Malcom Gladwell’s other book on interesting things we choose to discount.

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcom Gladwell

What I got:

Most often people overestimate their… I did it my way’ness and discount where they came from and all the crap that had to line up in other to get them where they are, good/bad or indifferent. Also the concept of hard work and commitment  plus presence of mind when the timing has arrived to seize and opportunity. All the factors that had to come together to make a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs are consistent and predictable once a pattern or checklist is available. This book is that checklist.

What i didn’t get:

A clear conclusion to the questions of how a society oblivious to the issues it faces in the way it ‘leaves so much on the table’ can solve for more ‘outliers’ so there are less outliers and more just successful people. What can I do for my kids for example…do i enroll them in the KIP school in the bronx, used the book as a checklist. I came away wanting to be aware enough to act on advantages my kids may have to give them a better shot than even I had. And I’m an outlier in my own mind to a small degree.

Why I think others may like it.

Most of the reasons people are successful they can count on their hands. If they thought of it for more than a minute they would find the there are not enough hands for all the counting needed to truly assess the number of opportunities, advantages and chances they had/have to become an outlier. It is also interesting to hear explained all of the evidence backing up his theories. There are people who think they A. Did it themselves or B.Did it inspite of others blocking. Clearly they could read this book and have their minds changed or at least another point of view.

Enjoy-get the audio book.

admin Training