NetElixir believes that when great minds meet, magic happens.
Since 2013, NetElixir has created an event that curates thought-provoking presentations, sparks stimulating conversations, and forms wonderful friendships. With the goal to bridge the gap between academia and industry, the X=Experience was born.
Because we could not host this event in person in 2020, attendees have highly anticipated the return of this event. As always, NetElixir prides ourselves on the quality of our speakers and their presentations, so to kick off the X=Experience comeback, we’re excited to announce that Professor Jonah Berger, of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, NYTimes and WSJ best-selling author, and 2021 Wobi Keynote Speaker, will be joining our 8th Annual X=Experience: Rethinking Innovation.
Professor Berger will be presenting Contagious: Why Things Catch On. He will discuss:
- The secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission
- Six basic principles that can affect what makes something popular or viral
- How to leverage the power of influence to craft contagious content
Rethink Innovation with Jonah Berger, exclusively at NetElixir’s X=Experience.
Interview with Jonah Berger
NetElixir sat down with Professor Berger to discuss some of his thoughts on innovation prior to our live event.
NetElixir: Welcome, Professor Berger! We’re excited to have you join our 8th Annual X=Experience event!
Professor Berger: Hi, I’m Jonah Berger! I’m a Marketing Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and I’m excited to speak at the upcoming NetElixir event on October 1st.
NetElixir: What is one key takeaway you want attendees to use from your presentation?
Professor Berger: I’m going to talk about a problem that all of us have, whether we’re in marketing or sales, whether we’re internal within an organization trying to create innovations — we all have something that we want to change. Marketing and sales want to change their customer’s or consumer’s mind, leaders want to transform organizations, employees want to change their boss’s mind, start-ups want to change industries, non-profits want to change the world. But change is really hard. Often we push, we pressure and cajole, and nothing happens. So the question is could there be a better way?
So at my talk, I’m going to talk about a new method for creating change from my recent bestseller, The Catalyst: How To Change Anyone’s Mind, and how we can apply that to become better change agents in all aspects of our lives.
NetElixir: What is a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook?
Professor Berger: In terms of a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook, I would say something called the status quo bias. Companies tend to be really focused on what they’re good at, and what they’ve already achieved, and what they’re good at doing, but that makes them risk-aversed, makes them wary of trying new things. And so by understanding the status-quo bias, we can overcome its barriers and make change more likely. Sometimes we have to cannibalize ourselves rather than allowing other start-ups to come in and sort of eat our lunch. We have to be smarter and create innovation from within.
NetElixir: What does Rethinking Innovation mean to you?
Professor Berger: In terms of the importance of rethinking innovation, for me, well innovation is an age-old idea, right? Almost all companies want to be more innovative, almost all companies want to be more change-oriented, but it’s really tough to do. As part of my session, I’ll talk about why innovation happens and why it doesn’t and how we can all make innovation more likely by understanding why it does and doesn’t work.
I look forward to seeing you there!
