The Tipping Point (1)

This book by Malcolm Gladwell coined the phrase 'The Tipping Point', which is now so commonly used. It discusses how social change can be invisible until, seemingly out of nowhere, it becomes overwhelming.

Just for now I will describe one of his ideas: that there are just a few people who cause such changes. He calls this 'The Law of the Few'.

These few fall into three categories: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. It was published in 2000 but he still used the word 'salesman'. Hmmm... interesting.

I wondered which category I might be able to fit myself into. 'Connectors' are what we now call networkers. 'Salesmen' is obvious, and I never thought of myself as one. So I had to be a 'Maven'. I decided I was a was a GREEN MAVEN.

CONNECTORS know lots of people
SALESMEN are persuasive
MAVENS collect information and accumulate knowledge

Like most people I am a combination of all three. I read a lot so I may as well define myself as a Maven, even though I seem to forget a lot of what I read instead of accumulating it. But I am quite well organised and was well known for it at work, so I can often find stuff again.

The book is full of case studies and is a very thought provoking read. Clearly if you belonged to a group that wanted to create change, you might consider collecting people from each category.

I plan to review this book further...