1: Tony Dungy couldn’t win the big game. That was the rap.
In 1996, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Tony as their head coach. At that moment, the Bucs were then one of the worst teams in the NFL. Actually, one of the worst teams in the history of professional football, writes Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.… continue reading
1: The United States is one of the wealthiest countries on earth. Yet, in the 1960s and 1970s, the country had higher infant mortality rates than most of Europe and some parts of South America. In rural areas, a startling number of babies were dying before their first birthdays.
As it turns out, the key to solving this complex problem was understanding the concept called “Keystone Habits.”
Before leading a turnaround at … continue reading
Yesterday, we looked at how Michael Phelps focused on a few core or “keystone” habits that impacted all other areas of his life. Attending to these “small wins” had an oversized return.
And, it’s not just individuals who are capable of this type of transformation.
“When companies focus on changing habits, whole organizations can transform,” writes Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in … continue reading
1: August 8, 2008. Beijing, China. Summer Olympics. Men’s final for the 200-meter butterfly.
Michael Phelps knew something was wrong as soon as he hit the water.
“There was moisture inside his goggles. He couldn’t tell if they were leaking from the top or bottom, but as he broke the water’s surface and began swimming, he hoped the leak wouldn’t become too bad,” Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit: Why We Do What … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something we are doing at PCI in our quest to earn a spot of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.
This week we’ve been exploring the idea of “keystone habits.” How changing one key habit can set off a cascade … continue reading
1: “Conventional wisdom held that the best way for people to lose weight was to radically alter their lives,” Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit.
“Doctors would give obese patients strict diets and tell them to join a gym, attend regular counseling sessions—sometimes as often as every day—and shift their daily routines by walking up stairs, for instance, instead of taking the elevator,” notes Charles. “Only by … continue reading
1: “You can’t order people to change. That’s not how the brain works,” Paul O’Neill reflected.
As the new CEO, his goal was audacious: to transform Alcoa, the Aluminum Corporation of America, a Fortune 500 company that has existed for more than 100 years.
His predecessor had tried to mandate improvements. That didn’t go so well. Fifteen thousand associates had gone on strike, bringing dummies to company parking lots, dressing … continue reading
1: The telephone rang in the middle of the night.  Paul O’Neill awoke in an instant. He was the new CEO of Alcoa, the largest…
A plant manager in Arizona was calling.
“A young man who had joined the company a few weeks earlier, eager for the job because it offered health care for his pregnant wife—had tried a repair,” Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit. “He … continue reading
1: A group of Wall Street investors and stock analysts gathered in the ballroom of a swanky New York City hotel. “They were there to meet the new CEO of the Aluminum Company of America—or Alcoa, as it was known—a corporation that, for nearly a century, had manufactured everything from the foil that wraps Hershey’s Kisses and the metal in Coca-Cola cans to the bolts that hold satellites together,” writes … continue reading
1: The year was 1934. One of the largest and most successful attempts at wide-scale habit change was about to begin.
Bill Wilson, a thirty-nine year old alcoholic, sat in a dreary basement on the Lower East Side of New York City.  He was drinking three bottles of booze a day.  His marriage was falling apart.  His career was at a dead end, Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit… continue reading
