The Tipping Point

by Malcolm Gladwell 2000

Book Review by Ray Herrmann

A Maven is one who accumulates knowledge and just likes to help (share). Some people are inherently like this (see stories in the book). It is the mavens who are best at bringing a new idea to fruition. So find a way to identify your product's mavens (First responders? Special interests or uses? )

Diffusion Model: A good innovation product is first bought by (in order):

• 1) Innovators: the adventurous ones.
• 2) Early Adopters: the risk takers, visionaries.
• 3) Early Majority: the cautious, want predictable, incremental progress (low risk).
• 4) Late Majority: those people who don't want revolutionary change. the Skeptical.
• 5) Laggards: the Traditionalists, those who resist changes.

But there is a chasim between (2) and (3). How do we bridge the Chasms? We need "connectors": Mavens and salesmen because they translate the ideas and information into a form the rest of us can understand. These types alter the idea by dropping some details while exaggerating others.

This book mentions numerous useful platitudes, so I'll just list some below:

• Salesmen’s attributes: Energy, Enthusiasm, Charm, Likeability, Happy, Persuasive They treat clients like family; Have many scripted answers.
• More subtle messages are more effective than obvious messages.
• The Power of Context (people are less likely to act if many are present).
• How we say things may be more important than what we say. Talk is "back and forth", they listen, they talk, they interrupt, and they move their hands. …an elaborate precise dance, a "cultural micro rhythm, interactual synchrony, in time with the words.
• Context: People are a lot more attuned to personal clues than to contextual cues.
• The Strength of Weak Ties: Because acquaintances occupy a different world than your friends, they are a larger source of "social power".
• The tag "every day low price" increases sales like actually lowering the price!
• In presenting a suggestion: It is more effective to help than to persuade.
• Contagiousness is a function of the messenger, whereas stickiness is a property of the “message”.
• Small, close knit groups have the power to magnify the epidemic potential of an idea.
• In groups (couples, families), each person settles on the kinds of tasks he/she does best.
• Most people can distinguish accurately only 6 or 7 things (tones, numbers, dots …).
• Organizations below 150 people make it easier for ideas to "tip".
    • Humans are inherently limited to understanding groups of up to 150 people. Beyond that, they fragment into smaller "cliques". Below 150 people, orders can be implemented and behavior controlled by peer pressure

A Sticking Factor can be some little thing, but it shows people how the "product" fits into their lives and so highlights the need to shift the presentation from just information, into a practical, personal issue.

Kids (Pre-K) learn from TV. They pay attention when they understand but look away when they are bored. For TV (Sesame Street) Three minute segments are optimal

Young kids search for understanding / predictability. They like repetition. Pre-K Kids can watch the same show 4 or 5 days in a row with full attention.
  • Repetitive events have to be complex enough to allow deeper and deeper levels of comprehension upon repeated exposure.

Finding the Mavens: {Example: Each Ivory Soap Bar has an 800 number for "questions". Very few would reply but those are the "Mavens" (those passionate about this and likely to tell their friends).}