Using Habit Formation To Drive Culture Change

If culture is the collective habits of a group, then culture change must take place one habit at a time. This is not a trivial exercise according to a recent study which shows that the median time to make a new behaviour habitual is 59 days (Keller et al., 2021). To understand the implications for your organisation, we turn to our furry friend, the European wild rabbit.

In this masterclass you will acquire some evidence-based ways to establish a new habit (be that a cultural change, or a New Years’ Resolution):

1. Replacement: It is much easier to develop a new habit, than to stop doing an old one. Even bad habits need time, place (cues) and repetition to survive, so if you divert those resources to something else, they will burn out like a bushfire without fuel or oxygen.

2. Approach (and Avoidance) Goals: Develop strong reasons for adopting the new behaviour, as well as avoiding the old habit (and remind yourself of both when temptation cues).

3. Buddy-up: Peer pressure can be incredibly powerful when used as a force for good, so enrol a close friend or colleague to keep you accountable for the change and check in on your progress (or lack thereof) daily.

4. Baby steps: Don’t make your first goals overly ambitious. Set ‘micro habits’ that are almost impossible to fail at, like one minute of exercise or meditation. Science tells us that this helps to overcome our inertia and we tend to end up doing more than we had planned, rather than less.

5. Intend: Explicit intentions, including nominating a place and time where you will perform your micro habit each day doubles the likelihood of making that behavioural change.

6. Track: Keep a diary or use an app that tracks your habit completion.

7. Stack it: Attach your new behaviour to something you want to do and already do habitually. This ‘habit-stacking’ (anchoring of a new behaviour to an existing, well-established one) increases your chances of getting it done.

When & Where

The online masterclass will take place via Zoom over 5 consecutive days, from Monday, 6 January 2025 to 10 January 2025, one-hour online sessions, 12:00pm - 1:00pm (AEST)

Contact the host of Habits are like RABBITS Masterclass (Starting on 6 Jan 2025)

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