The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

ReaderStrength™

Resources for Leaders

Vol. #2 2/28/03, Deanne G. Bryce, editor

ReaderStrength™ is published monthly

©LeaderStrength Systems, Inc. 2003

We humans have been writing about leadership for more than 2000 years. Is there still anything new and exciting to be said about the subject? Maybe not, but we still hunger for information and inspiration. ReaderStrength is an e-publication that adds value to your busy life as a leader by pointing you toward books that will fuel your inspiration as you lead yourself and others.

One year ago, Malcolm Gladwell, a former business and science writer for the Washington Post, published The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. During your searches for quality leadership books, this book may be overlooked since it’s located in the current affairs section of the bookstore.

Any leader who wants to move a group of people in a given direction should take notice of the major concept presented in The Tipping Point:

Ideas that make a difference grow like epidemics.

Typically epidemics are considered widespread growth of something negative or even catastrophic. In the introduction, Gladwell uses the epidemic analogy to explain positive expansion of an idea. He shares the details of how Hush Puppies—the classic American brush suede shoes—went from 30,000 pairs being sold in the early 1990’s to 430,000 pair in 1995. The tipping point is the point in an epidemic when the number of people “infected” with, in this case, a social virus of fashion behavior, jumped dramatically between 1994 and 1995.

Intuitively we might think that what causes an idea to grow like a social epidemic is the idea itself. We think that good ideas like new technology spread through our culture because they make sense. What matters more than the idea itself is three factors, which Gladwell calls…

The Three Rules of Epidemics

1. The Law of the Few

2. The Stickiness Factor

3. The Power of Context

To put it simply, the law of the few says that a few key people or messengers spread ideas. The ideas must be presented in a way that is memorable leading to the “stickiness factor” of a message, and the context of the situation that the message is received must be favorable to spreading the message.

What does this information about social epidemics do for you as a leader?

As a leader you have a message you desire to communicate with your customers, employees, or peers. Once you recognize and understand the message you wish to communicate, you can…

Become or hire what Gladwell calls a connector, a maven and/or a salesman.
Tweak the delivery of your message, not the content, to make it more memorable.
Make sure the message is communicated in an environment that will move the message forward.

Two leaders had these comments to say about Gladwell’s book:

“One theory (from the book) that made sense to me was a social psychological theory of how a new idea goes through several different subsets of the culture. The first people/businesses to adopt it are Innovators (they like change and risk) and shortly after them, the Early Adopters (are open to new ideas/things, but don't want to be first using them - they want to see a few people/businesses being successful with them before adopting.) Then there is apparently a huge chasm between the Early Adopters and the Majority. The Majority usually won't adopt new ideas and products unless the new idea/product is framed in a way that fits in with their already existing mindset. The trick, then, is to communicate/market the new idea or product differently to the different subgroups and, especially, to frame it in a way that the Majority can handle.

As a leader, this reminds me to always be aware of how my messages are being received. In communicating, I must first listen to hear where people are at; and in marketing, I must know my market and create messages that speak to the prevailing mindset.”

-Andrea Sullivan, Trainer, Entrepreneur and Author

“What struck me immediately upon reading that book was the way the author made potentially dry and boring facts and statistics into intriguing anecdotes and examples. It was quite a ‘so that's how it happens!’ book. It is the type of book I will keep in my reference library and read often.”

-Marcia Hoffman, Non-profit Program Coordinator

Whether or not, you choose to read this book, take some time and consider how creating an epidemic can help you as a leader who wants to move a group of people in a given direction. May Gladwell’s ending thoughts encourage you…

“Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push—in just the right place—it can be tipped.”

About ReaderStrength™

We humans have been writing about leadership for more than 2000 years. Is there anything new and exciting to be said about the subject? Perhaps not, but still we hunger for information and inspiration. ReaderStrength is an e-publication that adds value to your busy life as a leader by pointing you toward books to fuel your inspiration as you lead yourself and others. Send us your ideas and favorite leadership books so that we can share them with others.

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dbryce@leaderstrength.com • Leader Strength Systems