The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Rating:
Summary: Simple, Fresh, Powerful
Review: REVIEW: I really enjoy books with a fresh concept that puts the light bulb off in your head and has you shaking it up and down from the get go. For me, that was this book. The basic theme of the book is fairly simple, but like many simple things it is easy to understand, but difficult to master. The main concept is that ideas, products, and messages (i.e. shared human information) spread just like viruses do and the point at which the virus gains critical momentum to become an epidemic is called the Tipping Point. The book helps us understand how viruses and epidemics work (non-scientifically) - leading to analogies in how human information spreads and eventually "tips". This understanding we can use to make our own human information spreading efforts (e.g. public service messages, marketing messages) more effective. Why do some ideas start epidemics and others do not? What can we do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics of our own? Tipping Point helps answer these questions.

The only thing that kept me from giving this book 5 stars was that the author sometimes tried to teach too much and lost focus. He left the main theme and went too deep into subjects that need (and do) have many books written about them. One example is the topic of the importance of environment on children. His discussion was too deep for the purpose of this book yet not deep enough for what the subject deserves. While there are some deficiencies, Tipping Point may become a classic and has already brought new lexicon into our language (e.g. tipping and stickiness in relation to ideas in messages). I recommend it if the topic is important to you.

STRENGTHS: The book is very simple (in a good way), entertaining, and easy to read. I also enjoyed the smaller size (~6x8in) of the hardback version - made it easy to carry to the park at lunchtime. Lots of interesting real world examples to the key points raised. The book also has a very detailed index. The writing is targeted to a broad audience and the content is not too niche.

WEAKNESSES: I sometimes got the impression that the author was struggling to come up with enough material as some of the examples seem overly detailed and long. There was also a tendency, especially toward the end of the book, for the author to veer from the main purpose of the book and try to teach us some social lessons. Thus the book could have been more focused. Academics my dismiss the work as being unscientific. True, but the book is still practical.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Every knowledge worker that wants to understand the way the world works a little better. Especially for those responsible for spreading messages or for trying to influence others' decisions (e.g. marketers).

ALSO CONSIDER: Robert Cialdini - Influence: The Science of Persuasion (a classic); Seth Godin - The Idea Virus (enjoyed this one too); Elaine Hatfield - Emotional Contagion; Richard Koch - The 80/20 Principle; ; Don Peppers - One to One ______. I've only read the first two.

Rating:
Summary: Gladwell gets it right
Review: The great thing about this book is that Gladwell actually gets the science right while presenting information in an entertaining way. I loved this book!

Rating:
Summary: Example: applying one idea to my circumstances
Review: This book is so exciting to read I almost had to read it standing up. I was more fascinated in the way Mr. Gladwell finds amazing examples to illustrate his points than in the points as a whole. There are plenty of good overall reviews in this collection I thought I'd write about the way one of his ideas resonated in my life.
The idea: that you can decrease subway crime by arresting turnstile-jumpers and cleaning graffiti (by eliminating an environment in which it may appear that anything goes you can discourage potential criminals from thinking they can get away with it).
As I read that part of the book I felt a strong resonance with my own, disfunctional workplace. The absence of supervision among my once-capable coworkers has created an air of anything goes/nothing matters. I felt moved by this chapter to encourage the supervisors to dig in and let us all know that the little things we do contribute to the whole in ways more meaningful than we might have thought.
(The fact that my inept supervisors were unable to see the value of that idea does not reduce its worth in the slightest.)
Look at the website: www.gladwell.com
Buy the book, you'll love it.

Rating:
Summary: Very Insightful and Intriguing Book
Review: In this book the author explained that "stickiness" means that a message makes an impact. This book definitely had a high stickiness factor for me. You could say I had a great page turning discovery in reading this book. From fashion to television to more serious epidemics such as health, are all given explanations of how and why they came about.

Looking at how we are "hardwired" for example in how we synchronize with one another in conversation. Our speech and timing coming into balance with each other. I liked finding out how we are all truly connected on some level, even living in a huge cosmopolitan city such as New York. And who would have known that literally cleaning up subway trains would have such a major impact in the decline of the city's crime rate? Very interesting book.

I highly recommend this book and also another very resourceful book on a more personal level for discovering how to create and maintain a life you always dreamt of, without any work involved. That book is called "WORKING ON YOURSELF DOESN'T WORK" written by Ariel & Shya Kane.

Rating:
Summary: Not a very difficult book to grasp
Review: People who pick up Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point because they think the ideas expressed therein will be intriguing probably won't be disappointed. In describing the role that certain types of individuals play in disseminating new ideas, Gladwell does provide us with a helpful framework for understanding how new trends develop and multiply themselves as they spread throughout a population.

Gladwell's argument does have its limits. Insofar as many of the concepts Gladwell are ineffable, and unable to be quantified, he has a hard time proving that his assertions are really true (as anyone in the same position probably would). Gladwell points to the fact that there are certain people who are incredibly sociable and well-connected (the "connectors") and describes them in rich detail. Likewise, he launches into an entertaining description of "mavens" who have a unique grasp on the marketplace. But lacking specific evidence about how, say, the trend towards "hush puppies" started in bohemian New York, Gladwell falls back on a simple assumption that "connectors" and "mavens," through some mysterious, unlikely interactions, must have had something to do with it. The argument is somewhat circular.

Invariably, Gladwell's examples become more interesting than his conclusions. His vivid descriptions of how subway vandalism virtually disappeared in New York City, or of classic social psychology experiments, are well worth reading. The problem is that they are too loosely stitched together by conclusions that seem overly straightforward and obvious. Gladwell posits a "stickiness factor" which makes certain trends click, while others similarly situated quickly fade away. Basically, this is another way of saying that there are both more and less effective ways of communicating the same piece of information. In other words, presentation matters. Don't most of us already know this intuitively? Gladwell is good at isolating factors that propel trends with an initial following in the hundreds to success in the millions, but his argument is often hampered by cliches like this.

Rating:
Summary: The Tipping Point - The little things that make big sales
Review: Why do some books become best sellers while others, as good or better, languish at the bottom of the list? Malcolm Gladwell says that the difference is in the little things that make a big difference. The difference is that the successful ones reach the "Tipping Point", the point of critical mass at which the book, product, fad, disease or idea reaches a sufficient number of people to become self-propelled.

Well, what makes that happen? In this insightful, easy reading book, Gladwell theorizes that the Three Rules of Epidemics are the Law of the Few, The Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. The Law of the Few is that only a few of the many people in the world make the difference between epidemic and no epidemic, between success of a book, product, fad, or idea and failure to catch on.

Those people are categorized as Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen with some people filling multiple categories. A connector knows many people casually, but well enough to call or meet them whenever he wants to. A Maven is a knowledgeable person to whom many people turn for knowledge or recommendations. And a Salesman is one who can present a product as so desirable that all who hear him want to get it. The Law of the Few says that a few Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen are responsible for starting word of mouth epidemics.

The Stickiness Factor is that essential attribute that makes people want to get it and to recommend it to their friends. The rule of The Power of Context is that if the environment isn't right at the time your book, product, fad or idea hits the market, no matter how many of the other factors are in place, the epidemic won't take off.

As an author working to get my own new book to reach the Tipping Point, I found The Tipping Point extremely valuable for its insights into what it takes to get there.

Roger M. Scovil
Author of Get Ahead: Scovil's 7 Rules for Success in Management (Longstreet Press)

Rating:
Summary: Obvious yes, we all know, but this is a good book
Review: At the most basic level of example we all have experienced a tipping of the scales whether from an event in childhood, esp in school, or from product consumption fads. This is a very American phenom as our market is structured as such and so openly. Gladwell admits this. In foriegn countries there will be a hundred different products (For the same purpose)in a hundred different homes, yet in the states there is more of a conformance to a tipped major product. One of Gladwells presentations for tipping is the law of the few, we all know it's not what you know to get a super opportunity, but who you know that will give that to you. Important people make these tipping changes. That for the most part is true, very few small time authors of books that are super get noticed. Obvious. Next you have to make the idea print in the mind as memorable, then make it an important part of our lives, again all to obvious. But what I'd like to say is that this is the only fundamental parts of the book, the applications in the pages are what made this book a best seller and I am surprised no one else has mentioned that. Gladwell didn't tip the scales on that BIG part.

Amazon says we should recommend similar books. A super book, if it gets noticed much more, in my opinion would tip the scales over is SB 1 or God By Karl Mark Maddox

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the read
Review: Most books of this type can have their main theories wrapped up in two or three pages, and spend endless chapters "selling" a book you've already bought. Gladwell's premises, however, are not just "bumper sticker" ideas, they are carefully crafted and their limitations are detailed as well. I don't really think of it as a marketing kind of book; more like Social Philosphy. His case studies are compelling, and while some may seem obvious, it is nice to see "something you always knew" described in such a comprehensive way. After reading the book, I came away with the feeling that we can change things for the better; that a small push in the right direction might do a lot of good.

Rating:
Summary: Tipping Point
Review: Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, illustrates real world events that served as tipping points to epidemics. A tipping point is the one dramatic moment where everything changes at once and an epidemic begins. More importantly, Gladwell explains why some ideas, behaviors and/or products start epidemics and others don't; and what we can do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics of our own.
According to Gladwell, the three agents of change in epidemics are: The law of the few, the stickiness factor and the power of context. The law of the few refers to the fact that some people (Gladwell labels them connectors, mavens and salesmen) matter more than others. The law states that the success of any kind of epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of these few, influential messengers. The stickiness factor refers to the point that in order for a epidemical message to be contagious, it must be memorable, able to create change and drive people to action. The power of context describes that small changes in context are important in tipping epidemics. Gladwell states that if you want to bring about fundamental change in people's belief and behavior, you need to create a community around them, where those new beliefs could be practiced, expressed and nurtured.
Using interesting and well-known examples and case studies, Gladwell explores how social epidemics work and what can be learned from them. Tipping Point serves as an inspiration to everyone, whether he or she is causing an epidemic in a classroom or boardroom. Gladwell gives hope that one by one, we can help change the world.

Rating:
Summary: Little Things Mean A Lot
Review: As a fond reader of Malcolm Gladwell's articles in the New Yorker, I was anxious to read The Tipping Point, particularly in light of the buzz the book has been getting. I can see why the book is so popular. Gladwell uses extremely simple terms to define what he calls a "new" theory: that ideas and trends do not become popular through a gradual process; instead, they "tip," pushed beyond an invisible boundary where they spread rapidly, like an epidemic. Ideas and trends catch on for certain reasons, because the idea/trend is "sticky" or hits the right people (connectors, mavens, salesmen) in the right environment. Gladwell draws upon several interesting case studies and experiments, littering them throughout the book with the aim of backing up his premise.

The first problem with the book, though, is that this premise doesn't need any support. It is not a groundbreaking idea... sociologists have been describing this phenomenon for years, it's just that none of them has dumbed the idea down well enough for the book to become a bestseller... until now. Gladwell cites a great many sociological and psychological experiments which are admittedly very interesting; but what the results of the studies suggest is often up for debate, but Gladwell tells us that while some experts believe an experiment indicates x, the real meaning of the results is y. He then supports y without ever explaining why x is not a valid interpretation. I also found it irksome that he was constantly referring to his own experiences and group of friends, rather than taking himself out of the picture (this is the difference between real investigative studies and pop-sociology, this book falling into the latter category). I also wish he would have found more interesting trends to examine than children's television shows and footware (with only a handful of fully fleshed-out case studies, two are focused on children's tv: Sesame Street and Blue's Clues; and two on shoes: Hush Puppies and Airwalks). Towards the end of the book he includes a very irritating chapter on smoking which compares cigarrettes to suicide (the sections on suicide were interesting, but the sections on smoking sounded like a lecture from a high school guidance counselor).

Again, the book has some very good points and can be put to practical use. But in reading it I had the feeling that Gladwell believes he has a more revolutionary theory on his hands than he actually does.