Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Power of Habit [Chapter 6]

Haley Scholars Fall 2012 Reading Groups 

By Danielle Hall

In this chapter, Charles Duhigg discusses how inadvertent routines among organizations and firms lead to poor choices and destructive habits. The two case studies provided in this chapter resulted in costly, even deadly, consequences at Rhode Island Hospital and London Underground’s King’s Cross subway station. Both examples shed light on the ways in which ineffective communication, unwritten processes and policies, behaviors, contribute to inadvertent habit formations.

According to Duhigg, “even destructive habits can be transformed by leaders who know how to seize the right opportunities” and that “Sometimes in the heat of a crisis, the right habits emerge" (160). In this way, change within both organizations’ habits only became a possibility among leadership in the face of calamity. Here, Duhigg goes on to say that leaders must not only “cultivate habits that both create a real and balanced peace,” but also that leaders must “make it absolutely clear who’s in charge" (166).

Based on the reading, what did you come to view as one key benefit to “transforming” habits by “seizing” or finding the right opportunities amid crisis? Why or how so?

8 comments:

Unknown said...

i believe as a leader you have to be able to make hard decisions such as these. And that as a leader one key benefit to this is to have trust in who you are leading the people you are leading have trust in you which makes them easiler to lead

Ajeenah Johnson-Brown said...

Based on the reading, a key benefit to transforming habits by seizing or finding the right opportunities amid crisis is the opportunity to prevent to prevent further destruction through change. By changing old habits that lead to crisis it allows for change. However, in order for a change to occur there must be a strong respected leader to enforce these changes. If the people do not feel that the leader is "in charge" they will ignore his new plans and fall into old habits.

Joshua Jones said...

I found one key benefit to be finding confidence in the decisions you make as a leader. The more confident you are as a leader the more respect you will gain from your peers.

TaNeal Walls said...

Leadership is imperative to any group/organization. Outstanding leadership is imperative to any group or organization who wants to succeed and excel. Sometimes the intervention of a new form of leadership is necessary to implement some kind of change from the way things used to be, things that were inefficient. It is natural for businesses to form habits so that things will run quicker for them. However, rushing and slack work ultimately causes failure. Sometimes this is inevitable, which is why the idea of reform and leadership is key.

Ralicia Goble said...

I feel that being able to transform habits by finding the right opportunities or crisis is extremely important. Initially I thought it was negative, and in some cases it might be, like Hitler for example. However, in other cases, it can be very positive for safety reasons or developmental reasons. For example, you might seize the opportunity to alter the way a child develops in a positive way, thus creating positive habits for that child.

Maame Antwi said...

I found the one key benefit to transforming habits by seizing or finding the right opportunity during a crisis or critical time is solving the issue in the most efficient way. For example, if you usually approach an issue the same way due to habit, but are forced to change it during a crisis, this may accidentally bring up the most efficient way of handling that situation thus changing your habit to this new way of doing things.

Abagail Thompson said...

They key to altering habits that can lead to disastrous calamities is having a leader that is confidant in their decisions, self evaluative, and that has an eye to spot to root of conflict and begin adequate problem solving. A leader must have an eye to pinpoint problems, and conflict-forming habits, and seize the opportunity to create change, even if he/she must face much adversity. This leader must stand his ground, and reinforce his authority for any change to occur.

Jennifer Johnson said...

A key benefit to transforming habits by finding the right opportunities amid crisis is that there can be a complete change to the way things work after seeing that only bad things came out of an old habit.