By Charles Duhigg

I started listening to The Power of Habit based on personal interest. However, there are several concepts related to organizational culture that could easily be applied to a classroom setting.

The second part of the book, titled “The Habits of Successful Organizations,” outlines the importance of keystone habits (habits that are so powerful, their principles spill into other aspects of life or the workplace); automation of willpower; how leaders implicitly create habits through how they operate, whether by accident or design; and the prediction and manipulation of habits.

The third part considers the habits of societies. My key take aways from part three are the powers, whether positive or negative, of weak-links and peer pressure within communities, which are applicable to a school setting. Many concrete examples are provided, including historical civil rights movements, explaining how their leaders’ connections within their communities served as the momentum for change through united resistance.