Book Review – The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point, or as I would like to call it “social power,” is a must –read book written by Malcolm Gladwell. The book is two hundred fifty-nine pages and contains nine chapters of explanations of how the power of a few can change the outcomes of so many others.

Gladwell begins this voyage with basic scenarios about how a handful of people can manipulate the so-called ‘tipping point,’ in a direction with a few subtle changes.

His examination of a syphilis outbreak in Baltimore symbolizes that no matter how small your voice or efforts may be, you can make a significant difference. I’m sure you’re wondering how in the world syphilis is related in this book with the theme of ‘making a difference’ but it’s much bigger than that.

Baltimore was in the midst of a five-hundred percent increase in syphilis cases and health officials couldn’t find a solution to this epidemic. For years, the infection rate had seen minimal increases. Then, without notice, a tipping point occurred. An influx of crack-cocaine through needle use and the closure of a local clinic agitated this situation.

Gladwell’s case study uses the notion that viruses are ‘sticky’, but they move through a population at something like a snail-like pace until a ‘tipping point’ is reached and they morph into an epidemic.

Gladwell's synopsis of how an epidemic afflicts a community is merely a scientific overview of how social networking is an integral part of strategic communication.

Characteristics of a tipping point:

In an epidemic, the thing being introduced must be:

Widely dispersed.

"Sticky" enough to be retained by each new recipient.

Operating in an environment that nurtures it.

Gladwell goes on to explain about epidemics - They're spread by a very few key people with exactly three roles:

Connector — are people who seem not only to know everyone but to glide effortlessly across different groups.

Maven — takes the new thing being introduced, sifts through its real-world complexity, organizes and translates it down to the simple relevant new bit.

Salesman — gets the recipient to take in that relevant new bit.

Sometimes a single person can serve multiple or all three roles.

Connectors are catalysts of the tipping point lists several as, Gaetan Dugas, the French-Canadian flight attendant (AIDS Patient Zero) known to have had sex with 2,500 people in North America. Kevin Bacon, who is often associated with the term 'six degrees' because he has appeared in a wide range of movies.

I really enjoyed this book but more importantly I enjoyed how Gladwell explained the rules of social power by engaging the reader with life-altering case studies.