Notes on Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context
I bought two of Malcolm Gladwell‘s books: The Tipping Point and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
I’ve read Tipping Point for about three times already, digesting and really interacting with the insights that that book has to offer. On my way to Nashville, TN from Manila, I just brought out the book and my pen to start marking important passages that I would do well to remember.
Malcolm Gladwell presents an interesting case in the Tipping Point. He explores how one particular idea or product “tips,” which is simply to say that it becomes extremely popular in terms of sale, awareness and success. He discusses three big principles that enable a message, an idea or a product to “tip.” I paraphrase these principles into: 1) The Messengers, 2) The Message, and 3) The Environment.
The Messenger/s.
Gladwell talked about The Law of the Few. Three kinds of people are needed to make something TIP! The Connectors, the Mavens and the Salesmen. Connectors find themselves in a number of “worlds.” They masterfully utilize their wide range of acquiantance network or weak ties to connect people, products and ideas together. They are masters of networking. By simply being members of various social groups, they are able to connect people, who would otherwise not know each other.
Mavens, on the other hand, are data centers. They research about new innovations, about the latest trends and products, about new sources of products and ideas. Most mavens share information for the simple sake of helping others. By being passionate in amassing data and information and passing them through, they are able to help spread a product, idea or message.
A connector puts people together in a web of connections, mavens bring information. If somebody is unconvinced with what the connectors and the mavens bring, the Salesmen come in to persuade and tell people the value of what the maven and the connector are promoting.
The Message.
It’s one thing to send out a message and another thing altogether to make that message memorable. Interestingly, it is not the content of the message itself that must be tweaked to make it stick. It is usually some small things in the backgrounds or in the margins such as the addition of some details. If the message could be made more personal, more useful and more practical, people will find it easier to retain the message.
With the influx of too much advertising and so many messages directed to people, it is not surprising that most of these messages are discarded as useless no matter how interesting they may be. Since the intention of most advertisements and communication campaigns is to prod people to action, the stickiness of the message sent is of paramount importance!
The Environment.
While the internal makeup of people is important, the context they are in is even more important, so argued Gladwell. In a lot of times, that is true. Deeply held convictions get tested with the daily grind. This also means that people are far from being consistent, they act according to the dictates of their environment and their context.
What Gladwell is saying then, is that in order for a product, a message or an idea to tip, the right circumstances should be created and fostered. This does not mean that we should all go out and change the big problems overnight. Instead, by focusing on the small things, the big things will eventually be dealt with. Gladwell illustrated this well by using the Broken Windows Theory, which comes from Criminology studies. Simple things such as Broken Windows could actually send the message that it is okay to be dirty and chaotic. Other areas of social life will then be affected. On the contrary, fixing the small things such as graffiti and broken windows, as well as punishing small crimes, eventually, the big things will fall into place.
Under the Power of Context, the power of groups is also very important. When people bond together in groups, they begin discussing things, ideas and promote products among themselves. This multiplies the effects of the messengers and the stickiness of the message.
I loved reading the Tipping Point. Malcolm Gladwell’s approach is interesting without complicating the topic. The case studies he presented bolster his arguments and illustrates to the reader the concepts he presented.
To get a copy of Gladwell’s Tipping Point, buy it here.