Week 1: The Power of Tiny Changes
Based on Atomic Habits by James Clear
Core Concept
Success is the product of daily habits, not once-in-a-lifetime transformations. James Clear introduces the concept that improving by just 1% each day leads to remarkable results over time. The aggregation of marginal gains demonstrates that small changes can compound into significant outcomes. Conversely, small negative habits compound into toxic results. This principle challenges the common belief that massive success requires massive action, instead emphasizing that tiny changes can make a remarkable difference when sustained over time.
Key Insights
If you get 1% better each day for one year, you end up 37 times better by the end
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement
Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits
Breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions building up potential
You do not rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems
Discussion Questions
Can you identify a small habit in your business or personal life that has compounded over time to create significant results? What made it stick?
What is one area of your business where you have been focused on goals rather than systems? How might shifting to a systems-based approach change your outcomes?
Think about the Valley of Disappointment that Clear describes. Have you experienced a time when you were making progress but not seeing results? How did you push through?
What is one negative habit in your business operations that might be compounding in the wrong direction? How could you begin to reverse it?
How can the 1% improvement principle be applied to customer service, team culture, or operational efficiency in your organization?
Clear states that true behavior change is identity change. What identity would you need to adopt to achieve your current business goals?
Group Exercise: The 1% Improvement Challenge
Instructions:
Break into groups of 3-4 people.
Each person identifies one specific business process or habit they perform regularly.
As a group, brainstorm how to improve that process by just 1% (make it tiny and achievable).
Calculate what the compound effect would be if this 1% improvement continued for 30 days, 90 days, or one year.
Share one example with the larger group.
Week 2: The Four Laws of Behavior Change
Based on Atomic Habits by James Clear
Core Concept
James Clear presents a practical framework for building good habits and breaking bad ones through four laws: Make it Obvious, Make it Attractive, Make it Easy, and Make it Satisfying. These laws create a simple, actionable system that can be applied to any behavior you want to change. For breaking bad habits, the inverse applies: Make it Invisible, Make it Unattractive, Make it Difficult, and Make it Unsatisfying. This framework removes the guesswork from habit formation and provides concrete steps anyone can implement immediately.
The Four Laws
1st Law: Make it Obvious (Cue)
Use implementation intentions, habit stacking, and design your environment to make cues visible.
2nd Law: Make it Attractive (Craving)
Bundle temptation, join a culture where your desired behavior is normal, and create a motivation ritual.
3rd Law: Make it Easy (Response)
Reduce friction, prime your environment, master the decisive moment, and use the two-minute rule.
4th Law: Make it Satisfying (Reward)
Use reinforcement, track your habits, and never miss twice.
Discussion Questions
Which of the Four Laws do you find easiest to implement in your business? Which is most challenging?
How could you redesign your work environment to make productive habits more obvious and distracting habits less visible?
Can you think of a way to use habit stacking in your daily business routine? What existing habit could serve as the trigger?
What is one business habit you want to establish that you could make irresistibly attractive by bundling it with something you enjoy?
Where in your business are you experiencing too much friction? How could you reduce the number of steps between you and your good habits?
What tracking system could you implement to make business habits more satisfying? How do you currently celebrate small wins?
Group Exercise: Habit Design Workshop
Instructions:
Each person identifies one habit they want to build in their business.
Using the Four Laws framework, design the habit by answering: How will I make
it obvious? How will I make it attractive? How will I make it easy? How will I make it satisfying?
Write out a specific implementation intention: I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].
Share your habit design with a partner and commit to implementing it for the next week.
Week 3: Identity-Based Habits
Based on Atomic Habits by James Clear
Core Concept
Most people approach habits from the outside in, focusing on what they want to achieve (outcomes) or what they need to do (processes). But the most effective way to change behavior is to focus on who you wish to become (identity). Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. The goal is not to read a book; the goal is to become a reader. The goal is not to run a marathon; the goal is to become a runner. When your habits align with your desired identity, you are motivated by intrinsic factors rather than external rewards. Your behaviors become automatic expressions of who you are.
Three Layers of Behavior Change
Outcomes: What you get (losing 20 pounds, launching a product)
Processes: What you do (exercising four times per week, implementing a new marketing system)
Identity: What you believe (I am a healthy person, I am an innovative business leader)
Key Insights
The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity
The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain habits associated with it
Identity emerges from habits; every action is a vote for who you want to become
The biggest barrier to positive change is identity conflict
Discussion Questions
What type of business leader do you want to be known as? How do your current daily habits align with or contradict that identity?
Can you think of a time when your sense of identity prevented you from adopting a beneficial habit or change? How might you reframe your identity to support growth?
What identity does your company culture currently reinforce? What identity would you like it to reinforce?
Clear suggests asking: What would a successful person do? How can you use this question to guide daily business decisions?
How many votes have you cast for your desired identity in the past week? What small evidence can you gather to reinforce who you want to become?
Group Exercise: Identity Mapping
Instructions:
Write down your primary business goal (outcome level).
Work backward: What type of person would achieve that goal? Write it as an identity statement starting with I am.
List three small habits that person would have. These are your daily votes for that identity.
Identify one current habit that conflicts with your desired identity. How can you start reducing this habit?
Share your identity statement and one supporting habit with the group.
