Finding your own Tipping Point

Book Response: Malcom Gladwell's Tipping Point

"We like to think of ourselves as autonomous and inner-directed, that who we are and how we act is something permanently set by our genes and our temperament. But if you add up the examples...they amount to a very different conclusion about what it means to be human."

Gladwell believes that within the human race there are people with special capabilities. These talented people are needed to create epidemics of all kinds, whether it be spreading diseases or fashion trends. The general population, who on the average day seem unlikely to change their minds or behavior, will change when these special people--Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen--are at work.

The Tipping Point theory attempts to explain epidemics in social, non-magical terms. Gladwell shows an appreciation for diversity; we are not all the same, and some of us play vital roles in products or trends that "stick." My value for diversity was satisfied when I read this. So there is a rhyme and reason to the way some things catch fire, while others fizzle within a short time! The problem I faced, as I read on, is that I am not one of those talented people.

The theory is far from a control-the-masses idea. Gladwell is not saying most of us go along for the ride while a few significant people really run the show. I'll admit I sometimes willingly become caught up in something incredibly popular. I saw the midnight premier of "The Hunger Games" back in March, and dispite a theater filled with teenagers giggling awkwardly I enjoyed being the intoxicating excitment. Gladwell believes it's the "stickiness" of a message or product which accounts for its popularity being pushed over the edge.

Gladwell's theory helped dispell my tendency to idealize the successful. Like many my age I adored and grew up on Sesame Street, but Gladwell credits the creators of Blue's Clues for building on the former show's success while avoiding its inadequacies. As endearing as Sesame Street is and was, in tests the latter show has proven to help its audience learn the target skills. Despite my emotional attachment to the monsters from the street, the tests show Blue's Clues found away to be "stickier" than its parent. There was a rhyme and reason to its popularity.

Recently I was recruited to be a core member of a local start-up business in the field of fitness and nutrition. I was wooed not because of my large social circle, my stockpile of information, or my retail persuasiveness--I can claim none of these. I was welcomed to the team because I am positive, determined, and one hell of a latte crafter. I am fortunate that the company owners are in fact a Connector, a Maven and a Salesman. Like a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense, I have the unsexy role of "holding the point" while the stars of the show make plays.

I take it back. I'm Bruce Lee, using the inertia of others toward my own successful ends.