Invisible Influence, Jonah Berger
Charles Cherney
Passionate about teaching after graduating from Harvard, I ultimately found myself drawn into the world of real estate in Cambridge and Somerville...
Passionate about teaching after graduating from Harvard, I ultimately found myself drawn into the world of real estate in Cambridge and Somerville...
Invisible Influence
I recently came across Jonah Berger's worthwhile book Invisible Influence (2016) at a newsstand at Logan Airport in Boston, and I decided to read it. I am glad that I did! The book really gets you thinking about how much individuals influence one another. And that includes you and me!
One fascinating observation Berger makes is that "Whether trying to win a contract, get someone to do something, or just have people like us, subtly mimicking their language and mannerisms is an easy place to start. Even something as simple as mimicking their greeting style (e.g., "Hey," "Hi," or "Hello") in emails increases affiliation." By the way, Berger points out that the likelihood of a negotiation being successful is SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER if you mimic the person you are negotiating with. Fascinating!
Another meaningful observation made by Berger in the book is the following: "We don't want to be exactly the same or completely different. Instead, we choose and behave in ways that allow us to be optimally distinct, threading the needle between similarity and difference." For sure, any successful business professional can vouch for the value of being optimally distinct. Discovering that middle ground between similarity and difference is no mean feat!
Below, author Jonah Berger is interviewed about his book Invisible Influence.