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The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Paperback – January 7, 2002
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Uncover the captivating science behind viral trends in business, marketing, and human behavior in the breakthrough debut — named one of the best books of the decade by The A.V. Club and The Guardian — by Malcolm Gladwell, the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia.
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
“A wonderful page-turner about a fascinating idea that should affect the way every thinking person looks at the world.” —Michael Lewis
- Print length301 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBack Bay Books
- Publication dateJanuary 7, 2002
- Dimensions5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-100316346624
- ISBN-13978-0316346627
- Lexile measure1160L
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“Gladwell has a knack for rendering complex theories in clear, elegant prose, and he makes a charismatic tour guide.”―San Francisco Chronicle
“A wonderful page-turner about a fascinating idea that should affect the way every thinking person looks at the world.”―Michael Lewis
“Undeniably compelling. . . terrifically rewarding.”―Claire Dederer, Seattle Times
“As a business how-to, The Tipping Point is truly superior, brimming with new theories on the science of manipulation.”―Aaron Gell, Time Out
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- Publisher : Back Bay Books (January 7, 2002)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 301 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0316346624
- ISBN-13 : 978-0316346627
- Lexile measure : 1160L
- Item Weight : 10.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #6,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Malcolm Gladwell has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1996. He is the author of The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw. Prior to joining The New Yorker, he was a reporter at the Washington Post. Gladwell was born in England and grew up in rural Ontario. He now lives in New York.
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The first concept Gladwell discusses is the law of the few. This concept states that there are a few people who will push an idea until it gains a lot of popularity. These people can be broken up into three categories: connectors, mavens, and salesmen. Connectors are people that have many social connections, and can create relationships, deals, and connections that may have otherwise not occurred. Mavens are the people who feel passionately about the trend that is expanding, and help to sell its ideas to others over other choices. Mavens give information to other consumers that help them to make well-versed decisions. Last, salesmen are the people who have unusual charm and charisma, who are able to persuade other people’s buying decisions.
The first example that Gladwell uses is the spread of syphilis in the streets of Baltimore. He applies his the law of few concept to this scenario by pointing out that there are many people in the city who fit his model of connector, maven, or salesmen; who helped to contribute to the spread of the disease. One of these people is “Darnell ‘Boss Man’ McGee. He was big- over six feet- and charming, a talented skater, who wowed young girls with his exploits on the rink,” (20). His charming personality easily allowed him to persuade girls to do what he wanted, which is a perfect fit for Gladwell’s law of the few. McGee is an easy fit for Gladwell’s salesmen concept, because he is able to easily convince and persuade people to make decisions. There is truth to Gladwell’s concepts, because McGee was a huge instigator in the spread of syphilis, and he fits Gladwell’s mold of the salesmen so perfectly there can be no denying his involvement in the advancement of the disease.
The next key concept that Gladwell introduces is his idea of the stickiness factor. This concept states that a trend cannot become popular unless it is memorable and sticks to the minds of those who encounter it. This concept usually cannot be applied to the spread of diseases, but is crucial to other kinds of trends such as a business selling a product. The stickiness factor is simple, but essential to a trend’s success, if something is not memorable, then it cannot become a popular idea or product. Gladwell uses examples from television in order to explain the uses and importance of the stickiness factor. He talks about Joan Ganz Cooney’s, “show… that was contagious enough it could serve as an educational Tipping Point: giving children from disadvantaged homes a leg up once they began elementary school… lingering long enough to have an impact well after the children stopped watching the show,” (89). Cooney’s plan would later turn into Sesame Street which not only achieved this goal, but received great popularity and praise for doing so as well. Sesame Street won such praise for meeting this goal because teaching is usually done to target a child’s strengths and weaknesses, which is extremely difficult to do through television because there is a set script that cannot be changed and must effectively teach all the children that may be watching. The show’s founders discovered ways to still successfully deliver educational messages to children, which are still efficient today. These techniques are what give the show its stickiness factor, proof that a stickiness factor will help something gain immense popularity.
Gladwell’s final concept he discusses is the power of context. The power of context is an interesting concept that has largely to do with human nature. Gladwell’s definition of the power of context is that human nature is heavily influenced by its environment; the environment being not just a physical location, but the actual situational surroundings and social settings of a group of people as well. In his exact words, Gladwell says, “Epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur,” (139). In order to justify this concept, Gladwell used the declining crime rate in New York City during the 1990s. In this example, Gladwell states that the decline in crime in New York was due to a lot of factors, but mostly argues that the change in environment was the largest contributing factor. 1990s New York was a time that the broken window theory was introduced, which stated that many neighborhoods were becoming tremendously conscious of their own quality of living and would not allow even small signs of deterioration to occur; even a broken window. This made numerous New York neighborhoods a lot nicer, and safer, reducing the sale and use of crack cocaine, and violent crimes.
Gladwell’s concepts to hold strong truth in the world that we live in. There is no denying the fact that trends exist, and that they receive enormous popularity, and Gladwell’s concepts finally give us a sense of how this occurs. The law of the few, the stickiness factor, and the power of context all have clear implications on how trends spread, and they are all backed up in Gladwell’s historical research. The examples Gladwell provides are exemplary when it comes to arguing his points because they show all sorts of trends in history that blew up because of all his theories. The example I found to be particularly strong was the stickiness factor of Sesame Street. Sesame Street is one of the most popular children’s television shows and now there is a solid explanation as to why this is true. Gladwell was smart to use this example because it is relatable to a large number of people, which makes it easy for a large audience to quickly grasp and understand his concept that is the stickiness factor. This example is, in its own way, the novel’s own stickiness factor.
The concepts discussed in The Tipping Point are closely related to another book, which is entitled Made to Stick, written by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Made to Stick builds off of The Tipping Point’s concept of the stickiness factor, examining what makes ideas memorable. It states that in order for an idea to be memorable, it must meet these requirements: simplicity, it must be a concrete idea, it must be unexpected, emotional, and have stories behind it (Heath). Since this book even exists, it is a statement to how well written and truthful The Tipping Point actually is. Other authors want to explore the concepts that Gladwell created, showing his success in dissecting how trends are set.
I found Gladwell to achieve his goals very efficiently throughout the novel. He clearly shows his audience how his concepts create trends, and provides explicit examples of historic trends that prove his concepts to be true. For example, Gladwell used the spread of syphilis as his topic, applied a concept to it; the law of the few; and showed an example of it. In that case, he showed his audience the exploits of Darnell “Boss Man” McGee, a flawless example for the law of the few.
All in all, The Tipping Point is a must read because it shows so much light on how things spread, or gain popularity. Whether the reader is a doctor, trend setter, or even a chief marketing officer of a firm, there is valuable information for just about everyone. Even casual readers should take joy in learning about the causes of trend setting and maybe even find ways to apply it to their lives. Anyone involved in marketing should definitely give The Tipping Point a read because it contains extremely valuable information, in the three concepts of trend setting, which can be used to market any product.
He concludes that there are three rules of the tipping point - the law of the few, the stickiness factor and the power of context. In defining the law of the few, he reiterates some of the well-known observations about networking, but adds some additional structure. He identifies three types of people that have to be operating in the network - connectors, mavens and salesmen. Connectors are people who have many connections. But, he goes on to describe the importance of weak links (links with people we don't know well). It's apparently not telling friends about something that helps, its telling acquaintances.
Using job hunting as an example, he reports that successful job applicants found their jobs in a variety of ways in a 1974 study - 20% applied directly, 19% used formal means and 56% used personal connections. Of those who used a contact to find a job, 17% saw that contact often, 56% occasionally and 28% rarely. "People weren't getting their jobs through their friends. They were getting them through their acquaintances." Why, because we share much in common with our friends so nothing new is added. Our acquaintances have their own networks that bring entirely new people into the web.
Mavens are experts who act as sources on information and can qualify the idea or product. And, salesmen are well, sales people.
The stickiness factor becomes harder to quantify. There is not a science of what makes something stick, that is stay in a person's mind. It's an art. If you create something, peoples' response to it can be tested. Stickiness is not in the content but in its package. "There is a simple way to package information that, under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible. All you have to do is find it."
The power of context refers to the conditions and circumstances of times and places for a tipping point. "But the lesson of the Power of Context is that we are more than just sensitive to changes in context. We're exquisitely sensitive to them." In reviewing studies on crime and behavior he states, "Weird as it sounds, if you add up the meaning of the Stanford prison experiment and the New York subway experiment, they suggest that it is possible to be a better person on a clean street or in a clean subway than in one with trash and graffiti." The other major part of the context he discusses is the influence of groups. "Once we're part of a group, we're all susceptible to peer pressure and social norms and any number of other kinds of influence that can play a critical role in sweeping us up in the beginnings of an epidemic." If you want to introduce new concepts and beliefs and bring about change that will persist, "you need to create a community around them, where those new beliefs could be practiced and expressed and nurtured."
This is a good book for anyone interested in innovation to read. It's the type of book I like, one that synthesizes knowledge from many fields. And, I believe it offers some insights of value to innovation practitioners. Read together with Ubiquity, it can provide insight and meat for a lot of discussion.
Malcolm Gladwell is a former business and science writer at the Washington Post. He is currently a staff writer for The New Yorker.
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Es un libro de lectura fácil y te engancha.