Patterns Persist Because We Are Creatures of Habit

Whenever I visit a buffet restaurant I eat more than I had intended. This was true when I was twelve years old. It remains true today, and I’m now seventy-four.

Patterns persist.

When I hired Karen five years ago to be my assistant her references were outstanding. She was extremely personable at her interview and earned a very high score on our thirty-question logic test. There was only one item on her resume which concerned me.

“Karen, you’ve held a number of previous positions, but you have never stayed at any job for more than eighteen months. If I hire you, why should I believe that you will stay with me for more than a year and a half?”

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The more things change, the more they remain the same.
—Alphonse Karr, Les Guépes

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I don’t recall Karen’s answer but I did hire her, ignoring my own conviction that patterns persist. Did she stay with me for even a year and a half? Nope. After five months her ideal job came along and it was “adios” for Karen.

Patterns Persist. Persistent patterns persist persistently.

In 1991 my wife and I traveled to Hawaii to see a total eclipse of the sun. We stayed for a week at what was then the Hyatt hotel on the Kona coast. We found that the entire staff, from reception desk to bus boy, was extremely friendly and helpful. That same pattern has persisted in every Hyatt hotel we have stayed at since. Yes, patterns persist for organizations as well as individuals. A Big Mac tastes the same in San Diego or St. Louis or even Moscow.  That is why we trust (or dislike) MacDonald’s.

When you try a restaurant for the first time and are met with poor service and mediocre food, do you go back? I don’t. I assume that the pattern will persist, and I’m almost always right in this assumption.

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Nothing is stronger than habit.
—Ovid, Ars Amatoria

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A friend of mine, Steve, badgered me for years to invest money with him to speculate in Treasury bill futures. He was convinced he could triple my investment.  Of course, he needed my stake because he had previously lost all of his own money doing exactly the same thing. I agreed to open an account for $30,000 and split the profit or loss with Steve. It was a rousing ride, but in less than three months he lost half of my original capital. I grabbed back the $15,000 that remained, and haven’t touched the commodities market since.

What are the lessons here?

1. Recognize your own patterns and expect them to persist. If you like the pattern, embrace it. If you dislike the consequences of the pattern either avoid the area entirely (I will never speculate in the commodities market again), work around it (eat in a restaurant which has no buffet), or intentionally try to change it (use a different approach, or People Tool, than you have in the past).

2. Recognize the patterns of behavior in others. Expect those patterns to persist. On your 25^th wedding anniversary your husband will probably still refuse to ask for directions when you get lost. Ask my wife.

3. Recognize the patterns of an institution or marketplace. Expect those patterns to persist. If you are interviewing for a job with a company which experiences high employee turnover, don’t expect to be with them    for very long.

Patterns Persist. Persistent patterns persist persistently.  Believe it.  Or, if you don’t believe it, you might be continuing a pattern which will continue to return the favor and disappoint you yet again.

Alan