"Outliers" really stands out

I've enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell's books in the past (I thought "The Tipping Point" was excellent, but thought "Blink" was just Ok in comparison). I just finished reading "Outliers" and it is by far my favorite Gladwell book so far (on a side note, it's also the first book I read on the Kindle 2).

In Outliers, Gladwell seeks to understand why some people excel in life. Is it "natural talent and ability?" Is it hard work? Is it luck? Can it be replicated?

Fascinating case studies

The reason I enjoyed this book is that it presents intriguing findings woven into fascinating stories. Some of the topics include a discussion of lots of odd phenomena and stereotypes:

• Is there a "best" time to have been born?
  
• Are the most successful people those with the highest IQ's?
  
• Why are so many successful professional hockey players born early in the year?
  
• Are Asians really better at math? Why or why not?
  
• Do lower income students tend to do worse, academically, than those from higher income families?
  
• Why are there so many Jewish lawyers in New York?
  
• Does ethnicity play into likelihood of plane crashes?
  
• Why were the Beatles, Bill Gates, and Bill Joy so successful and influential?

The answers to all of these - and more - are covered in this book. Or at least Gladwell's convincing theories are covered!

Engaging reading

Gladwell has perfected the art of drawing you into an intriguing story, then presenting a research-based analysis of why things occurred the way they did, the interactions & influences that were involved, and giving some serious "think about" material.

The best thing about the stories is that they feature real people, including Gladwell's own family. Comparing the opinions, thoughts, and actions with how things turned out can be fascinating - you can see the flaws in some of the thinking, but can also see how you may have made the same flawed decisions if you were immersed in the same situation.

Still not convinced?

I searched this book for a short example I could share in this review to get you jazzed about the book, but they were hard to condense into a paragraph or two. So, here is something to chew on that might get you thinking:

• Gladwell analyzed the 75 wealthiest people in history - starting with Cleopatra and the Pharaohs of ancient times (Bill Gates is #37 on that list, incidentally, when the wealth figures are normalized)
  
• Fourteen of these 75 are Americans born within 9 years of each other in the mid-nineteenth century - that's almost 20% of the wealthiest people in thousands of years - all born in a historical blink of an eye

Curious how that happened? You'll find out in this book. And it relates to the answers to most of the questions I listed above.

If you haven't done so yet, I recommend you read Outliers - and I'd love to hear whether you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Comments

[kare anderson]

I enjoyed your thoughtful post yet differ, believing that The Tipping Point had a theme that was best substantiated by research and found Outliers to be the least, in that regard. Outliers purports to reveal the real reason some people — like Bill Joy, the Beatles and Bill Gates— are successful. Yet what Malcolm Gladwell finds is, as Michiko Kakutani notes, “little more than common sense” – except when he draws conclusions about what’s most important for success. See if Gladwell’s conclusions surprise you:1. Talent alone is not enough to ensure success.2. Opportunity, hard work, timing and luck are also essential.3. Poor children are less likely to succeed than those raised in rich or middle-class families.4. It takes 10,000 hours of practice to become successful.

The first three seem blindingly obvious yet I disagree about what’s most important. And he over-generalizes. While it’s also obvious that mastery improves one’s chance for success, his conclusion that there’s a magic amount of practice time cannot be substantiated by the studies, interviews (Bill Joy, for example) and stories he offers. As well, luck and timing may trump his “10,000 rule,” Hundreds of garage bands that practiced as much and at the time as The Beatles, for example, did not become famously successful.

As Isaac Chotiner concludes, Gladwell “dislikes attributing individual accomplishment to the accomplishing individuals. He has set out to prove that people with social advantages do better than people without social advantages, and so the really wise thing for society to do is to arrange for more advantages for more people.” In fact Gladwell never really defines success. Here’s my problem. He plays up the power of cultural background, timing and economic class and downplays the role in success of talent and perseverance. They are key factors in work, love, fame, wealth and, well, all that we may enjoy in life – or not.

So too, are attractiveness, charisma, willpower, fortitude, and the ability to lead, evoke trust and attract support. But other authors have pointed that out, some with a less fascinating thread of stories than Gladwell’s book to support these universal truths. And that may be the core talent that’s made him successful.

Since his diligent research and writing has probably taken at least 10,000 hours his conclusion is self-evident – for him. As any author will admit, that’s an extraordinary talent to hone however one “achieves” success at it. And Gladwell always stirs thinking and conversation - a great thing.

Yet, in this transient, time-starved world where increasingly we can find the right people with whom to practice and collaborate, my bet for success is …• on those who steadfastly hone their singular talent …• often in the company of compatible colleagues…• with whom they achieve greater success than they could alone …• and can savor their shared success together.

[Dwayne Melancon]

Kare - thanks for the excellent perspective!

I agree with a lot of what you say, but I still like this book better than the others I mentioned. Maybe it was just the "right" message for me at the right time? I've often thought of books like medicine - the right medicine depends on timing and matching what is delivered to the recipient's needs, and I think books can be the same.

As I reflected on your comments, I had some additional thoughts:

• I don’t think Gladwell downplayed the value of perseverance and hard work at all! Not only does he talk about "practice" - he talks about "deliberate practice," which is when you practice very specifically to deal with elements that are difficult or limiting your performance. That requires perseverance and hard work, for sure. In the example where he discusses the eastern European immigrants getting into the textile business, hard work and perseverance were critical success factors.

• I came away with a clearer notion that I must be vigilant to look for circumstances, shifts, etc. that will increase the likelihood that I can create my own opportunities – to be willing to do the things others aren’t doing

• Gladwell doesn’t discount the value of talents and personal gifts – just that they only increase your potential, not guarantee success (OK, OK – just more common sense, I know)

And I fully agree with your last four points (and don’t find them in conflict with Outliers, by the way).

By the way, I only just discovered your site through the linkback from your name (http://sayitbetter.typepad.com/say_it_better). You are doing some powerful things. Thanks again for adding your thoughts here.