro Hypotheses,” in GameTheory, Experience, Rationality: Foundations of Social Sciences, Economics,and Ethics in Honor of John C. Harsanyi (Yearbook of the Institute ViennaCircle), ed.W.Leinfellner andE.Köhler (Boston:Kluwer, 1997), 261–75;A.Flache and R. Hegselmann, “Rationality vs. Learning in the Evolution ofSolidarity Networks: A Theoretical Comparison,” Computational andMathematicalOrganizationTheory 5, no. 2 (1999): 97–127;A.Flache andR.Hegselmann,“DynamikSozialerDilemma-Situationen,”finalresearchreportofthe DFG-Project Dynamics of Social Dilemma Situations, University ofBayreuth, Department of Philosophie, 2000; A. Flache and Michael Macy,“Stochastic Collusion and the Power Law of Learning,” Journal of ConflictResolution 46, no. 5 (2002): 629–53;MichaelMacy, “Learning to Cooperate:Stochastic and Tacit Collusion in Social Exchange,” American Journal ofSociology 97, no. 3 (1991): 808–43;E.P.H.Zeggelink, “EvolvingFriendshipNetworks: An Individual-Oriented Approach Implementing Similarity,” SocialNetworks 17 (1996): 83–110; JudithBlau, “WhenWeakTiesAreStructured,”unpublished manuscript, Department of Sociology, State University of NewYork, Albany, 1980; Peter Blau, “Parameters of Social Structure,” AmericanSociological Review 39, no. 5 (1974): 615–35; Scott Boorman, “ACombinatorial Optimization Model for Transmission of Job InformationThroughContactNetworks,”BellJournalofEconomics6,no.1(1975):216–49;Ronald Breiger and Philippa Pattison, “The Joint Role Structure of TwoCommunities’Elites,”SociologicalMethodsandResearch7,no.2(1978):213–26; Daryl Chubin, “The Conceptualization of Scientific Specialties,”SociologicalQuarterly17,no.4(1976):448–76;HarryCollins,“TheTEASet:Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks,” Science Studies 4, no. 2 (1974):165–86; Rose Coser, “The Complexity of Roles as Seedbed of IndividualAutonomy,”inTheIdeaofSocialStructure:EssaysinHonorofRobertMerton,ed.L.Coser (NewYork:Harcourt, 1975); JohnDelany, “Aspects ofDonativeResourceAllocationandtheEfficiencyofSocialNetworks:SimulationModelsof JobVacancy InformationTransfersThroughPersonalContacts,” PhDdiss.,

YaleUniversity,1980;E.EricksenandW.Yancey,“TheLocusofStrongTies,”unpublishedmanuscript,DepartmentofSociology,TempleUniversity,1980.

8.15most of thepopulationwill beuntouchedMarkGranovetter, “TheStrength ofWeak Ties: A Network Theory Revisited,” Sociological Theory 1(1983):201–33.

8.16 registering black voters in the South McAdam, “Recruitment toHigh-RiskActivism.”

8.17morethanthreehundredofthoseinvitedIbid.;Paulsen,“SpecifyingtheRelationshipBetweenSocialTiesandActivism.”

8.18participatedinFreedomSummerInafact-checkingemail,McAdamprovided a few details about the study’s genesis: “My initial interest was intrying tounderstand the linksbetween thecivil rightsmovementand theotherearly new left movements, specifically the student movement, the anti-warmovement, and women’s liberation movement. It was only after I found theapplications and realized that somewere fromvolunteers and others from ‘noshows’ that Igot interested inexplaining (a)why somemade it toMississippiandothersdidn’t,and(b)thelongertermimpactofgoing/not-goingonthetwogroups.”

8.19 impossible for them to withdraw In another fact-checking email,McAdamwrote: “Forme the significanceof theorganizational ties is not thattheymakeit‘impossible’forthevolunteertowithdraw,butthattheyinsurethattheapplicantwill likelyreceive lotsofsupport for the linkbetweenthesalientidentityinquestion(i.e.,Christian)andparticipationinthesummerproject.AsInoted in [an article] ‘it is a strong subjective identification with a particularidentity,reinforcedbyorganizational ties that is especially likely to encourageparticipation.’”

8.20 “getting together there without you” Tom Mathews and RoyWilkins,StandingFast:TheAutobiographyofRoyWilkins (Cambridge,Mass.:DaCapo,1994).

8.21“boycottofcitybusesMonday”Branch,PartingtheWaters.8.22 “singing out, ‘No riders today’ ” King, Stride Toward Freedom;

James M. Washington, A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings andSpeechesofMartinLutherKing,Jr.(NewYork:HarperCollins,1990).

8.23wasindoubtKing,StrideTowardFreedom.8.24drawing circles aroundmajorU.S. cities For understanding Pastor

Warren’sstory,IamindebtedtoRickWarren,GlennKruen,SteveGladen,JeffSheler, Anne Krumm, and the following books: Jeffrey Sheler, Prophet of

Purpose:TheLifeofRickWarren(NewYork:Doubleday,2009);RickWarren,ThePurpose-DrivenChurch (GrandRapids,Mich.:Zondervan,1995);and thefollowingarticles:BarbaraBradley,“MarketingThatNew-TimeReligion,”LosAngeles Times, December 10, 1995; John Wilson, “Not Just Another MegaChurch,”ChristianityToday,December4,2000;“Therapyof theMasses,”TheEconomist,November6,2003;“TheGlueofSociety,”TheEconomist,July14,2005;MalcolmGladwell, “TheCellularChurch,”TheNewYorker, September12, 2005;AlexMacLeod, “RickWarren:AHeart for the Poor,”PresbyterianRecord, January1,2008;Andrew,Ann,and JohnKuzma,“HowReligionHasEmbraced Marketing and the Implications for Business,” Journal ofManagementandMarketingResearch2(2009):1–10.

8.25 “our destination was a settled issue” Warren, Purpose-DrivenChurch.

8.26 “any chance of liberating multitudes” Donald McGavran, TheBridgesofGod(NewYork:FriendshipPress,1955).Italicsadded.

8.27“HowtoSurviveUnderStress”Sheler,ProphetofPurpose.8.28 “I’m going to have to sit down” In a fact-checking email a

Saddlebackspokesperson,providedadditionaldetails:“Ricksuffersfromabrainchemistrydisorder thatmakeshimallergic toadrenaline.Thisgeneticproblemresists medication and makes public speaking painful, with blurred vision,headaches,hotflashes,andpanic.Symptomsusuallylastaroundfifteenminutes;by that time, enough adrenaline is expended so thebody can return tonormalfunction. (His adrenaline rushes, like any speakermight experience,wheneverhegetsup topreach.)PastorRicksays thisweaknesskeepshimdependentonGod.”

8.29 “habits that will help you grow”Discovering Spiritual Maturity,Class 201, published by Saddleback Church,http://www.saddlebackresources.com/CLASS-201-Discovering-Spiritual-Maturity-Complete-Kit-Download-P3532.aspx.

8.30 “we just … get out of your way” In a fact-checking email aSaddleback spokesperson said that while an important tenet of Saddleback isteachingpeopletoguidethemselves,“thisimpliesthateachpersoncangoinanydirectiontheychoose.Biblicalprinciples/guidelineshaveacleardirection.Thegoalofsmallgroupstudyistoteachpeoplethespiritualdisciplinesoffaithandeverydayhabitsthatcanbeappliedtodailylife.”

8.31“communitytocontinuethestruggle”MartinLutherKing,Jr.,TheAutobiography ofMartin Luther King, Jr., ed. Clayborne Carson (NewYork:GrandCentral,2001).

8.32“shallperishbythesword”Carson;King,8.33segregationlawviolatedtheConstitutionBrowderv.Gayle,352U.S.

903(1956).8.34andsatinthefrontWashington,TestamentofHope.8.35“gladtohaveyou”Kirk,MartinLutherKing,Jr.8.36“workandworryoftheboycott”Ibid.CHAPTERNINE9.1 reorganizing the silverware drawer “Angie Bachmann” is a

pseudonym. Reporting for her story is based on more than ten hours ofinterviews with Bachmann, additional interviews with people who knowBachmann, and dozens of news articles and court filings. However, whenBachmann was presented with fact-checking questions, she declined toparticipate except to state that almost all details were inaccurate—includingthoseshehadpreviouslyconfirmed,aswellasfactsconfirmedbyothersources,incourtrecords,orbypublicdocuments—andthenshecutoffcommunication.

9.2“while thousands are injured”TheWritings of GeorgeWashington,vol.8,ed.JaredSparks(1835).

9.3 swelled by more than $269 million Iowa Racing and GamingCommission,DesMoines,Iowa,2010.

9.4“WhathaveIdone?”SimondeBruxelles,“SleepwalkerBrianThomasAdmits Killing Wife While Fighting Intruders in Nightmare,” The Times,November18,2009.

9.5“Ithoughtsomebodyhadbrokenin”JaneMathews,“MyHorror,byHusband Who Strangled Wife in Nightmare,” Daily Express, December 16,2010.

9.6“She’s my world” Simon de Bruxelles, “Sleepwalker Brian ThomasAdmits Killing Wife While Fighting Intruders in Nightmare.” The Times,November18,2009.

9.7annoying but benign problem In some instances, people sleepwalkwhile they experience dreams, a condition known as REM sleep behaviordisorder(seeC.H.Schencketal.,“MotorDyscontrolinNarcolepsy:Rapid-Eye-Movement [REM]SleepWithoutAtonia andREMSleepBehaviorDisorder,”AnnalsofNeurology32,no.1[July1992]:3–10).Inotherinstances,peoplearenotdreaming,butmovenonetheless.

9.8somethingcalledsleepterrorsC.Bassetti,F.Siclari,andR.Urbaniok,“ViolenceinSleep,”SchweizerArchivFurNeurologieundPsychiatrie160,no.8(2009):322–33.

9.9thehigherbraintoputthingsC.A.Tassinarietal.,“BitingBehavior,Aggression,andSeizures,”Epilepsia46,no.5(2005):654–63;C.Bassettietal.,“SPECTDuringSleepwalking,”TheLancet 356,no.9228 (2000):484–85;K.Schindler et al., “Hypoperfusion of Anterior Cingulate Gyrus in a Case ofParoxysmal Nocturnal Dustonia,”Neurology 57, no. 5 (2001): 917–20; C. A.Tassinarietal.,“CentralPatternGeneratorsforaCommonSemiologyinFronto-LimbicSeizuresand inParasomnias,”NeurologicalSciences 26,no.3 (2005):225–32.

9.10“64%ofcases,withinjuriesin3%”P.T.D’OrbanandC.Howard,“ViolenceinSleep:Medico-LegalIssuesandTwoCaseReports,”PsychologicalMedicine17,no.4(1987):915–25;B.Boeve,E.Olson,andM.Silber,“RapidEye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder: Demographic, Clinical, andLaboratoryFindingsin93Cases,”Brain123,no.2(2000):331–39.

9.11 both the United States and the United Kingdom John Hudson,“CommonLaw—Henry II and theBirthofaState,”BBC,February17,2011;Thomas Morawetz, “Murder and Manslaughter: Degrees of Seriousness,Common Law and Statutory Law, the Model Penal Code,” Law Library—American Law and Legal Information,http://law.jrank.org/pages/18652/Homicide.html.

9.12would have never consciously carried outM.Diamond, “CriminalResponsibilityoftheAddiction:ConvictionbyForceofHabit,”FordhamUrbanLawJournal1,no.3(1972);R.Broughtonetal.,“HomicidalSomnambulism:ACase Report,” Sleep 17, no. 3 (1994): 253–64; R. Cartwright, “SleepwalkingViolence:ASleepDisorder,aLegalDilemma,andaPsychologicalChallenge,”American Journal of Psychiatry 161, no. 7 (2004): 1149–58; P. Fenwick,“Automatism, Medicine, and the Law,” Psychological Medicine MonographSupplement, no. 17 (1990): 1–27;M.Hanson, “Toward aNewAssumption inLawandEthics,”TheHumanist66,no.4(2006).

9.13 attack occurred during a sleep terror L. Smith-Spark, “HowSleepwalkingCanLeadtoKilling,”BBCNews,March18,2005.

9.14lateracquittedofattemptedmurderBethHale,“SleepwalkDefenseClearsWoman of Trying toMurderHerMother inBed,”DailyMail, June 3,2009.

9.15sleep terrorsandwas foundnotguilty JohnRobertson andGarethRose,“SleepwalkerIsClearedofRapingTeenageGirl,”TheScotsman,June22,2011.

9.16“WhydidIdoit?”StuartJeffries,“SleepDisorder:WhentheLightsGoOut,”TheGuardian,December5,2009.

9.17“hismindhadnocontrol”RichardSmith,“GrandadKilledHisWifeDuringaDream,”TheMirror,November18,2009.

9.18“astraightnotguiltyverdict”AnthonyStone,“NightmareManWhoStrangledHisWife in a ‘NightTerror’WalksFree,”WesternMail, November21,2009.

9.19youbearnoresponsibilityIbid.9.20 to perfect their methods Christina Binkley, “Casino Chain Mines

DataonItsGamblers,andStrikesPayDirt,”TheWallStreetJournal,November22, 2004;RajivLal, “Harrah’sEntertainment, Inc.,”HarvardBusinessSchool,case no. 9–604–016, June14, 2004;K.Ahsan et al., “Harrah’sEntertainment,Inc.: Real-Time CRM in a Service Supply Chain,”Harvard Business Review,case no. GS50, May 8, 2006; V. Chang and J. Pfeffer, “Gary Loveman andHarrah’sEntertainment,”HarvardBusinessReview,caseno.OB45,November4, 2003; Gary Loveman, “Diamonds in the Data Mine,” Harvard BusinessReview,caseno.R0305H,May1,2003.

9.21tothecentandminute Inastatement,CaesarsEntertainmentwrote:“Under the terms of the settlement reached inMay of 2011 between CaesarsRiverboatCasino and [Bachmann], both sides (including their representatives)are precluded from discussing certain details of the case.… There are manyspecificpointswewouldcontest,butweareunabletodosoat thispoint.Youhaveaskedseveralquestionsrevolvingaroundconversationsthatallegedlytookplacebetween[Bachmann]andunnamedCaesarsaffiliatedemployees.Becauseshedidnotprovidenames,thereisnoindependentverificationofheraccounts,andwehopeyourreportingwillreflectthat,eitherbyomittingthestoriesorbymakingitclearthattheyareunverified.Likemostlargecompaniesintheserviceindustry,we pay attention to our customers’ purchasing decisions as away ofmonitoring customer satisfaction and evaluating the effectiveness of ourmarketing campaigns. Like most companies, we look for ways to attractcustomers,andwemakeefforts tomaintain themas loyalcustomers.And likemostcompanies,whenourcustomerschangetheirestablishedpatterns,wetrytounderstandwhy,andencourage themtoreturn.That’snodifferent thanahotelchain,anairline,oradrycleaner.That’swhatgoodcustomerserviceisabout.…Caesars Entertainment (formerly known as Harrah’s Entertainment) and itsaffiliateshavelongbeenanindustryleaderinresponsiblegaming.Wewerethefirst gaming company todevelop awrittenCodeofCommitment that governshowwetreatourguests.Wewerethefirstcasinocompanywithanationalself-exclusion program that allows customers to ban themselves from all of ourpropertiesiftheyfeeltheyhaveaproblem,orforanyotherreason.Andweare

theonlycasinocompany to fundanational televisionadvertisingcampaign topromote responsiblegaming.Wehopeyourwritingwill reflect thathistory,aswell as the fact that none of [Bachmann’s] statements you cite have beenindependentlyverified.”

9.22 “did do those nice things for me” In a statement, CaesarsEntertainment wrote: “Wewould never fire or penalize a host if one of theirguestsstoppedvisiting(unlessitwasthedirectresultofsomethingthehostdid).Andnoneofourhostswouldbeallowedtotellaguestthatheorshewouldbefiredorotherwisepenalizedifthatguestdidnotvisit.”

9.23 watch a slot machine spin around M. Dixon and R. Habib,“Neurobehavioral Evidence for the ‘Near-Miss’ Effect in PathologicalGamblers,”JournaloftheExperimentalAnalysisofBehavior93,no.3(2010):313–28; H. Chase and L. Clark, “Gambling Severity Predicts MidbrainResponsetoNear-MissOutcomes,”JournalofNeuroscience30,no.18(2010):6180–87; L. Clark et al., “Gambling Near-Misses Enhance Motivation toGamble and Recruit Win-Related Brain Circuitry,”Neuron 61, no. 3 (2009):481–90; Luke Clark, “Decision-Making During Gambling: An Integration ofCognitiveandPsychobiologicalApproaches,”PhilosophicalTransactionsoftheRoyal Society of London, SeriesB:Biological Sciences 365, no. 1538 (2010):319–30.

9.24bounced checks at a casino H. Lesieur and S. Blume, “The SouthOaks Gambling Screen (SOGS): A New Instrument for the Identification ofPathological Gamblers,” American Journal of Psychiatry 144, no. 9 (1987):1184–88. In a fact-checking letter, Habib wrote, “Many of our subjects werecategorizedaspathologicalgamblersbasedonother typesofbehavior that thescreening form asks about. For example, it would have been sufficient for aparticipanttohavebeencountedasapathologicalgambleriftheysimply:1)hadgambledtowinmoneythattheyhadpreviouslylostgambling,and2)onsomeoccasions they gambledmore than they had intended to.We used a very lowthresholdtoclassifyoursubjectsaspathologicalgamblers.”

9.25 circuitry involved in the habit loop M. Potenza, V. Voon, and D.Weintraub,“DrugInsight: ImpulseControlDisordersandDopamineTherapiesinParkinson’sDisease,”NatureClinicalPracticeNeurology 12, no. 3 (2007):664–72; J. R. Cornelius et al., “Impulse Control Disorders with the Use ofDopaminergicAgentsinRestlessLegsSyndrome:ACaseControlStudy,”Sleep22,no.1(2010):81–87.

9.26HundredsofsimilarcasesarependingEdSilverman,“CompulsiveGamblerWinsLawsuitOverMirapex,”Pharmalot,July31,2008.

9.27“gamblersareincontroloftheiractions”Formoreontheneurologyof gambling, see A. J. Lawrence et al., “ProblemGamblers Share Deficits inImpulsive Decision-Making with Alcohol-Dependent Individuals,” Addiction104, no. 6 (2009): 1006–15; E. Cognat et al., “ ‘Habit’ Gambling BehaviourCaused by Ischemic Lesions Affecting the Cognitive Territories of the BasalGanglia,” Journal of Neurology 257, no. 10 (2010): 1628–32; J. Emshoff, D.Gilmore, and J. Zorland, “Veterans and Problem Gambling: A Review of theLiterature,” Georgia State University, February 2010,http://www2.gsu.edu/~psyjge/Rsrc/PG_IPV_Veterans.pdf;T.vanEimerenetal.,“Drug-Induced Deactivation of Inhibitory Networks Predicts PathologicalGambling in PD,”Neurology 75, no. 19 (2010): 1711–16; L. Cottler and K.Leung, “Treatment of PathologicalGambling,”CurrentOpinion in Psychiatry22, no. 1 (2009): 69–74; M. Roca et al., “Executive Functions in PathologicGamblersSelectedinanEcologicSetting,”CognitiveandBehavioralNeurology21,no. 1 (2008): 1–4;E.D.Driver-Dunckley et al., “Gambling and IncreasedSexual Desire with Dopaminergic Medications in Restless Legs Syndrome,”Clinical Neuropharmacology 30, no. 5 (2007): 249–55; Erin Gibbs VanBrunschot,“GamblingandRiskBehaviour:ALiteratureReview,”UniversityofCalgary,March2009.

9.28 “they’re acting without choice” In an email, Habib clarified histhoughtsonthistopic:“Itisaquestionaboutfreewillandself-control,andonethatfallsasmuchinthedomainofphilosophyasincognitiveneuroscience.…IfwesaythatthegamblingbehaviorintheParkinson’spatientisoutoftheirownhandsanddrivenbytheirmedication,whycan’twe(ordon’twe)makethesameargumentinthecaseofthepathologicalgamblergiventhatthesameareasofthebrainseemtobeactive?Theonly(somewhatunsatisfactory)answerthatIcancomeupwith (and one that youmention yourself) is that as a societywe aremorecomfortableremovingresponsibilityifthereisanexternalagentthatitcanbeplacedupon.So, it is easy in theParkinson’scase to say that thegamblingpathology resulted from the medication, but in the case of the pathologicalgambler, because there is no external agent influencing their behavior (well,thereis—societalpressures,casinobillboards,lifestresses,etc.—but,nothingaspervasiveasmedicationthatapersonmusttake),wearemorereluctanttoblametheaddictionandprefertoputtheresponsibilityfortheirpathologicalbehavioronthemselves—‘theyshouldknowbetterandnotgamble,’forexample.Ithinkas cognitive neuroscientists learn more—and ‘modern’ brain imaging is onlyabout 20–25 years old as a field—perhaps some of these misguided societalbeliefs (that even we cognitive neuroscientists sometimes hold) will slowlybegintochange.Forexample,fromourdata,whileIcancomfortablyconclude

that therearedefinitedifferences in thebrainsofpathologicalgamblersversusnon-pathologicalgamblers,atleastwhentheyaregambling,andImightevenbeable tomakesomeclaimssuchas thenear-missesappearmorewin-like to thepathological gambler but more loss-like to the non-pathological gambler, Icannot state with any confidence or certainty that these differences thereforeimply that the pathological gambler does not have a choice when they see abillboardadvertisinga localcasino—that theyareaslave to theirurges. In theabsenceofharddirectevidence,Iguessthebestwecandoisdrawinferencesbyanalogy,butthereismuchuncertaintyassociatedwithsuchcomparisons.”

9.29“whatever the lattermaybe”WilliamJames,Talks to Teachers onPsychology:andtoStudentsonSomeofLife’sIdeals.

9.30 the Metaphysical Club Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club: AStoryofIdeasinAmerica(NewYork:Farrar,Straus,andGiroux,2002).

9.31 “traced by itself before” James is quoting the French psychologistandphilosopherLéonDumont’sessay“Del’habitude.”

ABOUTTHEAUTHORCHARLESDUHIGGisaninvestigativereporterforTheNewYorkTimes,

where he contributes to the newspaper and the magazine. He authored orcontributed toGoldenOpportunities (2007), a series of articles that examinedhowcompaniesaretryingtotakeadvantageofagingAmericans,TheReckoning(2008),whichstudiedthecausesandoutcomesofthefinancialcrisis,andToxicWaters(2009),abouttheworseningpollutioninAmericanwatersandregulators’response.

Forhiswork,Mr.DuhigghasreceivedtheNationalAcademiesofSciences,NationalJournalism,GeorgePolk,GeraldLoeb,andotherawards,andhewaspartofa teamoffinalistsfor the2009PulitzerPrize.HehasappearedonThisAmerican Life, The Dr. Oz Show, NPR, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, andFrontline.

Mr.DuhiggisagraduateofHarvardBusinessSchoolandYaleUniversity.Beforebecomingajournalist,Mr.Duhiggworkedinprivateequityand—foroneterrifyingday—wasabikemessengerinSanFrancisco.

Mr.Duhiggcanacquirebadhabits—mostnotablyregardingfriedfoods—withinminutes,andlivesinBrooklynwithhiswife,amarinebiologist,andtheirtwo sons, whose habits include waking at 5:00 A.M., flinging food atdinnertime,andsmilingperfectly.

CHARLES DUHIGG is available for select readings and lectures. Toinquireaboutapossibleappearance,pleasecontacttheRandomHouseSpeakers

Bureauat212-572-2013orrhspeakers@randomhouse.com.

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