The primacy of habits

There are many reasons why talk about habits is far more important than talk about behaviors and skills. Behaviors and skills dependably show up only to the degree they become habits.

Leveraging the latest science on habit building is vital to this effort. Good intentions have little power otherwise.

The unique power of habits over plans

When our intention is to make progress on the dream we want to realize together it's important to understand that sometimes it's less about the plan that we manufacture for that dream and more about growing the kind of habits that makes momentum and progress possible.

These can be daily habits, situational habits, weekly and less frequent habits. It helps to know the science behind habit building so we can accelerate our growth curve when it comes to growing new habits and strengthening existing habits. Just the process of identifying required habits for our desired dreams empowers us in ways that plans cannot. This is not to say that habits always effectively substitute for good plans. It just means understanding the unique quality and power that habits have over what we call plans.

High performance habits

From the Blinkest piece on "High Performance Habits":

"Author, Brendon Burchard, has conducted one of the biggest studies on high performance in history, examining people from over 190 countries to understand exactly how they achieve their long-term success.

He concluded that gender, race, age and personality traits have very little to do with high performance. What really matters are certain key habits, like keeping yourself physically fit.

In other words, it’s not who you are, but rather what you do that’s important. The author also discovered that these habits didn’t form by accident. High performers took them on deliberately.

Now, don’t confuse these habits with “life hacks” or some simple, magical changes that take zero effort to implement. High performers outperform their peers because they consciously and consistently practice these habits.

Another common trait is their confidence in being able to master even difficult tasks, like big new projects at work or learning new languages. Again, this isn’t an inherent trait; it’s an earned confidence achieved through diligent practice."

This is the growth mindset that supports our growing together in work. It makes us more nimble as a team.