Brief Summary

The Tipping Point :

How Little things Can Make a Big Difference

Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell is a British-born
Canadian journalist, author, and pop
sociologist, based in New York City.
He has been a staff writer for The
New Yorker since 1996.
He is best known for his books :
The Tipping Point
Blink
Outliers
What the Dog Saw: And Other
Adventures

The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point is that dramatic moment when
little causes drive the unexpected to become
expected and propel the idea of radical change to
certain acceptance.
This is the moment or amount when enough small
acts have happened that they have collectively
caused a large one. For example, a trend, an
epidemic, or a new idea.

Epidemics

The central
metaphor Gladwell
uses to explain how
ideas and trends
spread.
Contagious agents to
spread the message

Rules Of Epidemics
The Law of the Few: The theory that most ideas
spread through the disproportionately influential
acts of a small number of people.
The Stickiness Factor: Stickiness means that a
message makes an impact its memorable or how
well an idea can hold the attention of a consumer or
viewer
The Power of Context: The idea that what is
happening around a person has a large impact on
his/her behavior.

The Law of the Few:

Connectors, Mavens and

Salesman
Connectors: People with a special gift for bringing the
people together . Proximity overpowers similarity; we
associate with those who occupy the same spaces we
do . The acquaintance /weak tie is a friendly but
casual social connection.
Mavens: Information specialists or Market Mavens
Often pay close attention to price/quality differences in
products. Mavens are databanks they provide the
message.
Salesmen: Those with the skills to persuade us when
we are unconvinced of what we are hearing .On some
level, salesmen cannot be resisted.

The Stickiness Factor

There is a simple way to package information that,
under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible.
All you have to do is find it.
The Stickiness Factor: This refers to a unique quality
that compels the phenomenon to stick in the minds
of the public and influence their future behavior.

The Power of Context

"The mistake we make in thinking of character as
something unified and all-encompassing is very similar
to a kind of blind spot in the way we process
information... Character, then, isn't what we think it is
or, rather, what we want it to be. It isn't a stable,
easily identifiable set of closely related traits, and it
only seems that way because of a glitch in the way our
brains are organized."
Trends - tip into mass popularity due to the Power
of Context
The Broken Window Theory

The Power of Context

Psychologists tell us... that when people are asked to

consider evidence or make decisions in a group, they
come to very different conclusions than when they are
asked to consider evidence or make decisions by
themselves.
What Makes People sensitive or unfeeling
Peer Pressure
Rule Of 150

The Case Study

Rumors
Confusing
Mixing Actual Situations with Familiar One
Confusing a tourist with a spy

Remembering Part of Details

Simplifying
Dropping Details
Something makes rumors sticky

Focus, Test,
Believe !
Tipping points are :
A reaffirmation of the
potential for change and
the power of intelligent
action.

1. Those who are

successful at
creating
epidemics do not
just do what they
think is right but
they test their
intuitions.
2. What must
underlies
successful
epidemics is a
bedrock belief
that change is
possible.

New Concepts:

Band-Aid Approach
Broken Windows
Power Of few
Charismatic People
Favoritism

Brief Take Away

Tipping points are a reaffirmation of the potential for change and
the power of intelligent action.
We are powerfully influenced by our surroundings, our
immediate context, and the personalities of those around us.
There is a great deal of the feeling of hopelessness around us,
but we can greatly improve that by manipulating the size of the
group whereby we can drastically improve their receptivity.
By tinkering with the presentation of information we can
significantly improve its stickiness and remembrance.
Simply by finding and reaching those few special people who
hold so much social power we can shape the course of social
epidemics.

Thank You