Changing Company or Personal Habits

Company or person
Habits
Where do they come from
and how can we change the bad ones?
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan
1

What is a habit?
1. It is some behavior that was repeatedly done so much that, it is
now performed without thinking.
2. It is automatic and feels right at the time.
3. Some habits are good and extremely helpful, saving us a lot of
energy.
4. Some habits are bad for us, so we would like to change them.
5. All habits offer some reward (sometimes temporary or
short-term only).
6. Habits are formed around what we are familiar with and know
even though we don’t necessarily like them.
Ron McFarland, Tokyo, Japan 2

What is a habit?
Most habits started with a person thinking about something,
gathering information and making a decision to do something.
It took thought initially.
In some cases though, habits are started outside of
consciousness and slowly become automatic. They are
supported with reasoning, but they happen without our
permission. Families don’t intend to eat fast-food regularly,
but it gradually becomes a habit. After buying fast-food
many times, the action became automatic, and there was
little thought. They are supposed to be temporary but
become permanent.
If we were aware of the cues that lead to the action it creates,
the habit can be modified. We have to learn to observe cues.

Habit and daily activities
40 percent of the actions people perform each day are from habit,
not their own direct decisions. These actions are done impulsively
or instinctively.
A bad habit can be replaced by a good one. If a habit is specifically
focused on, it can be changed.
Many habits or behaviors can not be changed concurrently, but they
can be changed one-by-one.

The more this loop
is circled, the more
automatic it become.
This creates
anticipation and
craving.
The goal of military drills, space shuttle training, movie making rehearsals
is to make thing automatic, to help people do things without thinking.
Components of a habit
Cue (trigger)
Routine
Reward
There are three-steps in which the brain processes habits.
First, a cue or trigger tells the
brain to go into automatic mode
and use the habitual behavior.
Then, there is the routine
in which the physical,
mental or emotional
behavior is acted out.
The final step is the reward,
which helps the brain figure out
if this particular activity is worth
remembering for the future.

The more this jogging
loop is circled, the more
automatic it becomes.
After some time, it will
become more habitual
and not jogging will be
uncomfortable.
6
Jogging in the morning
Cue (trigger)
Routine
Reward
If you want to jog every morning, follow these procedures.
First, create a morning
cue, like laying out your
jogging clothes in front of
your bed on the floor.
Do your run
as planned.
Make sure you give yourself some
reward or praise for the jogging
achievement. Withhold the reward
if you missed the run. The reward
could be simply recording the run
and feeling the achievement.

Cue (trigger)
Routine
Reward
Time pressure could
trigger a routine.
An overpowering
atmosphere
could trigger a
routine.
Habit component examples
Cues can be things like…..seeing a candy
bar, seeing a television commercial, being
in a certain place at a certain time of day
or just seeing a particular person.
Routines can be incredibly
complex or extremely simple.
(Some habits, such as those
related to emotions, are
measured in milliseconds).
Rewards can range from food or drugs
that cause physical sensations, to joy,
pride, praise or personal self-esteem.
Great reward for
now anyway!!!
Habit loop
continuation
or not?

Cue (trigger) Routine
Reward
Habit example: eating too many snacks.
Automatic eating habit components defined
Automatically at
3pm an office
worker feels restless
at his desk.
Feel refreshed, he
returns to his desk and
continues working.
He leaves his desk ,
goes to a convenience
store and buys a
fattening snack. While
eating it he chats with
a co-worker.
Penalty: But he notices he
is starting to gain weight.
Habit
Loop

Cue (trigger)
Reward
Habit example: Buying things impulsively.
Automatic impulse buying habit components defined
You see things you like
entering a grocery store
or while waiting to pay at
the checkout line.
You enjoy it for a few minutes
but afterword wish you hadn’t
bought it, as it was not needed.
You automatically buy
some gum and a
magazine without thinking.
Stop impulse buying!
1. Plan in advance all
purchases and make an item
list.
2. Go to those items only.
3. Know what the impulse
purchase cue is and plan
a counter purchase to get
the same reward.
Routine
Habit
Loop

Reinforcing &
strengthening
the habit
Cue (trigger)
Routine
Reward
Craving
Components of a habit at their extreme
He sees someone
smoking a cigarette.
Even though he
wants to stop, the
more he observes
the smoker, the
more he craves it.
He suffers with the
craving until he
can’t stand it
anymore. This
leads to him have
a cigarette.
For a few seconds,
he feels rewarded from
the cigarette, but then
feels bad for starting again.
Over time, some habits become very powerful addictions. Notice
this process for a smoker who wants to stop:

11
4-Routine - With
all the pressure
and desire, the
behavior followed.
1-Anticipation
In a person’s
mind, he feels
getting the reward
beforehand.
5-Reward - The
behavior offered value
of some sort. Bad
habits have long-term
penalties though.
3-Cue (trigger) - The craving
created the trigger to behave.
2-Craving - Because the
anticipated reward and
reality did not match,
craving is created. If the
reward does not come,
the result will be anger or
depression, even though
we don’t know why.
The habit
keeps going
around and
around.
Addiction modification
Once you break down a habit into its components and recognize the trigger, craving
and reward, you can make specific adjustments starting with plan of action when a
certain cue occurs.
Through repetition, just anticipation of the reward can create the craving which
leads to the trigger.

Habits of always
being late with reports
A habit of little cooperation
among salesmen because
of excess competition
Habit of not caring
about declining sales
Triggered from
excess pressure
from the boss
The habit of working alone or
working in groups when the
opposite is appropriate.
Bad habits in a business environment
Habit of one talkative person
dominating a meeting
All organizations have good and bad institutional habits. But some
organizations deliberately design their habits and others just let them be
created without forethought possibly through rivalries or fear.
Sometimes, a crisis is required to motivate people to improve working
habits.

Cue (trigger) Routine
Reward
Habit example: Someone attacks or gets angry at you.
Habit of getting angry at customers
A customer
complains the
price is too high!!!
You feel temporarily strong,
but later regret what you said.
You get angry at
the customer.
Stop angry response.
1. You will have to plan in advance what you will say to an angry customer.
2. “Next time when the customer gets angry, I will…..”
3. Role play and practice the planned response at least three times.
“Please explain the me
exactly why you are saying
the price is too high.”
Habit
Loop

Explain how the product will
produce the reward. Present
in a way that best matches
the customer’s buying habit.
What are the
customer buying
habits for your
product ?
Dramatize and
exaggerate the reward of
the purchase. Present
clear signs (cues) the
product is working.
Observe customer
habits, determine cues to
buy and clearly define
the reward that he wants.
When the customer’s
situation changes, how
does his habits change?
Business promotional activities
& customer habits
If your product is very new, try to connect it to something familiar.
The habit of liking one thing will spread to the new item. 14

Starting to
jog influences
smoking
1. Many habits can not be changed concurrently (at the same time).
2. Find a keystone habit and work on it initially. It should produce small, quick rewards.
3. One keystone habit can create a reaction.
Jogging impacts
on eating habits
Eating habits can
change work method
Working method
changes spending
Improved spending
reduces stress
Low stress
improves sleep
Change habits one at a time, not all at the same time
Keystone
Habits
Habits that start to
shift, dislodge and
influence other
behavior.
Creates
reaction

4-step framework to change a habit
Step One: Identify the Routine
- Notice the habit loop and the Routine in it.
- The Routine is the most obvious (what
you do) so start with it.
- Determine what the Routine is that you
want to modify, change or just study?
(Example: Having a cookie and work
break for 10 minutes)
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
Habit Loop
Non-thinking behavior

Step Two: Experiment with the Rewards
- Rewards are powerful because they satisfy cravings. But, we’re
often not conscious of the cravings that drive our behavior. They
are only obvious afterwards but not when underway.
- To learn what the craving is, you must experiment, which might
take a few days, weeks or longer. You must feel the cue
pressure at the time it occurs to fully identify it.
- At this stage, consider yourself a scientist that is just doing
experiments and gathering data.
- After the first routine, start adjusting the routine thereafter, and see
if there is a reward change (greater or less reward). (Example:
Buy a donut or apple not a cookie).
- The point is to test different hypotheses to determine which
craving is driving your routine. Are you craving a cookie itself or a
break from work?
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
Why are you
doing this?
Habit Loop
Improved behavior

Step Two: Experiment with the Rewards
After four or five different routines and rewards, write down on a piece
of paper the first three or four things that come to mind right after each
reward is received.
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
After writing your thoughts, set a timer on your watch or computer
for 15 minutes. When it rings, ask yourself if you still have the
craving. (Example: “Clear headed” is #1 after chatting with others
and having a cookie.)
This directs
your attention.
Habit Loop
- This will force you to be aware of the moment.
- It will help you later in recalling what you were thinking
about at that moment.
- Try to remember what you were thinking and feeling at
that precise instant and 15 minutes after the routine.
- If the craving is gone, you have identified the reward.
- This process isolates the actual craving.

Step Three: Isolate the Cue (trigger)
The cue is often hard to identify because there is too much
information bombarding us as our behaviors unfold.
To identify a cue amid other distractions, we can observe five factors
the moment the urge hits us.
1. Where did it occur (location)? (Cookie Trigger#1: sitting at desk)
2. When did it occur (time)? (Cookie Trigger#1 : 3:36PM)
3. What was your emotional state (feelings)? (Trigger#1 : bored)
4. Who (or what type of people) was around you at the time
(people)? (Cookie Trigger#1 : no one)
5. What action preceded the urge (response)? (Cookie Trigger#1 :
started looking at email)
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
Now, lets look
at the cue.
Habit Loop
Find the trigger

Cookie Trigger#2 - the next time in isolating the cue.
1. Where did it occur? (walking to the printer)
2. When did it occur? (3:31PM)
3. What was your emotional state? (happy)
4. Who (or what type of people) was around you at the time?
(four or five strangers)
5. What action preceded the urge? (made a print)
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
What about
the next time?
Habit Loop

Cookie Trigger#3 - the third time in isolating the cue.
1. Where did it occur? (the conference room)
2. When did it occur? (3:42PM)
3. What was your emotional state? (tired, but excited about this
project)
4. Who (or what type of people) was around you at the time?
(three very close colleagues)
5. What action preceded the urge? (I sat quietly but couldn’t pay
close attention to the discussion)
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
What about
the next time?
It is pretty clear that the
trigger occurs at a specific
time of day (#2 When),
around
3:00PM - 4:00PM.
Habit Loop

Step Four: Have a Plan
Once you have confirmed the reward driving your behavior, the cue
that triggers it and the behavior itself, you can begin to shift your
actions.
1. First, plan for the cue.
2. Second, choose a behavior that delivers the same reward but
without the penalties you suffer now.
3. Third, each time make the behavior a deliberate choice until
you no longer need to think about it every time.
(Example: You took a break and had a cookie around 3:30PM.
You learned you crave socializing at that time. So, you set your
alarm at 3:30PM. When it rings you go visit someone but avoid
eating.
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
Now, for your
plan
Habit Loop
Plan direction in advance

Start doing something & stopping something
Plans for starting to do something
To successfully start doing something you often forget,
follow this process.
1. First, plan what you want to do.
2. Second, determine when you want to complete it.
3. Third, if it is a big project, break the project into
small tasks.
4. With a timer or daily planner, set up cues to start
each task.
5. Complete each task on schedule.
6. Reward yourself for staying on schedule.
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
Plan your
cues to stay
on schedule.
Habit Loop

Habit change conclusions
Cue
(trigger) Routine
Reward
Habit LoopSometimes change takes a long time.
Sometimes a support group is required to help change the habit.
Sometimes a lot of practice and role play of a new and better routine in
a low-stress environment is required.
To find the actual reward, sometimes it requires repeated experiments.
Now, you can diagnose the cue, the routine and the reward, which will
lead you to a plan to change the habit when the cue presents itself.
Sometimes habits are only symptoms for larger, deeper problems of
helplessness. In these cases, professional help might be required.
If you have the desire to change and know there will be minor failures
along the way, you can gain power over any habit.

REVIEW: Strategies in changing bad habits
(reward/penalty) to a more desired habit (reward only)
First, to modify a habit, you must decide to change it. You must consciously accept the hard work of identifying
the causes and rewards that drive the habit’s routines, and find alternatives. You must know you have control
and are determined to use it.
Specifically write down when triggers occur and make a journal to determine exactly what the trigger is and
what the reward is.
Direct the focus of a new reward when the trigger occurs.
Change habits in a safe environment, not under stress. Practice and role play responses again and again and
again until it becomes automatic. Do it in advance of the critical moment to make sure it is automatic. Under
stress you should only be acting and not thinking and planning. When the situation comes, you don’t think but
act automatically only.
You can never get rid of a habit, but you can replace the behavior by creating a new behavior when the trigger
occurs.
Genuine change requires work and understanding of the cravings driving the behavior.
Understanding the cues and the cravings driving the habits won’t make them suddenly disappear, but it will give
you a way to plan how to change patterns that maintain or improve on the same rewards.
Through 1-understanding what triggers the habit, 2-knowing what exactly you do and 3-knowing what the short-
term reward (and long-term penalty), belief can be created that new patterns can be implemented.
If there are other people working on the same habit, working together can be very helpful. You have to create a
support environment and avoid environments that reinforce the bad habit loop. Groups can support and
maintain belief.

Company or person
Habits
You now have the strategy to change personal bad habits
as well as habits within an organization.
Good luck
Thank You

Changing Company or Personal Habits

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (20)

Semelhante a Changing Company or Personal Habits

Semelhante a Changing Company or Personal Habits (20)

Mais de Ron McFarland

Mais de Ron McFarland (20)

Último

Último (15)

Changing Company or Personal Habits