Jonah Berger's The Catalyst couldn't be more timely. If there was one book to read as the world is forced to quickly change a century of social behavior to weather a pandemic, this one should be given solid consideration. Why? It explains how to persuade people to change their behavior even when they are paralyzed by fear or what they see as insurmountable hurdles.

Berger is a Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania specializing in persuasion, viral media and cultural diffusion. Through his research, he has identified five methods of removing barriers to change that, when enacted congruently, can be used to convince people to do almost anything. Though this may sound manipulative, it's not necessarily so. In fact, none of these techniques push or trick people into doing what you want them to do. Rather, Berger promotes empathetic techniques to help people ...