15 Minutes to Better Thinking: Practical Insights from Nir Eyal’s "Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products" with Charles Good | The Good Leadership Podcast #212

Today, we unpack the book "Hooked" by Nir Eyal.

In this book profile, we explore the science behind habit-forming products and how companies design digital experiences that keep us coming back again and again.

Charles breaks down Eyal's powerful HOOK model—a four-step process of triggers, actions, variable rewards, and investments that explains why we can't seem to put our phones down.

Through practical examples from apps and services we use daily, the episode reveals how businesses move beyond mere engagement to create genuine user habits.

Key topics include:

• The four benefits of habits for companies - including increased customer lifetime value, pricing flexibility, supercharged word-of-mouth growth, and competitive moats

• External vs. internal triggers - how notifications, emotions, and psychological states initiate habitual behaviors

• The action phase - why reducing effort is more effective than increasing motivation

• Variable rewards - the unpredictable payoffs that keep us coming back and the three types: tribe (social validation), hunt (information seeking), and self (personal achievement)

• The investment phase - how user contributions of time, data, content, and effort lock in future engagement

Discover the psychology behind your digital habits and how to maintain control in a world designed to capture your attention.

Hooked Book: https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788

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Website and live online programs: http://ims-online.com

Blog: https://blog.ims-online.com/

Podcast: https://ims-online.com/podcasts/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesagood/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlesgood99

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:20) Four Key Benefits of Habits for Companies

(04:00) Understanding Triggers - External vs. Internal

(07:40) The Action Phase - Simplicity Drives Engagement

(10:00) Variable Rewards - Why Uncertainty Keeps Us Hooked

(13:40) The Investment Phase - User Commitment and Stored Value

(17:20) Conclusion