The  Tipping Point

By Malcolm Gladwell

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. Mr. Gladwell, in a very well written and compelling book, has changed the  way we think about the root-cause of social epidemics, mob "psychology," and  institutional growth.

Through clear examples and  studies of well known and familiar marketing "phenomenon," we come to realize  that we often misdiagnose both our successes and our failures when it comes to  understanding why certain social changes stick. We are given the "real analysis"  of why Blue's Clues and Sesame Street are great successes while other more  deliberate attempts at "hooking" our children on educational TV failed. We find  out why the New York City crime rate was drastically reduced by cleaning up  graffiti on the trains and arresting the squeegee men at the toll booths. More  importantly, we learn how to challenge the status quo in our ideas of why  products and services might take off or fail in our business and non-profit  organizations.

We also learn why growing an  organization from 100 people to 150 people presents no difficulty, but growing  that same organization from 150 to 200 is all but doomed to fail. Mr. Gladwell  explains why context matters in our quest to understand the social trends around  us. And we learn why telling medical students to rush makes them calloused  citizens despite their normally compassionate tendencies. All of this  information is important to those of us working to grow our institutions and  manage our company cultures. Change management is doomed to fail without a deep  understanding of the "Tipping Point" as clearly and eloquently explained in this  excellent book by Malcolm Gladwell. This is a must read for anyone serious about  understanding why little things can make a very, very big difference!

[Click on the book  image to see it at Amazon]
 

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