Takeaways from Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Tipping Point”
By: Jc Christians
Tags: Pandemic, Tipping Point, Environment, Malcolm Gladwell, Connection

How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

You’ve heard of the Pareto Principle that states 20% of your work can yield 80% of the reward. Why is that 20% so powerful?

In his book, Malcolm Gladwell uncovers that unlike our common perception, the relationship between influence and effort is not always as linear as many people may naturally assume. In fact, in the cases he chooses to explore the relationship is exponential.

Malcolm takes a deep dive into what happens at the smallest details before an idea takes flight. He takes a look at seemingly trivial characteristics that can amount to why one trend spreads like wildfire and another flickers out. He addresses topics such as the ebb and flow of crime rates, what type of education sticks best with young minds, the indescribable nature of fashion trends, and even pandemics (2020 was a great year to read this book). Malcolm also introduces some fascinating studies such as Dunbar’s number and the Rule of six degrees of separation.

Ahead of you in this article, you will find my main takeaways of what stood out to me as I read the book. If applied well, these takeaways can positively benefit your own idea creation and how you perceive success during your interaction with others.

1. Weak Ties are Pivotal to Increasing Reach

One concept in this book that is beneficial for everyone to keep tabs on is the idea of a “weak tie”. A weak tie is a positive connection you made with someone outside your immediate circle. This could come anywhere from someone you met on a ski trip, to a friend of a friend you met during a night out on the town, to someone who sits next to you on a plane ride.

What Malcolm found is that not all connections need to be close to be powerful.

Even friends you make over a short time horizon still can still yield significant returns. This is a weak tie. As long as your experience with the new friend was positive and genuine, it does not take much effort to keep them at the edge of your social cloud. But being able to call on these people down the road is a difference-maker when it comes to the movement of an idea. They could provide you new information from their industry/community, or even be a recommendation for a new job opportunity. The power of these weak ties is what separates taking your idea beyond your immediate environment. It’s safe to say you should not underestimate the reward a quick connection can bring.

2. We are creatures of environments, not habits.

Perhaps the hardest lesson in this book to admit is that as humans we are far more influenced by our environment than any one of us would care to admit. Before we can form habits, our environment shapes us. In terms of consistency-

Motivation < Discipline < Habits < Environment

Do you disagree? Let’s take a simple example of learning a new language. Do you think relying on the motivation you feel on a specific day would be enough to learn a new language? Probably not. But what if you were disciplined to practice 30 minutes to an hour every day regardless of your feelings? You’d be getting closer! Still, a habit of practicing a new language intermingled throughout your day would probably be more beneficial than just a times discipline. What if your environment forced you to work on learning that language with every interaction you had?

Environments offer the power of immersion. Since we are surrounded by our environment in every direction, it is without a doubt the most powerful influence of our actions, and therefore, our growth. The same idea goes in business. Which marketing strategy or business idea “sticks” best? Malcolm suggests the stickiest ideas will always be ones that can become merged into the fabric of our environment and culture. FAANG stocks have produced some of the highest returns in the equity markets over the past few years because their social media product was sticky, it merged into the environment around us. Many people make accounts because of friends and family who have done the same. We now know the great ideas that last are the ones that have staying power in there environment.

3. Follow your natural strengths by knowing these 3 character traits

Gladwell focuses on three types of people to define as vessels for idea explosion. He calls information collectors “Mavens”. People who know a subject well and can give quality insight to a specific industry or train of thought. They are the ones you go to for advice in a certain niche. This type of person will always be the first adapters to ideas with industry changing potential. Keeping in touch with a maven means you have the access to the best take on a subject matter.

The second character Malcolm introduces is a connector. These are the people who have mastered the art of developing weak ties. They can make close connections over the span of an evening that could last them a friend for years. They have links that extend across multiple networks. They are the type of people always reaching out and bringing groups together. You may be surprised to realize that your social circle is not really a circle, it’s a pyramid. At the top of the pyramid, you will find a connector.

The final character is the salesmen. They are the type of person that has an edge when it comes to convincing. They get you to agree to their statements, they get you to shake your head in acknowledgment, and before you know it, you’re sold.

Reading this book will allow you to discover people in your community who exemplify certain habits of a maven, connector, or salesmen, and use that knowledge of others to create better relationships with those around you.

4. Small but specific movements can yield unequal returns.

There is a chapter in this book called “The Power of Context” which states that in order to solve big problems, you have to start with the small things that build up the immediate context of an environment. Who knew you could cut New York City murder rates in half by scrubbing out graffiti around the city? It turns out the permission for petty crimes gave criminals the wiggle room to move on to larger and larger infractions. Previously, criminals moved up the ladder comfortably and with confidence that their actions could not be held accountable for. Post-graffiti crackdown, people felt secure and that the police and community around them had taken a stand against even the smallest level of acting out, leading to a drop in criminal activity of all sorts.

There are many small characteristics around you in school, on your team, or in your work environment that also follow this same theory. Every big change you seek starts with small, but calculated actions towards that goal.

It’s important to note that not all small decisions can provide the same impact. They can be hit or miss. The level of influence may be determined by how much a detail sticks out and grabs the attention of our 5 senses. At a large scale, the ability to convey an idea across cultures requires a combination of people with three unique skill sets.

Overall, This is the type of book setting where Malcolm Gladwell thrives, and it’s one of his best pieces I’ve read to date. When he has the chance to extrapolate small but significant points of a story and narrate along the way, he can flip many preconceived notions you had going into the book, and that is the real power of his writing.

What tipping point will you create?