Book review- The Tipping Point

An excellent book on sociology. Malcolm Gladwell is my new favourite! He has a very succinct style. I especially loved the last chapter that deals with the real reason smoking is not controlled yet, and how to approach this whole issue of controlling smoking.

The underlying messages in the book relate most to people who are in the marketing field. But for everyone else, Gladwell does a great job of showing how a single person's efforts greatly impacts trends that may span from his local community to nation-wide. It makes you believe that a single person can make a lot of difference, if they connect with the right people (Mavens) and spread it through the best means (Connectors). It helped me identify each person I work with as a Maven, Connector or Salesman. Very cool. For example, Hafsa is definitely a Connector with her gazillion contacts.

There's a lot of information in the book, from a detailed analysis on the success of Sesame Street to why the suicide rates went up in Micronesia. He talks about how the Law of 150 proves time and again that 150 is the ideal size of a company. If you have more employees, you have to split to keep up the performance. It's also the reason for the success of the book- The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. He also gives a detailed insight into Airwalk's marketing campaign by Lambesis before and after it "tipped".
It was great reading a book that covers a wide range of companies, trends, and societal issues all explained through a few basic concepts introduced and formalised by the author. I'd go pick up his other book, Blink as well.