This is about an amazing book I read recently. I am annoying my friends talking so much about it and I use its stories at work.

It is called “The tipping point” by Malcom Gladwell.

It’s not an insider’s tip, especially not in the U.S. and already has had quite an aftermath. Libraries, e.g. were rewarded for new ideas that had spread from the book.
The tipping point is the moment in which an epidemic starts, a situation in which small effects can have deep impacts.

This is an almost mathematical, biological approach but suits for many social phenomenas as well: Crime rates drop abruptly, a fashion trend takes off and it shows why 150 is a magic number for groups and organizations.

You can browse through the table of content.

Not only is the idea so clear and convincing, it is also written in such an entertaining way, it obeys what it explains: It sticks.

Gladwell has many examples that stayed in my head: The story of Lexus’ “perfect recall”, the surprising comeback of the now again fashionable Hushpuppies shoe, how crime changed in New York, the success factors of “Sesame’s street” and “Blues’s clues”, and my favourite one: How a social worker in San Diego had the brilliant idea to educate women about breast cancer and diabetes. Turning their hair dressers into evangelists and give them stories to tell to their clients made them really think about prevention.

The book is about people, how they connect, whom they trust, about conncetors, mavens and salesmen, about the power of context and what makes messages sticky.

A pleasure to read. I discovered a little error, might be a typing error, but maybe a meaningful one. Later I’ll talk about that. Please come back.