In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell discusses how little things can make a big difference in whether or not an endeavor is successful. He sets out three rules:
1. The Law of the Few
The success of an epidemic relies on involvement from three key groups of people:
- connectors (those who know many people and introduce them to others)
- mavens (information specialists who love to share with the masses)
- salesmen (persuaders with negotiation skills)
2. The Stickiness Factor
Certain elements that make messages and ideas more easily remembered/retained by listeners. For example, Sesame Street had a number of elements that made it wildly successful.
3. The Power of Context
Human behavior can be altered by a change in environment. For example, cracking down on minor crimes in New York City- like graffiti- altered the environment in a way that brought about a precipitous decline in more serious crimes. In this section, Gladwell also claims the rule of 150- which states that the maximum number of people in a real social relationship with us (our 'context') cannot exceed 150.
The book was good. I listened to an abridged audio version, read by the author himself, and it is fascinating in many respects. I'll have to work a bit to apply it to my own situations, as this isn't a 'how-to' book- examples are given, but especially for points 2 and 3 above, they aren't broadly applicable, and so the reader will have to come up with suitable ideas for his/her environment on their own. Still, it is worthwhile.
Rating: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment