Book Review: The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind

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This week, I was reading a book by Jonah Burger (The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind) which is one of his great collections of social influence topics.

In the book, he mentions that everyone has something they want to change. Employees want to change their bosses' minds, and leaders want to transform organizations. Salespeople want to win new clients, and startups want to revolutionize industries. Parents want to change their children's behavior, and political canvassers want to sway voters. But change is hard. We pressure and coax and cajole, and often nothing moves. Could there be a better way?

Whether you are trying to convince a client, change an organization, disrupt a whole industry or just get someone to adopt a puppy, the same rules apply:

  1. Reduce reactance: Allow an agency, make them feel they made the decision.
  2. Ease endowment: Bring the cost of inaction to the service, if you don't upgrade, we won't support
  3. Shrink distance: Uber to ride with a stranger, from 3-liter coke to one can change, etc.
  4. Alleviate uncertainty: Dropbox free trial, I sometimes do this even if I have to pay out of my pocket.
  5. Find corroborating evidence: People do it when others do it, find how to start the early adapters)

It's not about pushing harder or exerting more energy. It's about reducing barriers to action. Once you understand that, you can change anything!

If you are focusing your energy, focus on how to implement the rules of reducing the barriers to action that will lead to true change.

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