The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Why did crime in New York drop so suddenly in the mid-'90s? How does an unknown novelist end up a bestselling author? Why is teenage smoking out of control, when everyone knows smoking kills? What makes TV shows like Sesame Street so good at teaching kids how to read? Why did Paul Revere succeed with his famous warning?
Malcolm Gladwell, a staff writer for The New Yorker, has been studying trends like these for years and has written several articles for the magazine that have developed into his new book, The Tipping Point. According to 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 sick individual in a crowded store can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push start a fashion trend or cause the popularity of a new restaurant to take off overnight or cause crime or drug use to taper off. In The Tipping Point, Gladwell shows how very minor adjustments in products and ideas can make them more likely to become immensely popular. He reveals how easy it is to cause group behavior to tip in a desirable direction by making small changes in our immediate environment.
Gladwell introduces us to the particular personality types that are natural pollinators of new ideas and trends, the people who create the phenomenon of word of mouth. He analyzes fashion trends, smoking, children's television, direct mail, and the early days of the American Revolution for clues about making ideas infectious. He also visits a religiouscommune,a successful high-tech company, and one of the world's greatest salesmen to show how to start and sustain social epidemics.
This is a book that should be read by everyone in business, politics, marketing and advertising, as well as by anyone interested in trends, fashion, fads, policy making, and human behavior. In other words, all of us. (Emily Burg)
FROM THE PUBLISHER
New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell looks at why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages, and products, he argues, often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a few fare-beaters and graffiti artists fuel a subway crime wave, or a satisfied customer fill the empty tables of a new restaurant. These are social epidemics, and the moment when they take off, when they reach their critical mass, is the Tipping Point." "Gladwell introduces us to the particular personality types who are natural pollinators of new ideas and trends, the people who create the phenomenon of word of mouth. He analyzes fashion trends, smoking, children's television, direct mail, and the early days of the American Revolution for clues about making ideas infectious, and visits a religious commune, a successful high-tech company, and one of the world's greatest salesmen to show how to start and sustain social epidemics.
SYNOPSIS
Defining that precise moment when a trend becomes a trend, Malcolm Gladwell probes the surface of everyday occurrences to reveal some surprising dynamics behind explosive social changes. He examines the power of word-of-mouth and explores how very small changes can directly affect popularity. Perceptive and imaginative, The Tipping Point is a groundbreaking book destined to overturn conventional thinking in business, sociological, and policy-making arenas.
FROM THE CRITICS
Chicago Tribune
...a fascinating account...valuable...
US Magazine
Anyone interested in fads should read The Tipping Point..."
Time Out New York
...brimming with new theories on the science of manipulation...
Seattle Times
...a terrifically rewarding read...
Business Week
...an imaginative...treatise that's likely...to generate some buzz...it's hard not to be persuaded by Gladwell's thesis. Not only does he assemble a fascinating mix of facts in support of his theory...but he also manages to weave everything into a cohesive explanation of human behavior. What's more, we appreciate the optimism of a theory that supports, as another pundit once called it, the power of one...there's little doubt that the material will keep you awake...
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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
The Tipping Point is one of those rare books that change the way you think about, well, everything. The book sets out to explain nothing less than why human beings behave the way they do and astonishingly, Malcolm Gladwell has the smarts and panache to pull it off.
— (Jeffrey Toobin, author of A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President )
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
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Sarah Prant, A reviewer, February 11, 2005,
A surprise.
I loved it. I read more than I write so I will keep it short. BUY THIS BOOK! I truly enjoyed it. Also buy A Year Since Yesterday. Two great reads.
Also recommended: A Year Since Yesterday by Zintel
Michael (michaelgardner2002@hotmail.com), from Louisville, Kentucky, August 23, 2004,
I'm a Maven....This book is so Practical, Very Good Read,
Isn't it interesting how information is dispersed from one person to the next? I actually heard about this book because one my favorite rap groups The Roots named the title of their recently released album The Tipping Point after THIS BOOK. The Roots have been known to sprinkle homage to books and literature as some of their musical inspirations. Well needless to say, I bought this book a little over two weeks ago. I read it at work at my cubicle and at night before I went to bed. Now I am not a business person, and I had no desire to market any product or idea. But this book was so full of useful knowledge that I will put to use in my everyday life! Being somewhat of introvert I thought the chapter on CONNECTORS, MAVENS, AND SALESMEN was fascinating! The paul revere/william dawes paradign has inspired me to reach out and connect' more to people. Being a recent graduate planning for a career working in housing and community development, I dream of one day becoming a well respected and well known figure in my city. In order to get where I want to be, this book taught has corny as it sounds, taught me the importance of aquaintances, and having an investment in people. Although, I believe as the author suggests, most people are born as connectorss, maven, and salesmen, just by virtue of thier personality types, and character, the vast majority of us can learn from each 'type' and can really benifit from those people. In all, social trends, and epidemics are full of intrigue. The fact, that they 'tip' is hardly luck, which is what most people think of when they think of say, why trucker hats took off a year or so ago. Ashton Kutcher wore it, Pharrell, Jay-Z, began wearing them, with the each of them undoubtedly the ultimate Connectors, highly capable of 'tipping any fashion trend..... But really people need to read this book. If not for practical use, out of pure fun, because this book makes for some good conversations, and its very easy to comprehend. Still not sure why it is marketed in the business marketing section, it could fall into many categories, and probably sell even better! This is flat out a GREAT READ.
A reviewer, A Sales Manager, July 8, 2004,
CD Version Needed
Great book. Most automobiles have CD players these days. Put this in CD ROM!
Dan Beaulieu (Danbbeaulieu@aol.com), I am a sales management consultant, February 23, 2004,
Amazing Stuff: Seminal work in a new science
How does a fad start? Why is it that something becomes enormously popular, seemingly overnight? In 1994 the shoe company Hush Puppies sold about 30,000 pairs; in 1995 they sold a whopping 430,000 pairs. How did that happen? By the way, they did nothing different, they did not advertise more, they did not introduce new products, the company did nothing at all to increase sales. In 1996 Hush Puppies won the prize for best accessory from the Council of Fashion Designers. How did that happen? Here’s another story. Only a few years ago, New York was known as the crime capital of the country. In 1992 there were 2,154 murders in New York City as well as 626,182 serious crimes. Then within five years murders dropped 64.3% to 770 and total crimes dropped almost by half to 355,883. What happened? What happened is exactly what this book is about. “The Tipping Point” is the precise point when an idea, a concept, a product of any sort transforms from being obscure to being popular. It is the study the emergence of a trend or a fad if you will. Take Hush Puppies for example. The trend was traced to a bunch of kids in New York who decided that shoes were pretty cool and started wearing them to clubs and cafes or just walked the streets of New York. They exposed other people with the fashion sense of thee shoes to a point as they author states “they infected them with the Hush Puppies “virus”. The same kind of thing happened with the crime decline in New York. A small group of people started to do things that ended up affecting a small number of situations that created new social forces and thus people around them began to act differently. It is a prime example of one of the three distinguishing characteristics of tipping points. In these two cases a small group of people did some small significant things that eventually lead to a “Tipping Point”. People started acting differently; they started taking responsibility for what was going on around them. They started influencing those around them to the point where it really started to make a difference. One of the three basic characteristics of a turning point is when small things influence bigger things. Author Gladwell covers a number of interesting topics including the development and rise to immense popularity of the children’s program Sesame Street; the Bernie Goetz vs. Kitty Genovese change in social norms in New York and the surprising rise to national popularity of the book “ The Ya Ya Sisterhood. This is fascinating stuff, especially for anyone who makes his living trying to figure out where people are going, what are they going to be interested in next and what they are going to buy next…which is most of us. Consider reading this one, you’ll thank me for it. I just couldn’t get enough. When I reached the last page, I wished there would have been five hundred more pages and dozens more case studies to read about. I felt like the guy who only had one Lay’s Potato Chip.
Also recommended: The Purple Cow By Seth Godin
A reviewer, January 26, 2004,
Little things mean alot
The little things add up. And sometimes, a tiny parable or proverb can mean much more than an encyclopedia. This book is in itself little, but ads up.
Also recommended: The Little Guide To Happiness
AUTHOR DESCRIPTION
Malcolm Gladwell is a former business and science writer at the Washington Post. He is currently a staff writer for The New Yorker. |
