Rituals in the workplace can reinforce the behaviors we want, create focus and a sense of belonging, and make change stick.  I have gone on and on in the past about the benefits of established rituals and routines for personal productivity – how they capitalize on our brains’ ability to direct our behavior on autopilot, allowing us to reach our goals even when we are distracted or preoccupied with other things. And there are plenty of companies who’ve been smart enough to harness this power. At Google, for example, new employees have a ritual now made famous by the Vince Vaughn/ Owen Wilson film The Internship­ – they wear beanie hats in the Google logo colors with propellers on top that say “Noogler.”  Far from feeling ridiculous, Google employees feel that the ritual of the Noogler hat marks them as part of an exclusive group.