The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind

Thai book is probably my favorite sales and life book - it is an easy read and has some compelling and excellent ideas and use cases on how people think and what can be done to include decisions.Solid for a parent or for anyone in sales.

After reading Contagious, I felt the need to buy Invisible Influence and The Catalyst. I love Jonah Bergers writing style. Very easy read. Each topic is broken down by chapters and each chapter is full of real world studies and examples. I have recommended all three of these books to many people now. Whether you work in advertising/marketing, own a business, or just have a genuine interest in the human psyche...these books are absolutely worth owning. Stop reading my review already and buy it. As a matter of fact, order multiples, so you can give some away. After I read them I immediately went back and bought more so I can keep copies to give to people. That's how good they are.

Synopsis: In Jonah Berger’s next foray into how ideas catch on, Catalyst outlines the psychology behind why people AREN’T persuaded and what techniques and tools one can use to overcome barriers and persuade people to your thinking.The book dives into 5 barriers to persuading someone and ways to overcome those barriers:Reactance - people don’t want to be told what to doEndowment - people have difficulty letting go of what they knowDistance - people will only believe new ideas that are close to theirUncertainty - people are less likely to accept something new if they are uncertain of the outcomeCorroborating evidence - people need to see evidence of success from a variety of sources they trust (the entire book is a great illustration of this area since Berger provides a variety of examples of these areas coming to life and how the techniques he calls out helped to overcome each companies issue).What the book did well: the book has a great format. Berger explains the psychological reasoning behind each barrier, the general strategy to overcome that barrier and then the tools & techniques that could be used to execute the strategy. It’s not an exhaustive list of techniques but its the few he has seen to be most successful. There is a nice summary chart in the back of the book that, if shared online, might actually hurt book sales, unless you are someone who needs a lot of corroborating evidence before they will believe or try something new.How the book could be improved: I think Berger got the order wrong. Persuading someone about a new idea or product starts with what they currently believe and what they would be willing to believe. Berger uses the perfect example of hard line Democrats and Republicans. They have firm beliefs on their side of the political spectrum and are reticent to believe many of the things the other side is saying. So trying to convince them the opposing side’s view is correct will never work. Start with something that aligns with what they already believe or is within their Field of Acceptance and moves them slightly down the Field of Acceptance.If its not in the Zone of Acceptance, they will never believe it or be persuaded by it, no matter what techniques you use. Starting with that as the core would provide a better attack plan for persuasion than the current set up that was undoubtedly created to form a pneumonic device (REDUCE) to make the concepts easier to remember.Some seasoned marketers and sales people may find this book simple and rudimentary, but this book is great for anyone looking for a starting book for sales and persuasion before moving on to heavier tomes like Grant Cardone's Sell or Be Sold.Surprising Insight: I read this book at the height of the mask debate. The debate showed just how much people hate being told what to do even if the corroborating evidence says it could save your life. Getting a person to think of the idea as their own or giving them choice is easily the most powerful technique you could employ.Recommended for: Early career client services professionals, technicians moving into management roles, parents or anyone who wants to persuade somebody else!

This is a must read for anyone trying to influence change in large complex organizations. Jonah does a great job of pointing out that the classic approach of just pushing harder for change and trying to convince people just results in greater resistance to the change that you would like to see. Instead if you really want to influence change you need to take the time to understand the reasons people are resisting the change and work to remove or lower those barriers. He does a great job of highlighting the typical barriers to change including approaches to reduce the resistance. Jonah also includes entertaining case studies that help put the theories into a practical context. It is a quick easy read with very practical insights.

Took this to read on a plane flight to a cruise and couldn't put it down. I've been in sales training and development for 30 years and the tips in here were invaluable. I've highlighted, written in the margins, circled dozens of phrases and footnotes and have it bent out of shape. It's one of the top books in my library.

I found The Catalyst, by Jonah Berger, to have a thorough and helpful explanation around how to lower the barriers to change. While the book could be useful for a sales representative or someone in business, the ideas also lend themselves very well to parents trying to get their child to change. It was helpful to find that the book included a section on addiction where change is so needed. The book explained how a person struggling with substance use might be more willing to change when professionals and others who can be objective, are involved in the process. The more a person can have an understanding of the change process and the barriers that get in the way, the better chance that change will occur. I found this book to be well written and interesting.

There was a lot of good information in this book, and number of useful examples, but the author's poor communication skills do their best to obscure it all. Here's an example from the introduction:"If new information is within people's zone of acceptance, they're willing to listen. But if it is too far away, in the region of rejection, everything flips."In a later chapter, the author introduces the concept of "zone of acceptance", but at this point in the book no such concept has been defined. The result is that the book seems filled with mindless gibberish vaguely hinting at something meaningful, but difficult to follow. Eventually, I pieced it all together from the stories and examples, but the bizarre word choices, tortured construction, and ill-fitting metaphors make it as difficult as possible.Thank God I didn't have the author as a professor in college.

Amazing book. Brings a lot of consciousness on how to help p pole change their minds and guide them to a good outcome.Excellent service and speed from the seller.

Contenido interesante y aplicable. Buena impresión pero el cobertor del libro se le sale muy fácil.

R.E.D.U.C.E. resistance in life.

This is a must read one to anyone who's interested in engaging people:- Delivers clear and tangible insights on how decision making happens on people's minds and why working achieving goals aren't as straight forward (even when WE think there's an obvious path).

The book follows an interesting approach to persuasion that Zig Ziglar and Robert Cialdini fans will appreciate.

Sehr interessantes Buch. Es zeigt auf, wie man zum Katalysator für Prozesse werden kann.