Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian journalist, putative public speaker and best-selling author. His books include: The Tipping Point (2000), Blink (2005), Outliers (2008), What the Dog Saw (2009), David and Goliath (2013), Talking to Strangers (2019) and The Bomber Mafia (2021).
In 2022, I read Outliers, The Tipping Point and David and Goliath. Possibly, I will devour and savour the remaining tantalising titles in 2023. Anyway, permit me to share some few insights in those books worth reading.
Outliers is a story of success, which is a function of persistence and doggedness. Then, comes the aphorism, no one rises before dawn, 365 days a year, and fails to make his family rich. This implies that people access success through hard work, proper planning, self-reliance or co-operation with a small group.
Canada is the most hockey-crazed country. Coaches start selecting players at the age of 9 or 10. They go through tough training to entice and evince excellence. The idea that excellence in any sphere requires a critical minimum level of practice, surfaces for the umpteenth time in studies of expertise. Careful researchers settled on what they believe, is the magical number for any marvellous mastery – 10,000 hours. In order to rise to stardom, the 10,000-Hour Rule comes in handy.
In this regard, hockey players who rise to the acme of their game flex their muscles through persistent preparation and practice. They also have a big headstart – an opportunity that comes through sheer luck and work. The opportunities that follow those who already have is what sociologist Robert Merton famously christened as the ‘Matthew Effect’ after Matthew 25:29: “For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell talks of how small things can make a big difference. Lending credence to the wise words of Mother Mary Teresa of Calcutta, who once averred, “You do not have to do great things, but just do small things in a great way.”
Then, there is the Stickiness Factor, the Power of Context and the Law of Few, which are quite applicable in many spheres of life. The stickiness means that a message makes an impact and sticks in memories. The Power of Context postulates that human beings are quite sensitive to their environment. The Law of Few posits that we are friends with people whom we do the same things with, as much as we are with the people we resemble. We do not seek out our friends. Instead, we associate with people who occupy the same small physical spaces that we do.
Consequently, there are three categories of people: Connectors, mavens and salespersons.
Connectors know plenty of people. They have a foot in so many different worlds, and so they bring people together. They are people who we can reach because they occupy many different worlds, sub-cultures and niches. Their ability to span many different worlds is a function of something intrinsic to their personality: some beautiful blend of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability and energy.
Mavens are people with plenty of information on products, prices or places. They are important people in an economy because the marketplace depends on information. Mavens are data banks who provide the message.
Salesmen wield skills of persuasion when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing. They are critical to the tipping of word of mouth epidemics.
Finally, David and Goliath is an allusion of the Biblical story. It is a tale of underdogs, misfits and the art of battling giants. The book steers clear on what happens when ordinary people confront ‘giants’ — powerful opponents of all kinds — armies and mighty warriors, and so on and so forth. These are tales of different people — famous or unknown, ordinary or brilliant — who have faced outsize challenges and been forced to respond: Should I play by the rules or follow my own instincts? Should I persevere or give up? Should I strike back or forgive?
The most important concept therein, is the Big Fish Little Pond Effect. It posits that the more elite an educational institution is, the worse students feel about their academic abilities. Sometimes, it happens, students who should emerge at the top of their class in a great school can really fall at the bottom. Most parents and students make their school choices for the wrong reasons. They think that going to an academically selective school is the be-all and end-all. It is not true. For this causes some welter.
© Victor Ochieng’
The writer is an editor, avid reader, author and public speaker.
vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
Get more stories from our website: Education News
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
