Habit or Ritual: What's Driving Your Day? 7 | 30

Radical Candor: Communication at Work

Radical Candor

Business, Management, Careers

4.7 • 729 Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, Amy talks with Harvard Business School professor and author of The Ritual Effect, Michael Norton, about how simple acts—like tapping your lucky pen or that sacred coffee run—can do more than you think. We're talking stress relief, team bonding, and (yes) actually making work feel meaningful. They unpack the difference between rituals and habits, why your team’s goofy lunch routine might be a stealth morale boost, and how even a tiny shared check-in—emoji-style—can reconnect us across the remote void. No kumbaya circles required. Tune in for a surprising, deeply human take on how we find connection, purpose, and a little weird joy in the everyday. Get all of the show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠RadicalCandor.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Episode Links: Transcript Michael Norton Behavioral Science Books | Michael Norton Michael I. Norton | Harvard Business School Humblebragging: A Distinct—and Ineffective—Self-Presentation Strategy Matchmaking Promotes Happiness | Social Psychological and Personality Science Rituals Quiz | What Are Your Rituals? | Michael Norton The Calming Power of Rituals | WSJ Connect: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Amy Sandler introduces guest Michael Norton and his book The Ritual Effect. (00:00:55) The Meaning in Small Rituals A fun and engaging ritual exercise to demonstrate emotional connections. (00:02:52) From Skeptic to Advocate Michael’s journey from being a ritual skeptic to writing The Ritual Effect. (00:05:49) The Meaning of Rituals How rituals naturally emerge to provide structure and meaning. (00:07:53) Rituals vs. Habits The emotional difference between habits and rituals. (00:10:06) Rituals as Emotion Generators The dual role of rituals in generating and managing emotions. (00:12:49) The Power of Collective Rituals How shared rituals strengthen bonds and emotional resonance. (00:14:07) Rituals in the Workplace Examples of team rituals that foster bonding and purpose. (00:16:39) Testing Rituals in Experiments Research showing even made-up rituals increase group cohesion. (00:20:37) Creating Work Rituals Advice for leaders to co-create rituals for new work teams. (00:23:12) Adapting Rituals for Remote Work How teams have developed virtual rituals to maintain connection online. (00:25:53) Meaningful Rituals in the Workplace The significance of rituals in the workplace for individuals and leaders. (00:29:11) Evaluating the Benefits of Rituals How rituals contribute positively to mental health and well-being. (00:32:40) Leaders Supporting Organic Rituals Encouraging authentic rituals without imposing corporate mandates. (00:35:40) Aligning Rituals with Team Values Using rituals to express and reinforce organizational values. (00:37:20) Discovering Your Rituals Exploring the rituals in your life through Michael’s Ritual Quiz. (00:40:52) Conclusion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome. This is Amy Sandler from Radical Cander. I'm the lead coach and podcast host at Radical Cander. And we have a very special guest, Michael Norton, from Harvard Business School, joining us to talk about the ritual effect from habit to ritual, harness the
0:22.8	surprising power of everyday actions. Welcome, Mike. Thanks so much, Amy. You are, in addition to
0:30.3	being both Mike and Michael Norton, you're a professor of business administration at Harbor
0:34.5	Business School. You've done research on the hazards of humble bragging,
0:40.2	the rewards of matchmaking. You co-authored a book called Happy Money with Elizabeth Dunn. So there's
0:46.1	actually so much else that we could talk to you about. But today we wanted to focus on your newest
0:51.3	book, which just came out April 9th, just yesterday.
0:54.3	Is that right?
0:54.9	Yeah.
0:55.3	So it's the ritual effect.
0:56.9	That's what we're talking about.
0:58.1	And so I thought, since we're talking about the ritual effect, before we get into the
1:03.0	what's and the whys and the hows, what if we start by doing a little ritual?
1:08.4	Great.
1:10.4	What might that be? Do you have an idea how we could start?
1:13.9	Super quick one is when something bad happens, are you worried that you tempted fate somehow,
1:19.6	and you decide to knock on wood? Everybody knock on wood right now at your desk.
1:27.2	Okay.
1:27.9	So when I do that in an audience, what happens is about half of people knock twice and half
1:33.6	of people knock three times.
1:35.3	And no one knows why at all.
1:38.5	But the people who knock twice look at the three knock people like, have you lost your mind?
	...

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