Tipping Point was a particularly interesting book. I am always fascinated by what makes people tick. When we began this book I remembered what one of my early prof’s said “if you can figure out what the next craze will be ahead of time you can be an over-night success� he then went on to temper that statement with how difficult this is and how often the person who had the great idea in the first place doesn’t become the one who gets all the success. This is where Tipping Point comes into play, while the idea of get rich quick is a dangerous one, being able to see and participate in the next thing can be beneficial to any career.
In looking at a practical application of the Tipping Point if you have a sense of what type each member of your team is (connector, maven, etc.) you will have a better chance to use those traits to your business or organization’s advantage. It also makes each individual more motivated to perform for the team if they can capture some of their more innate skills and put them to good use. In a general sense anyone wants to use their natural skills to the best possible effectiveness and feels more effective and comfortable in those roles.
I think the thing that inspired me most was really defining how I am useful as a connector and Tipping Point really made me think about how some of the ideas I have put out there are today working projects and bearing fruit. As most of these were all volunteer projects I hope those same skills pay off dividends in the business world as well.
Hi Dan - Are you a connector, one of the "few"? How do you know? How will you harness Gladwell's rules of epidemics to turn "great ideas" into realities?
Posted by: Aimee at December 21, 2005 10:25 PM