Making It Easier for Change to Occur
Jonah Berger
- Shares tactics for leading innovation, changing minds, and driving success in an age of disruption
- Marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and recipient of their “Iron Professor” Teaching Award
- 15+ years of behavioral science research on social influence, why products and ideas catch on, and the science of change
- Consulted for hundreds of organizations and regularly quoted in places like the Harvard Business Review and New York Times
Play Video View Fees
Dr. Jonah Berger is a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a world-renowned expert on innovation, change, word of mouth, and why products, services, and ideas catch on. He is an internationally bestselling author and over a million copies of his books, The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind, Contagious: Why Things Catch On, and Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior, are in print in over 35 languages around the world. He has published over 50 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.
Berger has a PhD in marketing was named one of the American Management Association’s “Top 30 Leaders in Business.” A fresh and exciting voice, Berger blends behavioral science, business examples, and his own research to help fuel growth within modern, complex organizations operating in rapidly-changing environments. How can we become more effective at changing minds? Increase the pace of innovation within our organizations and industries? Get our products, services, and ideas to catch on? Prof Berger has spent over 15 years answering these questions, explaining why certain thing becomes popular, and why certain companies have an easier time breeding an innovative culture.
With his latest book, Magic Words, Berger reveals the six types of words that can increase your impact in every area of life — from inspiring others to buy into your vision to motivating high-performance teams. In his book The Catalyst, Berger provides a powerful way of thinking and range of techniques to catalyze change, while in Contagious, he reveals the science behind social transmission and shares how six key emotional and societal factors drive all sorts of things to become contagious – from products and policy initiatives to services and culture change within organizations. His book Invisible Influence examines how social influence works and how organizations can use these insights to motivate employees, increase sales, and drive business partners and investors to take action.
Berger often keynotes major conferences and events like SXSW and Cannes Lions and consults for companies like Apple, Google, Nike, Amazon, GE, 3M, Kaiser Permanente, and The Gates Foundation.
How to Change Anyone’s Mind. Everyone has something they want to change. Salespeople want to change the customer’s mind. Managers want to change employee behavior. Leaders want to change the way an entire organization does business. But change is hard. We persuade and cajole and push and push, but even after all that work, often nothing happens. Things change at a glacial pace, if at all. Could there be a better way?
In this new talk, Wharton Professor and change expert Dr. Jonah Berger outlines a revolutionary approach to change. Successful change isn’t about pushing harder or exerting more energy. It’s about removing barriers. Overcoming resistance by reducing friction and lowering the hurdles to action. Discover the hidden factors that impede change, why your biggest competitor is inertia, and why big changes require asking for less, not pushing for more. Whether you’re trying to change how consumers think, motivate people to act, or shift the way an entire industry does business, Berger will teach you how to become a catalyst.
Returning to Growth in the New World. Our world has recently undergone unprecedented change at a rapid pace. From remote work and online retail to shifting customer needs and employee mindsets, many things are different than they were before. But as we return to a new normal, smart companies and industries are recognizing the opportunity to also return to growth. How can you get your people on the right track and focused to take advantage of these emerging opportunities?
In this timely and forward-looking presentation, Wharton Professor and change expert Dr. Jonah Berger explores how organizations can act now to succeed in the new world. Blending insights from his best-selling book The Catalyst, Berger will discuss the changes in consumer and customer behavior that have occurred so far, which pandemic-driven trends are here to stay, and how to thrive in the new reality we all find ourselves in. He shows how organizations and industries can adapt and motivate their leaders and employees to get on board. Berger will provide actionable tactics for pivoting strategy, thinking beyond the crisis, and changing minds to drive success.
Disruption-Proof. We live in an age of disruption. Entire industries have been uprooted and displaced by new technologies and business models, and the most successful corporations out there didn’t exist just a few decades ago. When it comes to Silicon Valley titans such as Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb, you have to wonder whether incumbents in the consumer goods, automotive, and hotel industries could have gotten their first—and what’s coming next. How can we stay ahead of this relentless innovation? How can we make sure we’re doing the disrupting, and not being disrupted ourselves?
In this exciting, new presentation, Wharton Business School Professor and disruption guru, Dr. Jonah Berger, explains how organizations can make themselves “disruption-proof.” Learn why some companies are more likely to get displaced, how executives ought to be reimaging their competitive set to better service evolving consumer needs, and what innovators do differently than everyone else that makes them so successful. From shifting mindsets and redefining your competitive set to “de-risking” innovation and why great companies cannibalize themselves, Berger demonstrates how we can survive, and win, in this new age.
Leading Innovation & Effective Culture Change. In a high-energy presentation based on his groundbreaking research on organizational communication and word of mouth, Dr. Jonah Berger examines the science behind leading effective change in an era of dramatic technological and business transformation. Why is it so difficult to promote change in the first place? How do you grease the system to make people more likely to adopt positive behaviors and ignore negative ones? How do you push past mental barriers that insist innovative practices are impossible or fraught with risk?
Jonah Berger offers audiences practical strategies for leading change in a clear and actionable way that encourages buy-in and drives results. He shares how to overcome reticence to change, how to avoid the “curse of knowledge,” and how to build a movement that shifts your audience from passive listeners to active participants, who become a powerful channel for diffusing your message. If your organization is looking for a forward-thinking talk aimed at getting change to catch on, this talk is can’t-miss.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On. Dr. Jonah Berger combines groundbreaking research and powerful stories as he sheds light on why things become popular. Based on 15 years of rigorous academic research, he put together a framework for making anything contagious using the acronym STEPPS: Social currency, triggers, emotion, public, practical value, and stories. In his presentations, he reveals the secret science behind why things succeed and how these six key factors drive all sorts of products, services, and ideas to catch on. Young and full of energy, he is interactive with his audience, quickly demonstrating that our intuitions aren’t always right. Berger also uses funny and compelling examples to reinforce his message and keep his presentation engaging. He provides a set of specific, actionable techniques for driving diffusion. Whether you’re trying to change public perception of an industry, get a product or service to catch on, change organizational culture, or become a more effective leader, these tools will help you get there.
Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior. Are you trying to motivate employee behavior and consumer buying decisions, or drive political or public opinion? Dr. Jonah Berger’s most recent speech looks at the subtle and secret influences that drive the decisions we make—from what we buy to where to eat to what we wear and the careers we choose. A must-see presentation for HR, sales, and leadership teams—and anyone tasked with persuading others to take action—Dr. Berger argues that other people’s behavior influences us at every moment of our lives, and that learning to better understand the influences driving you, your co-workers, employees, family members, potential partners, business associates, and clients can lead to more productive relationships and lives.
Drawing on research he conducted for his book, Invisible Influence, Dr. Berger integrates studies of business, psychology, and social science to lift the cloak of invisibility from the driving forces behind our daily choices, transforming the way audiences see themselves and others. With this speech, Dr. Berger shows audiences how to, as Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh put it, “influence others, make smarter decisions, or just better understand the mystery that is human behavior.” A speech brimming with ideas that will provoke deep reflection, Dr. Berger gives audiences the tools they need to capitalize on invisible influences.
How To Sell Anything. Customized for a sales meeting or a sales and marketing-oriented audience, Jonah Berger combines groundbreaking research and fascinating stories to explore how to communicate ideas so that people find them irresistible. From sharpening messages and the power of mimicry to story-telling and story-selling, Dr. Berger provides a practical toolkit that any audience can apply to instantly make themselves more effective salespeople. Whether you’re trying to communicate more effectively within an organization or selling a product or service to customers, this talk will show you how to leverage behavioral science to drive buy-in and increase your impact.
Becoming A Better Decision Maker. Professional (and personal) success depends on making good decisions. But people are faced with dozens, if not hundreds, of choices every day. How can we become more effective decision makers? Dr. Jonah Berger shares a set of practical, actionable techniques to make us all better at this important skill. From avoiding biases to getting mired in unimportant decisions, he reveals why people often get stuck in decision making and how to get unstuck. With extensive expertise in human judgment and decision making, consulting, and teaching on the subject, he shows leaders how to avoid decision quicksand, evade common pitfalls, a create environments where good decisions can be made quickly and effectively.
Recent News
Client Testimonials