In a Nutshell: Successful change isn’t about pushing harder, exerting more energy, or making a stronger argument. It’s about removing barriers and overcoming resistance so that it’s easier to take decisive, transformative action.

Guest: Professor Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an internationally best-selling author.

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My Key Takeaways:

  1. Stop being pushy. The person or habit you’re trying to change will push back just as hard.
  2. Don’t prescribe a solution until you’ve taken time to understand the problem.
  3. Shrink the distance. Trying to move people too far too quickly only raises resistance. Find common ground a little closer to home.

Also Learn:

  1. How to think like a catalyst and break through using Prof. Berger’s REDUCE framework.
  2. Why providing a “menu” of options can help people make more positive decisions without feeling pushed.
  3. What the “asking for less” strategy tells us about incremental change versus trying to force change all at once.

Complementary blog post: Stanford lecturer Matt Abrahams talked to me about the keys to capturing an audience’s attention and inspiring them to act. Listen/read here.

Resources Featured In This Episode

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