social sciences

"The Tipping Point", by Malcolm Gladwell, is an essential text for individuals (business, educational and government leaders...) who seek to better understand and generate positive social epidemics within today's society. As Gladwell states, "the best way to understand the emergence of fashion trends, the ebb and flow of crime waves, or, for that matter, the transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth, or any number of other mysterious changes that mark everyday life is to think of them as epidemics." Gladwell aptly calls this process, The Tipping Point.

Gladwell's insightful argument is that ideas, products, messages and behaviors spread like viruses. To support his argument, Gladwell, describes how Hush Puppies shoes in the 1990s suddenly became fashionable after years of steady decline in sales or how Paul Reveres "word of mouth" ride alarming colonists of an imminent attack by the British spread more effectively than his counterpart, William Dawes, who was carrying the same message. So, how can we better understand why some trends "tip" and others don't? Gladwell argues there are 3 rules which can provide us with insight into the Tipping Point: The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.

Marketing industry personnel can take a direct lesson from Gladwell's The Tipping Point. Yet, where the text is most effective is how The Tipping Point can be utilized by transformational leaders to better understand why social trends -fall of crime rates in urban cities, teen suicide and smoking - suddenly spike or dissipate within communities. Understanding human nature is not an exact science. Therefore, by critically examining societal epidemics and their tipping points, transformational leaders can better serve their communities by instilling positive changes/trends to remedy negative societal epidemics.

The Tipping Point is a book simply about how epidemics spread. Why did crime in New York City suddenly plummet in the 1990s, significantly more than any other city in America? Why is smoking among teenagers continuing to increase, despite the largest advertising campaigns today warning kids about smoking's harmful effects? Why was Paul Revere so successful on his midnight ride while his counterpart on the gallop, Billy Dawes, is virtually an unknown? The Tipping Point answers these mind-bender questions and forces you to consider new, and sometimes uncomfortable, ways of looking at and evaluating our world.

Despite the disjointed and vast array of situations showcased to explain epidemics, this book is a fascinating and delightful read if you have a curious mind and want some new food for thought. The author Malcolm Gladwell takes you through his theories of the personality types that must interact on some level to start an epidemic to the actual conditions that need to exist to help the contagiousness of the situation. The author finds a readable and intriguing way of explaining all these epidemics and more -- from social to fashion trends, why some ideas stick and others don't, how something little can make all the difference in creating an epidemic.

How something little can make a big difference.... How can something small, like removing all the graffiti from New York subways, lead the way for reducing crime in New York City? How did a few book clubs in San Francisco act as the catalyst for launching the career of a regional book - Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood? How did a handful of East Village kids turn Hush Puppies into the cool shoe of the mid-90's? The Tipping Point clearly shows how making small changes, sometimes even changes on the fringe, can tip the scale to start an epidemic. Now may we find a way to use these theories, make that small difference, and start an epidemic for the betterment of our world.

This is a fun book to read, but the dots remain uncconected.
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I much prefer works that are more practical, and guide you directly to where you are going, instead of this very indirect analysis.
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Some examples of this direct approach which are exceptionally well done include the CD "Voice Lessons to go" and the DVD "New Sex Now."
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All of these are fun and enjoyable and will improve your life.