Friday, April 23, 2010

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

How little things can make a big difference is the basis for Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point.

The title refers to that moment when an idea or behavior tips over and catches the attention of people all over the country. It can refer to an illness epidemic, a fashion trend, or even crime rate.

Gladwell points out a number of factors that contribute to The Tipping Point: first being The Law of the Few.

Here we have 3 types of people - Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. Each have a role to play in getting the word out on a product or idea. Connectors and Salesmen seem easy to understand; Mavens will be a source of knowledge and try to give you what you need.

Next you have The Stickiness Factor. This is where you create something that people enjoy and will come back to over and over again. This could be a restaurant, shoes, or a television show.

Next is The Power of Context and here Gladwell points to New York City and the subway crime rate and how it was lowered.

The Tipping Point is an interesting read for social case studies and people interested in sales. Included in this book is the idea of why 150 is the magic number and why people tend to mimic the actions of others.

While not an attention grabber, this book gives food for thought on a boring day.
The Tipping Point

1 comment:

JamminJerome said...

This is one of my top-ten favorite books of all time! Also on my top ten (and a couple of places up): Gladwell's Blink. Outliers is also quite good.