RATING
8 out of 10
Overall, a very fascinating read and definitely recommend. I love Malcolm Gladwell’s writing style and the way he correlates his findings to actual events and figures throughout history and society.
THEMES
Cultural Trends | Epidemics | Pandemics | Economic Patterns | Viral Culture
KNOWLEDGE FROM THE PAGE
Three Rules of The Tipping Point
- The Law of Few : The Nature of the Message
- The Stickiness Factor: Is the “thing” memorable enough to create change or spur someone into action?
- Power of Context: It’s not just extraordinary people and memorable “things”… the environment in which these people and things exist is paramount
*Combine these three concepts and you will find a way to make sense of how an epidemic came to be
1) The Law of the Few
- There are exceptional people that move the needle forward… these people are CONNECTORS, MAVENS and SALESPEOPLE. They are the 20% in the 80/20 rule aka 80% of the “work” is done by 20% of the participants… 20% of criminals commit 80% of crimes… 20% of motorists cause 80% of all accidents… 20% of beer drinkers drink 80% of all the beer… you get it.
CONNECTOR
The person that knows “everyone”. Not only does it matter how many people this person knows but also what kind of people this person knows.
MAVEN
Specialists. Information specialists. Literal Yiddish meaning of Maven is one who accumulates knowledge. These people are teachers and students… they are here to educate and help but not sell.
SALESPERSON
What makes something or someone persuasive is not inherently obvious. The ‘it’ factor consists of extremely subtle factors that permeate our subconscious and “tip” us one way or another. Salespeople are in control (to a degree) of these subtle ‘reflexes’ to draw people’s subconscious into the ‘sell’. They can draw others into their own rhythms and dictate the terms of the interaction.
Combine a notion, trend, technology, fashion statement etc. with a connector, a maven and a salesperson and you have the ingredients to take that “asset” to the tipping point and break the internet, pad some pockets and go viral.
2) STICKINESS
- Overarching take away from this concept is 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. Think outside the box. That’s where it gets sticky.
3) POWER OF CONTEXT
- Epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur. For example, crime is contagious. It has been proven that an area of high crime begets more crime. It can start with something as basic as a broken window and spread to an entire community. One interesting case study, studied graffiti and its effect on New York City subway trains. Authorities made a point to crack down on train graffiti after a control study was conducted that showed trains with graffiti were more likely to be the site of subway crime as opposed to clean trains. Get rid of graffiti and drastically reduce crime. The impetus to engage in a specific type of behavior is not coming from a certain kind of person but from a feature of the environment.