The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind” by Jonah Berger (Simon & Schuster, $26.99).
To paraphrase Isaac Newton: “A person in motion tends to stay in motion, while a person at rest tends to stay at rest.” Change requires motion, not rest. People parked in their “we’ve always done it this way” comfort zone resist change. Why? Inertia.
The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind” by Jonah Berger (Simon & Schuster, $26.99).
To paraphrase Isaac Newton: “A person in motion tends to stay in motion, while a person at rest tends to stay at rest.” Change requires motion, not rest. People parked in their “we’ve always done it this way” comfort zone resist change. Why? Inertia.
It’s easier to do what they’ve always done. How do you get them to change? Pushing doesn’t work well because they go on defense; they counter your new information with “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So, what does? Removing their barriers.
How? “Rather than starting to persuade, start by understanding.” The first thing to understand: Your outcome isn’t their current goal. Listen to them; find out their perspective. By letting them talk, you gain information that you can weave in to ultimately make your point. Empathize. Ask about situations where they’ve learned from doing things differently and doing different things.
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Mirror by describing your similar situations, what you learned and how others helped you improve your outcomes. Emphasizing “we” throughout the conversation builds trust, which opens the door to mutually learning something new.
How do you address the reluctance to maintain the status quo (i.e. if it ain’t broke)? Think in terms of “switching costs.” On the surface, one would think that switching depends solely upon the advantages outweighing the disadvantages by more than just a little. Not so. The problem and cost of doing nothing boils below the surface. Discussing the cost of inaction helps people understand the status quo’s downside. That discussion should focus on what the person stands to lose if there’s no change.
“Chunking the change” helps remove resistance, too. Break big changes into chunks; implement piece by piece. Doing so plays into a person’s “acceptable range of change.” It also removes some of the uncertainty that big change brings.
The bottom line: Implementing change involves helping people see what’s in it for them.
