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The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind Paperback – February 1, 2022

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“Jonah Berger is one of those rare thinkers who blends research-based insights with immensely practical guidance. I am grateful to be one of the many who have learned from this master teacher.”—Jim Collins, author Good to Great, coauthor Built to Last

From the author of New York Times bestsellers Contagious and Invisible Influence comes a revolutionary approach to changing anyone’s mind.

Everyone has something they want to change. Marketers want to change their customers’ minds and leaders want to change organizations. Start-ups want to change industries and nonprofits want to change the world. But change is hard. Often, we persuade and pressure and push, but nothing moves. Could there be a better way?

This book takes a different approach. Successful change agents know it’s not about pushing harder, or providing more information, it’s about being a catalyst. Catalysts remove roadblocks and reduce the barriers to change. Instead of asking, “How could I change someone’s mind?” they ask a different question: “Why haven’t they changed already? What’s stopping them?”

The Catalyst identifies the key barriers to change and how to mitigate them. You’ll learn how catalysts change minds in the toughest of situations: how hostage negotiators get people to come out with their hands up and how marketers get new products to catch on, how leaders transform organizational culture and how activists ignite social movements, how substance abuse counselors get addicts to realize they have a problem, and how political canvassers change deeply rooted political beliefs.

This book is designed for anyone who wants to catalyze change. It provides a powerful way of thinking and a range of techniques that can lead to extraordinary results. Whether you’re trying to change one person, transform an organization, or shift the way an entire industry does business, this book will teach you how to become a catalyst.

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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

Restriction generates a psychological phenomenon called reactance. An unpleasant state that occurs when people feel their freedom is lost or threatened.
Highlighted by 444 Kindle readers
Instead, it’s about being a catalyst—changing minds by removing roadblocks and lowering the barriers that keep people from taking action.
Highlighted by 427 Kindle readers
Terrible things get replaced, but mediocre things stick around. Horrible performance generates action, but average performance generates complacency.
Highlighted by 422 Kindle readers

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

“We’ve all been frustrated trying to change someone’s mind. In this captivating book, Jonah Berger removes that frustration by showing us how to remove the barriers to change. The Catalyst will teach you how to change anything."
—Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better

“We all know it’s hard to change people’s minds. But now we know why: We’ve been doing it wrong. We’re spending too much time pushing people — and not nearly enough time removing the roadblocks to their taking action. In this cogent and compelling book, Jonah Berger outlines a smarter, more effective approach. Full of gripping anecdotes, smart science, and savvy advice, The Catalyst is an essential read for anyone in the business of change. Added bonus: It’s the rare business book that reads like a page-turner.”
—Daniel H. Pink, author of When and To Sell is Human

"The Catalyst is a fascinating read and a powerful toolkit to help us change minds, organizations, and hopefully even the world."
—Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global

“Berger draws on research and case studies and offers intriguing anecdotes…A well-written guide that can be useful in both business and personal life.”
—Kirkus Reviews

"[A] practical, convincing introduction to the art of persuasion....This broadly appealing guide will convince general readers, but will be of particular interest to sales and marketing professionals."
—Publishers Weekly

“Berger has an optimistic outlook, gently suggesting that great change agents aren’t more persuasive, but they're really catalysts.”
—Fortune Magazine

"If you want to create loyal trusting relationships with customers and the people in your life, you’ll read The Catalyst.”
—Small Business Trends

"In the new book The Catalyst, Wharton professor Jonah Berger cites studies showing that orders and warnings often backfire. In some cases, telling people not to do something made them want to do it even more. The secret is asking people to look out—not for themselves—but for the group. We are hardwired for social connectedness. We have an strong internal desire to protect 'the tribe' at all costs."
—Inc.com

"Berger’s approach sets his book apart from the others....Berger thoroughly explains HOW to catalyze principled persuasion. Therein is perhaps the greatest value of his rigorous and eloquent narrative."
—Blogging on Business

"An insightful book by one of my favorite authors....I love how this book presents influence as a way to remove barriers with clear and elegantly-written examples."
—FORBES.COM

About the Author

Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and internationally bestselling author of Contagious, Invisible Influence, and The Catalyst. He’s a world-renowned expert on social influence, word of mouth, and why products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and has published over 50 papers in top-tier academic journals. He has consulted for a range of Fortune 500 companies, keynoted hundreds of events, and popular accounts of his work often appear in places like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. His research has also been featured in the New York Times Magazine’s “Year in Ideas.”

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (February 1, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982108649
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982108649
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.38 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #39,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #92 in Business Decision Making
- #160 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving
- #368 in Motivational Management & Leadership

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4.6 1,308 ratings

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For more details see: JonahBerger.com

Jonah Berger is a Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an internationally bestselling author, and a world-renowned expert on word of mouth, social influence, consumer behavior, and how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on. He has published dozens of articles in top‐tier academic journals, teaches Wharton’s highest rated online course, and popular accounts of his work often appear in places like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. Over a million copies of his books, Contagious, Invisible Influence, and The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind are in print in over 35 countries around the world.

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Honest Reviews

Fantastic book

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2023

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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.

2 people found this helpful

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Amy Ouellette

Amazing!

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2024

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One of the best books I’ve read in a very long time!

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Corey Buller

People REALLY hate being told what to do...what to do about it

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2020

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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 do
Endowment - people have difficulty letting go of what they know
Distance - people will only believe new ideas that are close to their
Uncertainty - people are less likely to accept something new if they are uncertain of the outcome
Corroborating 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!

27 people found this helpful

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Maxwell Edison

Amazing. Simply amazing.

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2021

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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.

6 people found this helpful

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Gary Gruver

This a must read for organizational change agents

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2020

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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.

3 people found this helpful

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Catherine

Great book about how to help a person change!

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

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.

4 people found this helpful

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LEO F.

Solidly researched, but poorly written

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

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.

7 people found this helpful

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The Comic Whisperer

My new book looks worn out already

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2022

Verified Purchase

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.

7 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Alejandro L.

Interesante

Reviewed in Mexico on January 20, 2024

Verified Purchase

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

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Manuel

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

Reviewed in Spain on October 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

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

Daniel

Practical and easy to read

Reviewed in Brazil on September 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

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).

3 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Thoughtful and well organized read

Reviewed in Canada on August 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

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

One person found this helpful

Michael K.

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

Reviewed in Germany on January 6, 2021