"You can't extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it."
Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author who has spent his career investigating the science behind behavior. Across The Power of Habit, Smarter Faster Better, and Supercommunicators, he translates rigorous research on habits, productivity, and communication into practical frameworks anyone can apply to their own life and work.
Our in-depth summaries and reviews of his work
Charles Duhigg reveals eight science-backed principles — from psychological safety to mental models — that separate productive people and teams from everyone…
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Charles Duhigg's research-backed guide to the three conversations, looping for understanding, and becoming the person everyone wants to talk to.
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Every habit runs on a loop. Our full Power of Habit summary covers Charles Duhigg's cue-routine-reward loop, keystone habits, the Golden Rule,…
Read Summary →Every habit runs on a cue-routine-reward loop. Duhigg argues you can't simply delete a bad habit — you have to keep the same cue and reward while swapping in a new routine.
Certain habits — like regular exercise — trigger cascading changes across unrelated areas of life, from eating better to showing more patience with family, making them disproportionately valuable to build.
Duhigg's research on communication identifies three conversation types — practical, emotional, and social — and shows that the best communicators consciously identify which type is happening before responding.
"Change might not be fast and it isn't always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped."— The Power of Habit
"The Golden Rule of Habit Change: You can't extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it."— The Power of Habit
"Willpower isn't just a skill. It's a muscle, like the muscles in your arms or legs, and it gets tired as it works harder, so there's less power left over for other things."— The Power of Habit
"To change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine."— The Power of Habit
Charles Duhigg reveals eight science-backed principles — from psychological safety to mental models — that separate productive people and teams from everyone else.
Charles Duhigg's research-backed guide to the three conversations, looping for understanding, and becoming the person everyone wants to talk to.
Every habit runs on a loop. Our full Power of Habit summary covers Charles Duhigg's cue-routine-reward loop, keystone habits, the Golden Rule, FAQs and a 7-day plan.
