Our lives are a sum total of all our habits and practices. With each passing day, the habits we adopt and the decisions we make continue to define and mould us, giving meaning to who we are. The influence that habits have on an individual know no bound. Defined simply as our patterns of human behaviors and as tendencies that are hard to give up, our habits are responsible for the very conditioning of our brain. Owing to scientific studies and research, the power of a single habit has been quite well known and acknowledged. The sheer profoundness of adopting something as minuscule as a habit, lies in the fact that that one habit possesses the power of transforming an entire human existence. Recognizing the power of committing to a goal and putting in the work, ideas on how to adopt good habits have become one of the major buzzwords of the millennium; with mantras such as ‘40 days and it becomes a habit’, it has become very simple to understand the sheer magnificence of the human brain that can merely be conditioned to adopt behaviors and make them automatic.
Based on the same process of adopting habits and manifesting change in the individual, organizations also are a collection of different habits and practices. Very similar to what we do in our personal life, organizations also make certain choices and adopt habits that go on to define them and their work, becoming an unconscious decision that the entire organization collectively makes, day in and day out. Despite the simple science behind ‘adopt habits and excel’, it is not all as simple as it sounds. As potentially every human in the world would know, breaking free from habits that are deeply engrained in our behaviors for years, and adopting new habits, is hard. As hard as it is for individuals, it is enormously harder for organizations.
The main highlight in a corporate setup conventionally tends to be the processes. Explicitly defined as a certain way of doing something, processes receive a lot of consideration. However, the things that just tend to happen, the choices that continue to be made without any clarity on why or how are generally habits. Despite the lack of consideration towards them, habits shape an organization and make it what it is. In the year 1987, consciously or unconsciously, Paul O’Neil revolutionized ALCOA by simply harnessing the power of habit. To adopt new habits, O’Neil introduced workplace safety initiatives. Understanding the potential of dynamism, O’Neil continued to introduce new corporate habits, each of which served as a stepping stone for improvement. By the time O’Neil retired, the company was not only five times larger but also 200% greater than it initially was. By targeting a keystone habit, O’Neil generated a ripple effect that led to improvements in many other organizational practices ultimately leading to a considerable amount of growth.
Our habits are sort of like a safe space for us. In the comfort of things we know, the fear of the unknown and the potential of risks are eliminated. Shackled by a mentality of ‘this is how things are done around here’ companies continue to make choices that confine them to an ideological box that keeps both performance and productivity low. This institutionalized ideology must be eliminated if excellence is a goal. When exposed to new scenarios and situations, our brain works insanely faster leading to out of the box thinking and innovative problem-solving. If imprisoned by the mindset of doing things how they’ve always been done, companies eradicate any chances of growth and completely rule out excellence. The power of habit is enormous. With a little effort in breaking free from old binding habits, companies can downright revolutionize their growth. Excellence is not evasive; one simple decision for adopting a new habit and you can be on the path to excellence.