Ruth Bastedo is Director and Group Head, Client Strategy and Innovation at Social Media Group. Follow @rutbas

This was a very enjoyable read: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How to Change It.

It was pretty quick, but provided some thoughtful nuggets to chew on, that got me thinking about all the multitude of habits that make up both an individual’s life, and on a perhaps more interesting level, an organization’s life. The fundamental question this book attempts to answer is how do human beings change deep seated habits, and is there a way to “help” in the process. Presumably to change habits for the good, but we cannot forget that it can go the other way as well.

The content is not revolutionary, but when we think of what has to take place, from the perspective of “changing habits”, to get masses of people all over the world to want to log in to their Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest accounts every day, post content and engage in a meaningful way, getting a more in depth understanding of the psychology and patterns at work is probably a good idea. At the end of the day, people engage in social media, because they develop habits that drive them to do so.

By the end of this very entertaining and insightful read, you’ll be able to tackle that mid-day chocolate chip cookie habit with new energy, and talk about some interesting business case studies at the same time. All in the one book! A perfect fit for a short haul flight.

This book can be purchased at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca or Indigo.ca. Take your pick.