Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Tipping Point

Yet another awesome book by Malcolm Gladwell! This guy is truly a great writer of today. I'm just upset I hadn't discovered him sooner. The second I finished up this book I started "Blink" so expect that review soon.

Ever wonder how some things blow up huge and others don't? Gladwell compares the spread of something (be it a product, a disease, crime rates, etc.) to a virus spreading. How does it happen? Well the bottom line is word of mouth, with a message that "sticks", through those who are 1) connected and/or 2) in the know. Truly amazing connections that make you think differently about who and what you know.

The biggest lesson I learned from this book is that often it is the little things that matter and can affect change more than the big, looming issues. Frequently we overlook seemingly unimportant, detail issues that in reality can help overhaul the big picture and bring about the positive change you desire. The example from the book was the dramatic drop in crime in New York City during the 90's, which was a result of small changes rather than big ones.

I love these books by Malcolm Gladwell because he does so much research on all of the example stories. I love that all the examples and case studies are true stories so they are relevant to real life. He has a terrific, captivating writing style that not only makes you on one hand want to stop and think deeper about the issue you just read and on the other hand keep reading to see what could come next. Yet another strong recommendation for this book.

1 comment:

Kiley Newbold said...

This was a GREAT book. I actually listened to it on CD (read by the author) and it was entertaining. A lot of times, books on CD put me right to sleep, but the author did a good job of keeping me engaged.