1. The Tipping
Point by Malcolm Gladwell
A book review presented by
R. Costen
I. Magee
A. Odunjo
F. Williams
2. What is the tipping point?
• Seemingly insignificant events can
have big effects
• The effects of these events can be
contagiousness
• The resulting change can happen
in a single dramatic moment
3. How to start an Epidemic?
1. The Law of the Few
2. The Stickiness Factor
3. The Power of Context
4. The Few
Connectors
Salesmen Epidemic Mavens
Word of
Mouth
9. The Stickiness of a Message
• The ability to make a message
memorable and become a natural
point of reference well beyond its
occurrence.
• E.g. Sesame Street vs. Blues Clues
10. The Power of Context
Epidemics are sensitive to
the conditions and
circumstances of the times
and places in which they
occur-the context (p. 139)
11. The Power of Context Continued:
“Broken Window Theory”
Crime is the natural result of a disorder
12. Power of Context Continued:
• The essence of the Power of
Context is that our inner states are
the result of our outer
circumstances. But then, how does
this work with or against the idea
that our inner states ultimately
create our outer world -- that
perception is reality or that if we
change the way we look at things,
the things we look at change?
16. Translation
• This is what is meant by translation.
What Mavens and Connectors and
Salesman do to an idea in order to
make it contagious is to alter it in such a
way that extraneous details are dropped
and others are exaggerated so that the
message itself comes to acquire a
deeper meaning.
• HIV in Baltimore
17. Translation
• If anyone wants to start an
epidemic, then - whether it is of
shoes or behavior or a piece of
software – he or she has to
somehow employ Connectors,
Mavens, and Salesman in this very
way;
18. Translation
• He or she has to find some person
or some means to translate the
message of the Innovators into
something the rest of us can
understand.
19. The Case Study
• Trend Setters and Innovators
– DeeDee Gordan ( Maven)
• She learned what innovators, the first group
that adopts something new, tend to be.
• Tennis Ball Shoe
• Kung Fu Ads
20. Trendsetter Community
• When something fails to make it out of
the trendsetters community into the
mainstream, its usually because the
idea doesn’t root itself proudly enough
in the culture.
21. The Epidemic is Over
• Failure of Airwalk
– Segmented Strategy
• Small Independent stores
• Retail stores
• Keeping the Buzz going
• Lost the Jewel
22. Apple
• Would Apple computers and the IPod
phenomenon, for example, be as
popular if it didn’t have it’s signature
marketing campaign?
23. Question
• Can you think of other more current
products that have exploded onto the
market with an impressive advertising
assault?
24. Case Study
• Rise in suicide among adolescent
males in Micronesia
– Depression
– Relationships
– Alcohol
25. Relationship
• There is a relationship between the
publicity of suicide cases and the
increases in the number of suicides
– Marilyn Monroe Traffic Deaths
26. Death of “R”
charismatic scion
• The power of his personality and the
circumstances of his death combined
to make the force of his example
endured years beyond his death.
27. More Epidemics
• Language of Smoking
• Informing teenagers of Health Risks of
Cigarettes
• Anti-Sticky Strategy (Habits Stick)
28. Question
• Should parents spend more time trying
to monitor and shape their children’s
peer group than correcting and
disciplining them in the home?
29. The Search for the Unsticky
Cigarette
Young people will experiment.
But you can’t experiment with suicide – once is all it
takes.
Paying attention to the tipping points of the addiction
process can lead to a less sticky form of smoking
(nicotine threshold, depression, lure of who smokes).
30. Answers
• Judith Harris argues that the
environmental influence that helps
children become who they are – that
shapes their character and personality
– is their peer group.
31. Conclusion
The Tipping Point told us stories where a lot was accomplished
with little by starting word of mouth epidemics.
32. Starting An Epidemic
Reframing the
Change by
Concentrating way we think
KISS – keep it starting a word
on a few key about the
simple of mouth
people world to make
epidemic
an impact.
33. Not a Band Aid
Word of mouth
epidemics
Band Aids are life apply corrective
savers and simple action directly
structures. to the problem.
Word of Mouth
Epidemics focus on
triumphs guided by
individual efforts.
34. Focus, Test, Believe
Those who are successful at creating
epidemics have a bedrock belief
that change is possible. They:
Focus/Reframe
the problem
Believe in the Test the
cause solution
39. How Do We Find the Mavens?
Key Traits
• They seek out new information
• Serious about information
• Want to help
• Information Seekers and Spreaders
40. How Do We Find the Mavens
How do you find your school’s mavens?
The moment of critical massThe dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything changes at onceThings tip because of the dramatic efforts of a select fewIn order to create one contagious movement you might have to create several small ones
Law of the FewIn a given process or system some people matter more than others. (p. 19)Stickiness FactorThere are specific ways of making a contagious message memorable; there are relatively simple changes in the presentation and structuring of the information that can make a big difference in how much of an impact it makes. (p. 25)Power of ContextHuman Beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem. (p. 29)
ConnectorsPeople with a special gift for bringing the world together. (p. 38)Know lots of people (p. 38)Instinctive and natural gift for making social connections (p.43)“Weak ties” are always more important than strong ties (p.54)The closer an idea or product comes to a connector, the more power and opportunity it has as well (p. 59)Word of mouth epidemics are the work of connectors (p. 59)
ConnectorsPeople with a special gift for bringing the world together. (p. 38)Know lots of people (p. 38)Instinctive and natural gift for making social connections (p.43)“Weak ties” are always more important than strong ties (p.54)The closer an idea or product comes to a connector, the more power and opportunity it has as well (p. 59)Word of mouth epidemics are the work of connectors (p. 59)
Mavens They accumulate knowledge and have the social skills to start word-of-mouth epidemics – DATA BANKS – PROVIDE THE MESSAGE. For example Mark Zuckeman who started the social network Facebook or ______________who created Google.MavensOne who accumulates knowledge(p. 60)Are not passive collectors of information (p. 62)Data banksThey want to share their information with as many people as possible (p. 62)Not persuaders (p. 69)Information specialistsThey tell you about all their great dealsHave an emotional need to solve problemsBe a teacher or a student
Salesmen: Picture of Lee Iacocca (Once known as the Automotive Tzar)One with the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing. (p. 70)Little things make as much of a difference as big things (p. 78)Non-verbal cues are as important or more important than verbal cues (p. 79)Persuasion often works in ways that we do not appreciate (p. 79)You draw others into your rhythms by your interactions
Word of mouth is still the most important form of human communication (p. 32).Deal finders, best restaurant, best schools, best sales on shoes, food items clothes and more
Another aspect of mechanisms that cause trends to “tip” into mass productivity is the next term Gladwell points out, the Power of Context. When environmental conditions are introduced and are not right, it is not likely that the tipping point will occur. Gladwell speaks of the rapid decline in violent crime rates that occurred in 1990’s in New York City. He acknowledged a variety of factors that played a role in the decline. One instance was the removal of graffiti from the subway areas. With a clean environment, crime rate began to decline. Criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling developed the “Broken Window theory”. This theory basically proposed that crime was the natural result of a disorder. If unchecked signs of deterioration in a neighborhood or community were seen by all, this could result in a declining quality of living. If a window is broken or left un-repaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares or no one is in charge. In the cities, graffiti was equivalent of broken windows which initiated more serious crimes. This is an epidemic theory of crime. Crime is contagious and can start with a broken window or graffiti and spread through an entire community. Cities began the clean up which allowed other factors like the decline in crack cocaine use and the again of the population to gradually tip into a major decline in the crime rate.
Criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling developed the “Broken Window theory”. This theory basically proposed that crime was the natural result of a disorder. If unchecked signs of deterioration in a neighborhood or community were seen by all, this could result in a declining quality of living. If a window is broken or left un-repaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares or no one is in charge. In the cities, graffiti was equivalent of broken windows which initiated more serious crimes. This is an epidemic theory of crime. Crime is contagious and can start with a broken window or graffiti and spread through an entire community. Cities began the clean up which allowed other factors like the decline in crack cocaine use and the again of the population to gradually tip into a major decline in the crime rate.
In continuing discussion on group size, Gladwell introduces his theory of the magic of the number of 150. Group sizes play a large part in tipping scales. He refers to 150 as the magic number of a group size. This group size displays levels of intimacy and efficiency. Groups larger than this size tend to be more toxic. With a smaller group, you can become comfortable and rely on the other members to exhibit qualities of accuracy. Many corporations today use this factor as a foundation for their organization structure.In the case study sections in this book, Gladwell discusses the rise and decline of the Airwalk shoe. It was originally geared toward skateboards in Southern California. It obtained national recognition through advertising techniques that portrayed“coolness” about them. By using fad styling in their shoes, Airwalks were able to create a product that was always right on target and exactly what the public wanted. The advertising agency came up with a series of dramatic images, single photographs showing the Airwalk user relating to his shoes in some weird way. In one, a young man is wearing an Airwalk shoe on his head, with laces hanging down like braids, as his laces are being cut by a barber. The ads were put on billboards and in “wild postings” on construction-site walls and in alternative magazines. As Airwalks grew, the advertising company went into television. The strength of the Airwalks advertising campaign was in more than the look of their work. Airwalk tipped because its advertising was founded very explicitly on the principles of epidemic transmission
Gladwell touches on the Translation Factor. Translator takes ideas and information from a highly specialized world and translates them into a language the rest of us can understand. The most sophisticated analysis of the process of translation comes from the study of rumors
Gladwell used the spread of teenage smoking as another example of the tipping point. Once again he reiterates the idea of “coolness” of smoking which causes a teenager to start smoking. He also noted that making smoking sound dangerous and rebellious appeals to teenagers. Larger advertising companies continuously pump money into campaigns enticing teenagers. Many teenagers end up continuing their cigarette experiment until they get hooked. The smoking experience is so memorable and powerful that they cannot stop smoking. The habit “sticks”. Telling teenagers about the health risks of smoking; “It makes you wrinkle”, “It can give you lung cancer and you can die”, doesn’t matter to them in the least. It is exciting, mysterious, dangerous and cool and especially frowned upon by their parents; all the elements to make teenagers want to smoke more.
In conclusion, the first lesson of the Tipping Point is starting epidemics requires concentrating resources on a few key areas. The Law of the Few says that connectors, mavens, and salesman are responsible for starting work of mouth epidemics. There are times when we need a convenient shortcut; a way to make a lot out of a little, and that is what Tipping Points in the end are all about. There is difficulty in the world of the Tipping Point as hopefulness as well. By controlling a group size, we can improve its interest to new ideas. By repetitive presentation of information, we can improve its stickiness. Tipping points are a reaffirmation of the potential for charge and the power of intelligent action. The world around us seems like an immovable place, but with the slightest push – it can be tipped.