The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
★ Top 10 book of 2012 · #6 on Best Books of 2012
Duhigg explores the science of why habits form and how they can be changed, using stories from a lab, a marketing campaign for Febreze, and a company overhaul at Alcoa to show transformation in action.
Best for: Curious readers who want science-backed, story-driven insight into changing habits at work and home
The Power of Habit is #6 on BookWard's Best Books of 2012, out of 58 2012 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Power of Habit is about
Charles Duhigg, an award-winning New York Times business reporter, explores scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed, showing that people achieved success by focusing on the patterns that shape their lives and transforming habits. He opens with a young woman who quit smoking, ran a marathon, and earned a promotion at work within two years, while neurologists found that the patterns inside her brain had fundamentally changed.
From there he moves to business stories. Procter & Gamble marketers studied videos of people making their beds while trying to sell Febreze, a product headed for one of the company's biggest flops; after a slight shift in advertising, it earned a billion dollars a year. A new CEO at Alcoa attacked one pattern, how employees approached worker safety, and the company became the top performer in the Dow Jones. Told through anecdotes and written in an accessible style, it will help anyone who wants to break a habit, build a better one, or understand how organizations change.
The Power of Habit on the Best Books of 2012
The Power of Habit came out in 2012. Of the 58 books first published in 2012 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #6 on our Best Books of 2012 list.
Why it made the list: 2,503 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (148 ratings); 143 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Being read right now.
Nearby on the 2012 list
- Drama Raina Telgemeier, #4
- Throne of Glass Sarah J. Maas, #5
- Me Before You Jojo Moyes, #7
- Keeper of the Lost Cities Shannon Messenger, #8
See all Best Books of 2012 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2011 Best Books of 2013.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 2,198 want to read it, 143 are reading it now and 160 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4 out of 5 from 148 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 97 | 55% |
| Reader love | 52 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 95 | 20% |
Questions about The Power of Habit
When was The Power of Habit published?
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg was first published in 2012.
Was The Power of Habit one of the best books of 2012?
The Power of Habit is #6 on BookWard's Best Books of 2012, out of 58 2012 books that cleared our data bar. 2,503 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (148 ratings); 143 are reading it right now.
Why is The Power of Habit on the Best Books of 2012 list?
2,503 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (148 ratings); 143 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2012
- Wonder R. J. Palacio, #1
- The Fault in Our Stars John Green, #2
- The Selection (the Selection #1) Kiera Cass, #3
- Drama Raina Telgemeier, #4
- Throne of Glass Sarah J. Maas, #5
- Me Before You Jojo Moyes, #7
See the full Best Books of 2012, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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