How much does habits control you? How do habits influence or control your colleagues or team members?
Or how much does habit influence your potential customers?
Short answer? A lot, according to mathematics researchers, who studied tens of thousands in an international study.
The Daily Business News looks at a new City University research, plus two videos on the topic of habits. We’ll start with the Thinking Big video, which is a different take on the same issue of how habits influence behavior.
New City University Study on Habits
Humans really ARE creatures of habit, according to the Daily Mail.
The new City University research viewed habits through the lens of the places that people go to.
“Researchers find we only visit 25 places regularly,” stated the popular U.K. based publisher.
- Study is first of its kind to investigate people’s mobility over time
- Researchers first spotted the effect in students – but found it applies to everyone
- Say the find could be used to improve transport systems around cities
At any given time, people regularly return to a maximum of just 25 places, researchers have found. People will test new places to go, but they tend to go to roughly 2 dozen places on a consistent basis.
This has significance for marketers, and follows years of similar research done by marketers on how habits influence spending and other behaviors.
“The first of its kind study found we really are creatures of habit – even though our 25 places often change over time,” said the Daily Mail.
“The City University researchers behind it say it reveals ‘entirely new aspects of human behaviour’ The study, titled ‘Evidence for a conserved quantity in human mobility’ published in Nature Human Behaviour is based on analyses of 40,000 people’s mobile traces collected in four different datasets,” stated the Daily Mail, which writes using the ‘King’s English,’ which has some differences in spelling than U.S. English.
“The result was the same when we scaled up the project to 40,000 people of different habits and gender from all over the world,” they said, adding, “It was not expected in advance. It came as a surprise.”
“People are constantly balancing their curiosity and laziness,” Dr. Andrea Baronchelli said. “Our research established a first formal connection between the study of human mobility and human social cognition.”
The international research was done by Dr Laura Alessandretti, who led the study, along with Dr Andrea Baronchelli, researchers in the Department of Mathematics at City, University of London, together with Professor Sune Lehmann from DTU Technical University of Denmark, plus the research team from Sony Mobile Communications.
Another Researcher Looks at Habit
As a scholar-practitioner, . Fire Chief Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO Chief Scientist, Public Safety Laboratory, has combined 30 years of public safety service with doctoral research to improve understanding of situational awareness and decision making under stress.
“When training first responders, either on cognitive tasks (like memorizing facts) or on physical tasks (like pulling a hose line off an engine), it is very important to practice those skill repetitively. This video is a clip from my Mental Management of Emergencies,” says Gasaway’s YouTube page.
Rephrasing one of Dr. Gasaway’s research takaways, habits can be helpful or harmful. When someone – ourselves, a colleague, or a customer – are asked to do something unique, the natural reaction is to slow down. To move more cautiously.
Habits enter into all sorts of issues, such as who is trusted, and why.
Famous Manufactured Housing Investors View of Habits
“The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken,” said Warren Buffett, perQuote Investigator.
The research above underscores the accuracy of Buffett’s insight, but it also indicates that habits can be changed. Habits are arguably part of what keeps manufactured housing professionals from tapping into millions of potential sales, revealed in Harvard’s new research, see that report, linked below.
These various types of research on habits must also be considered by industry professionals when it comes to other habits, like what trade associations they give allegiance to, and why.
The Arizona and Nevada community associations demonstrated their willingness to break years of habit, because they believed that the evidence was clear that the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) didn’t meet their needs or advocate for their interests.
New Manufactured Home Industry National Association Related Statements
Marty Lavin pointed out recently that the Manufactured Housing Institute has a long history of supporting the interest of the “big boys,” and only supports the interests of smaller companies when it happens to align with that of large companies.
Facts simply are, and those industry statements linked above and the Buffett quote are accurate.
Alan Amy said that the industry’s bright future are among the reasons why the billionaires and billion dollar companies are buying up chunks of the industry.
So, based upon all of the above, is it time to take a fresh look at your operation’s habits, to see if they are helping you advance towards your goals, or are they keeping you from achieving your operation’s potential?
The short answer ought to be simple.
If you and your location keep doing the same things, the same way, then you can expect to get the same results. “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## ## (News, analysis, and commentary.)
(Third party images are provided under fair use guidelines.)
Related Reports:
Manufactured Housing Program Review Addressed by HUD Secretary Carson during Oversight Hearing
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