Executive Summary
The Tipping Point,
by Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell’s work is an interesting piece unveiling the misconceptions of several key issues in our society. The Tipping Point, as Gladwell describes it, lies in the core of every change that has been brought about in our society, ranging from fashion trends, to crime rates in the largest city in North America, and even extends to deadly epidemics. In a whimsical prose full of astonishing facts, Gladwell depicts to us the necessary conditions that can lead the smallest change in society to the tipping point and turn it into an unstoppable wave of transformation. His book focuses on many examples that demonstrate changes in society that have hit the tipping point and have prospered to become internationally widespread. He begins in his introduction by discussing the sudden rise in popularity of the Hush Puppies footwear that has spread throughout North American in the early 1990s. He then echoes this rise in popularity with the sudden drop in the crime rate of New York City in the late 1990s. Through these examples, as well as many more, Gladwell analyses and breaks down the very complex epidemics present in our society into concepts and ideas that are easy to understand. Here lies the very genius of this masterpiece as it brings about a revolutionary way of seeing the world, where not all progression is linear, but rather exponential. Such revolutionary concepts bring about new means of understanding the world for many leaders of today’s society.
According to Gladwell, every social epidemic relies on three factors; the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.
First and foremost, the Law of the Few represents the idea that any social epidemic is dependent on three different types of individuals that contribute their skills and talents towards bringing a small change to epidemic proportions; Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. Connectors are people who instinctively develop connections with people, be it only acquaintance, and who are able to bring the world together through their spatial talent. They are the small group of people that have a large number of connections that make up the social phenomena of six degrees of separation, linking the world together. It makes sense to see these types of people in the business world that act as networkers who are capable of getting things done through the various links that they hold with the rest of the business world. These are the people who can get you the right person at the right time.
Second are the Mavens who are the information specialists who are very knowledgeable in every field, who read reviews, and know who is selling at the right price. These are the people that can either build or destroy popularity of anything that comes along. These are the people to look for whenever in need of advice as to what to get and where.
Third, and most important, is the Salesman. These types of people are those who are capable of motivating people to action. They possess charisma and are skilful in the art of persuasion. Not only are they capable of convincing someone but they possess a certain character trait that makes others want to agree with them.
It is finally in the understanding of the role that these three different types of people play in society that the leaders of today can be able to shape the future of tomorrow. By reading this book, societies in the world will be able to develop a “new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does”1. In any business or organization, it is always possible to discern the three types of people mentioned above. There will always be a connector which networks people to achieve a certain goal, mavens who will always exist connecting people to the right information, and salesmen that will act as persuaders or motivators in achieving a common goal. It becomes imperative for managers and leaders to be able to discern these types of people in order to be able to make full use of the resources and manpower that is available to them to better their organization and society as a whole.
However, as Gladwell describes it, there also exists a certain Stickiness Factor that is necessary in achieving the tipping point. The Stickiness Factor is that specific character of a message that makes it memorable which impacts the receiver spurring him into action. In many cases, the use of such message provides and effective and irresistible means of attracting the audience and holding their attention. Clearly, this factor not only plays a crucial role in today’s society when we are bombarded with advertisement wherever we go, but also in any enterprise we might undertake. The stickiness factor not only allows us, as great leaders, to grab our audience’s attention, but to also instil a change in people’s minds or to leave behind a glimmer of understanding and belonging.
Finally, one of the most important factors that must be taken into account is the Power of Context. Not only are we, as human beings, susceptible to manipulation and persuasion, we are also greatly affected by our environment. The power of circumstances influencing trends in our society is greatly underlined by Gladwell. As he so eloquently describes it, the Broken Window theory, a seemingly trivial environmental factor, holds great importance in the spread of crime throughout the city of New York. A broken window can be interpreted as a sign that the property is abandoned which invites people to commit crimes. The well lit gym might influence some to believe that the sports team playing in that gym are somehow more talented than those playing in a darkened gym. Here lies an important concept of environment affecting human behaviour. Furthermore, many examples that Gladwell brought about clearly demonstrate that situational context can easily overwhelm inherent character traits. This shows how people are capable of actions whether or not it is in their habit or personality to behave in such a way. Personality or character has little or no bearing on their behaviour. This concept not only provides us with an immensely powerful tool as leaders of our society, but also enlightens us on the intricacies of human character and behaviour and how they are related. The idea that the behaviour of a person can be influenced by merely the type of environment they are subjected to promises us a means of control, a means of exerting power by simply manipulating the context of a situation.
Ultimately, Gladwell provides us with the means of starting a word-of-mouth epidemic by utilizing the three types of individuals in order to achieve our goals. Using the stickiness factor, Gladwell teaches us that it becomes imperative to develop a message that is inconspicuous, and yet capable of reaching out and grabbing people’s attention and lay control over people’s emotions. Given the right push, we are capable of radically transforming people’s behaviour or beliefs. Through his book, he’s also able to convince people that not only is change possible, but it is inevitably destined to cross the tipping point given the right circumstances. Any individual that reads this book would not only benefit by acquiring an innovative way of understanding social epidemics of various proportions, but will also benefit in acquiring a new skill-set necessary for any leader of the 21st century.
By David Goldbaum (260237668)
No comments:
Post a Comment