The Tipping Point - Book Review

Why did crime in New York drop so suddenly in the mid-nineties? How does an unknown novelist end up a bestselling author? Why is teenage smoking out of control, when everyone knows smoking kills? What makes TV shows like Sesame Street so good at teaching kids how to read? Why did Paul Revere succeed with his famous warning?

Those are the questions asked on the book jacket and the content in the book attempts to answer those questions and more. The author presents three rules that create the foundation for explaining how simple changes can make a big difference and become the Tipping Point for an epidemic of change.

1. "The Law of the Few" shows how three types of people (Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen) can have enough influence to create a word-of-mouth epidemic.

2. "The Stickiness Factor" illustrates how a few small changes to an idea can create the glue that sticks it in people's minds.

3. "The Power of Context" describes how your surroundings have a huge impact on your thoughts and actions.

These concept are presented in a clear and interesting manner. The stories he uses to illustrate these rules are well thought out and easily identifiable to anyone who reads this book. The fact that his antecdotes deal with well known issues, ideas and products contribute to the book being very engrossing and a quick and easy read. The conclusions he draws and answers he formulates for the questions above are insightful and makes you think about how the three laws can apply elsewhere. Although not overt, this book provides a good marketing education as these ideas can be directly applied to creating a "buzz" about a product or idea. I feel that reading this book is a few hours well spent.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Would I read it again: Yes

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell
Hardcover: 288 pages
February, 2000