Don't get me wrong, there was still lots to love about The Tipping Point. As with Outliers, it's fascinating to me how Gladwell is able to break down a seemingly utterly organic process, this time with the word-of-mouth, spreading-of-whatever process. I mean, he's really, really good at that.
In particular, I appreciated how Gladwell parsed what he calls The Law of the Few, where he articulates how a few people can make a big difference when it comes to the spreading of an idea, thought, trend, etc. You've got the Mavens, sort of the arbiters of cool. Then you've got the Connectors, the virus-spreaders whose relational networks become the conduits of transmission. Then you've got the salesmen, the persuaders who can convince the percentage of folks who need some convincing.
In the subtitle of The Tipping Point is the phrase "how little things make a big difference." And I think that's really the main point of this one. Little, strategic, well-thought-out inputs in the right places at the right times can effect legit and helpful change. This has me thinking about InterVarsity chapters. For instance, what would "tip" a chapter from the 60 person barrier to numeric breakthrough? Or, what little inputs could help the evangelism value go viral in a community? Things like that.
Here's the hope: "In the end, Tipping Points are a reaffirmation of the potential for change and the power of intelligent action." May it be so.
So why did I like Outliers better? Was it because Outliers was just so good that The Tipping Point never had a chance? Was it that the passages in The Tipping Point seemed longer and the stories just a touch drier? Was it that Fuller is starting and I couldn't read at will? Or, perhaps (and heaven forbid!), was it because I read The Tipping Point on the Kindle?!?
Not sure. But I do know that I liked it enough to someday try Blink. Thanks again Gladwell.
2 comments:
What are your feeling about an e-reader in general? Do you find yourself gravitating towards that or a physical book more? Curious.
I like the kindle so far, but I think I'll only use it for like fun reads. First of all, I like to write in my books and second, I like to collect my favorites or the ones that I'll read later (or want to loan out). So, my vision is to use it for a limited slice of my reading. One other use that I've discovered is that I can upload files to it, so I'll put some of my key ministry documents on it for reference. That's pretty handy, as it means I don't need my laptop all the time. So, so far, so good. I like it.
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