Bring Craving Into Your Organizational Change

I recently reread The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, and this time, a key insight stood out: to turn an action into a habit, you need a craving.

The Habit Loop: My Running Story

Since 2012, I’ve been running five to ten kilometers a week on and off. It’s never been smooth sailing; I didn’t particularly enjoy it, but I always felt good afterward. For years, it felt more like a chore than a habit—until the last two years.

I tried many things to sustain the habit loop: using triggers (setting out my shoes, fixed times, running when meetings got canceled). These strategies helped, but running still didn’t become a consistent or enjoyable habit.

Then COVID-19 happened. Suddenly, I wasn’t commuting to the office and had extra time. I started running more frequently and for longer distances. This amplified the reward: more dopamine, better fitness, and a stronger sense of well-being. Eventually, I experienced the runner’s high. I can’t pinpoint exactly when it started, but something shifted. Now, I look forward to running instead of forcing myself out the door.

The Key Ingredients for Habit Formation

Creating and sustaining habits isn’t easy. My struggle with running proves this. To form a habit, you need:

• Trigger: A cue to initiate the behavior.

• Routine: The behavior itself.

• Reward: A positive outcome that reinforces the behavior.

• Craving: The emotional or physical drive to seek the reward again.

Craving is the engine of the habit loop. For me, it took time and perseverance to develop this craving. Initially, visualization helped (imagining myself fitter, better at tennis, feeling good), but it wasn’t as powerful as the genuine craving I eventually felt through experience. Once my heart was in it, running became more than a rational effort—it became a joy.

Applying Craving to Organizational Change

Organizational change may be more abstract, but we can still uncover and cultivate craving. Telling people they need to keep learning to stay relevant won’t suffice. Showing them a better future through learning might spark some action, but it remains distant. Feeling the benefits of learning—how it improves their lives—will create the craving to learn continuously.

This requires a different approach than traditional communication and training. For example, at Soulcenter, we work to foster craving among care home staff for personalized activities for residents. The rational reward—happier residents—is clear and repeated in our communication. But we also:

• Use vibrant colors and positive language in the tools.

• Include photos of residents to create emotional connections.

• Add playful elements to otherwise mundane processes.

• Enable staff to print beautiful calendars of meaningful activities to share with residents and families, encouraging participation and feedback through smiles and joy.

Craving isn’t created by a single solution but through a combination of elements that build toward a tipping point. Once the emotional craving takes root, the habit follows naturally.

Craving: The Holy Grail of Change

Uncovering and nurturing craving may be the holy grail of behavioral change—a concept often overlooked in organizational and cultural transformation. Yet, it’s endlessly fascinating, isn’t it? 😀